There will be no “Fly, Eagles Fly” heard this week after the Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles for the second time this season for the sweep. That is because I believe Amari Cooper and Ezekiel Elliott will once again be at the forefront of this victory, hindering them flightless by clipping the Eagles wings.
You may not have known what happens when someone clips a bird’s wings before, but you probably have a pretty good idea now. It takes away their freedom and turns them into a domesticated pet. It’s not the best analogy, but I believe that is exactly what the Cowboys will do to the Eagles Sunday afternoon and will be in large part due to Cooper and Elliott’s domination.
You may have forgotten, but Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper both had pretty big games against the Eagles earlier this season in Week 10. Zeke rushed for 151 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries and added another 36 yards and a touchdown through the air on six receptions. It was arguably his most dominant performance of the season.
Amari Cooper’s stats weren’t quite as good as Zeke’s against Eagles last time (6 receptions, 75 yards), but he made some key catches in that game to extend drives to help the Cowboys secure the victory. But, I think that might see a change this week with Cooper being the more successful of the two.
We all know the game plan for opposing defenses is to try to contain/shutdown Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys running game week after week. That will be the Eagles mindset this week as well, especially after the success Zeke had against them in their previous meeting this season. But, that may actually end up working against them.
If the Eagles decide to focus most of their attention on stopping the running game, that exposes their defenses weakest link…their depleted secondary. With the exception of Safety Malcolm Jenkins, the backend of their defense is best described as the walking wounded.
Philadelphia has been forced to patchwork their secondary for a few weeks now because they have been bitten hard by the injury bug. It’s been so bad they have been forced to pick up defensive backs off the street and start them, and this week may be no different.
This of course is great news for the Cowboys and their passing game, but more specifically for Amari Cooper. I don’t believe the Eagles have a DB on the roster talented enough to stick with him due to his speed and route running ability.
I’m predicting a huge game for #19. It may not be a 180 yard, two touchdown performance like he had against the Washington Redskins, but I’d be really surprised if he doesn’t drop a Benjamin on the Eagles Sunday afternoon.
If I’m the Dallas Cowboys, I’m getting Amari Cooper and Ezekiel Elliott involved early and often. But, it’s Cooper who I believe could end up being the more important of the two due to the Eagles depleted secondary.
