First place in the NFC East will be on the line on Sunday Night Football when the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Dallas Cowboys. Even though it's presumed the Eagles will easily defeat a team on its third-string quarterback, we know the Eagles have past tendencies to choke in games they are expected to dominate.
That's why Eagles fans will need to pay attention to the following players, who could help decide the outcome in this pivotal matchup.
Jason Peters
JP will be playing in his first game since Week 3, so there could be some rust involved since he's approaching his 39th birthday and his body seems to be deteriorating. There's always a possibility now that Peters can't complete a game, and with Jordan Mailata likely having to play right tackle tonight, Peters would be replaced with Matt Pryor if he can't finish the game.
Boston Scott
Scott didn't perform as well as he should throughout the Giants game last week. His big touchdown grab late in the game saved the Birds, and he'll need to try to ride that momentum into this game. The Cowboys have the worst rush defense in the NFL, so Scott needs to contribute with yards on the ground for the Eagles offensive gameplan to work.
Brandon Graham
BG is having a career year and has his eyes set on achieving his dream of having 10+ sacks in a season. He'll be lined up against Terence Steele on Sunday. Steele went undrafted this past April and has been forced to start every game this season for the Cowboys. #55 is licking his lips just thinking about this matchup, and he should be able to lay some hits on Ben DiNucci.
Avonte Maddox
Darius Slay is likely to shadow Amari Cooper all night, which means Maddox will likely have to cover Michael Gallup the entire game. Since Ben DiNucci will be getting his first NFL start, he likely won't target the receiver being shadowed by one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, so he will try to pick on the 5'9 corner trying to cover the 6'1 receiver. Maddox will need to find a way to shut him down or else DiNucci will target Gallup for the entire game.
Jake Elliott
Eliott is starting to feel the heat from Eagles fans (and likely from his coaching staff too). He has missed three of his last four field goal attempts and is just 66.7% on his field goals for the entire season. His shakiness has led Doug Pederson to change up his gameplans often, and it feels like the team is going for it on 4th down every time in opposing territory and also going for two-point conversions. If he can't put together a string of successful attempts soon, he might end up losing his job.
