Containing the Enemy: Ezekiel Elliott

The Eagles go up against their biggest rival this week in the Dallas Cowboys. This Cowboys team is not the same team we thought we would see before the season. Their offense is not that same without Dak Prescott under center. Andy Dalton is a decent quarterback, but this offense just does not play as well around him as they have done with Dak. This weekend, the Eagles pass defense should be able to keep them in the game and potentially win. The aspect of the game they need to focus on is their run defense, as they will need to contain Ezekiel Elliott.

Zeke has not played as well as expected, but he is still Zeke and still regarded as one of the top running backs in the league. He can keep the Cowboys in any game and even be the reason they win any game. So far this season Zeke has 832 rushing yards (64 yards/game) and is averaging 3.9 yards per carry with five total rushing touchdowns. We can’t forget that Zeke can make a difference in the passing game -- he has 45 receptions on 63 targets this season for 285 yards and two touchdowns.

We have seen the Cowboys rally behind Zeke in the past and win games because of 100+ yard rushing performances. Dallas is still able to move the ball through the air, but not to the extent they did with Dak, which means the Eagles defense should not struggle in their coverage of the Cowboys receivers. If Zeke is contained, Dallas will be forced to beat the Eagles through the air and that is how the Eagles will win this game. The defensive line will have to step up their game on Sunday, especially the DT trio of Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, and Malik Jackson.

The defense has been able to keep them in games when the offense struggled, but now the offense is more efficient with Jalen Hurts under center. Hurts should be able to outplay Andy Dalton this week, so if Zeke is contained we will see an Eagles win come Sunday evening.