Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys take the NFL's No. 4 offense into their home opener against Philadelphia and the fourth-best defense.
It's the first home game for Prescott since the gruesome ankle injury that ended his 2020 season last October at AT&T Stadium.
The home team has won five consecutive games in the series, matching the previous longest streak from 1961-63. The Eagles are 9-3 on Monday night since 2013. The Cowboys have won seven of the 11 Monday night meetings between the NFC East rivals.
PHILADELPHIA (1-1) at DALLAS (1-1)
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
Monday, 7:15 p.m. CST, ESPN
OPENING LINE: Cowboys by 3 1/2, according to FanDuel SportsBook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Eagles 1-1, Cowboys 2-0.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
SERIES RECORD: Cowboys lead 70-54.
LAST MEETING: Cowboys beat Eagles 37-17 on Dec. 27, 2020, at Dallas.
LAST WEEK: Eagles lost to 49ers 17-11; Cowboys beat Chargers 20-17.
EAGLES OFFENSE: OVERALL (15), RUSH (2), PASS (22), SCORING (21).
EAGLES DEFENSE: OVERALL (4), RUSH (T-18), PASS (3), SCORING (T-2).
COWBOYS OFFENSE: OVERALL (4), RUSH (7), PASS (6), SCORING (15).
COWBOYS DEFENSE: OVERALL (27), RUSH (8), PASS (31), SCORING (15).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Eagles even; Cowboys plus-4.
EAGLES PLAYER TO WATCH: Rookie WR DeVonta Smith has eight catches for 87 yards and one TD in two games. The Eagles traded up two spots with Dallas to take the Heisman Trophy winner from Alabama at No. 10 overall. The Cowboys have allowed three receivers to reach 100 yards in the first two games.
COWBOYS PLAYER TO WATCH: After trading down with the Eagles, the Cowboys drafted LB Micah Parsons at 12th overall. He essentially replaced injured star pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence against the Chargers, getting his first career sack and a game-high four QB hits. With DE Randy Gregory returning after missing a game because of COVID-19, the intrigue builds on how Dallas will use Parsons.
KEY MATCHUP: Cowboys QB Dak Prescott, in his first home game since the gruesome ankle injury last October at AT&T Stadium, leads the No. 4 offense in the NFL against the fourth-ranked defense. The Eagles neutralized Prescott the previous time they saw him in 2019, a 17-9 Philadelphia victory in Week 16 when Dallas could have clinched the NFC East. Before that, Prescott had beaten his division rival four consecutive times, with three straight 100-plus passer ratings.
KEY INJURIES: Eagles Pro Bowl DE Brandon Graham ruptured an Achilles tendon against the 49ers and will miss the rest of the season. âĶ Three-time Pro Bowl RG Brandon Brooks will miss at least three weeks after going on injured reserve with a strained right pectoral muscle. âĶ Cowboys WR Amari Cooper sustained a rib injury against the Chargers. âĶ With depth a concern on the Dallas defensive line, the status of DT Carlos Watkins (knee) and DE Dorance Armstrong (ankle) could be in question.
SERIES NOTES: The home team has won five consecutive games in the series, matching the most from 1961-63. âĶ The teams have played 11 times on Monday night, with Dallas holding a 7-4 edge. âĶ Dallas and Philadelphia have split 12 regular-season games at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys lead 7-6 overall because of a wild-card win during the 2009 season, when the $1.2 billion retractable-roof facility opened
STATS AND STUFF: The Eagles are 9-3 on Monday night since 2013 and 13-6 in prime-time games since 2017. Philadelphia has allowed just 23 points, second fewest in the NFL.
The Eagles have rushed for more than 150 yards in consecutives games for the first time since 2017.
QB Jalen Hurts is one of four QBs with 500-plus total yards and zero giveaways. He has a team-high 144 yards rushing and is making his second start against the Cowboys in his home state after last season's blowout loss.
RB Miles Sanders has 240 scrimmage yards and two rushing TDs in his past two games against Dallas. WR Quez Watkins had a career-best 117 yards receiving last week, including a 91-yard catch.
Three-time All-Pro C Jason Kelce will start his 108th consecutive regular-season game, longest by any NFL center since Chris Myers reached 123 from 2007-14.
K Jake Elliott needs two field goals to move into second place on the franchise's all-time list behind David Akers.
Prescott has accounted for 11 touchdowns (10 passing, 1 rushing) with two interceptions for a 118.9 passer rating in four Monday night starts.
RB Ezekiel Elliott had 105 yards rushing in the most recent meeting with Philadelphia. It's one of just two 100-yard games for the two-time rushing champion since the start of the 2020 season (17 games).
WR CeeDee Lamb is tied for second in the NFL with four catches of at least 20 yards. Seattle's Tyler Lockett has five.
LB Leighton Vander Esch made his first sack of the season against the Chargers. The fourth-year player hasn't had more than one in a season.
The Cowboys lead the NFL with six takeaways and CB Trevon Diggs has an interception in each of the first two games. The last Dallas player with a pick in three consecutive games was Terence Newman in 2007.
FANTASY TIP: If Cooper plays through the rib injury, it's worth noting that Philadelphia is by far his favorite opponent at home. Cooper has 19 catches for 444 yards and three touchdowns in three home games against the Eagles. One of the TDs was the winner in overtime in his sixth game after joining Dallas in a trade that sent a first-round pick to Oakland in 2018.
