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The 11-5 Philadelphia Eagles have clinched the NFC East and will be either the 2 seed or the 3 seed in the playoffs. They’ll finish up their regular season against the 4-12 Washington Commanders. Here are our five things to watch.
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Jimmy Kempski
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Oh hey, it’s Dallas week. The 8-2 Philadelphia Eagles will face the Cowboys in a rematch of Week 1, when the Birds escaped with an opening night win. Here are our five things to watch.
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Jimmy Kempski
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In Week 7 of the NFL season, the Philadelphia Eagles will face a team that has been quarterbacked the last few weeks by Carson Wentz, formerly the Eagles’ franchise quarterback, if only for a brief moment in time. Here are our five things to watch.
The Vikings’ starter to begin the season was second-year pro J.J. McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie season because of a torn meniscus. He started the first two games of the season for the Vikings.
The first was a 27-24 win over the Bears, during which McCarthy played like crap for three quarters, before coming alive in the fourth quarter. The Vikings went TD, TD, TD, with McCarthy completing 6 of 8 passes for 87 yards, 2 TDs, and a 15-yard TD run on those drives. In his second game against the Falcons Week 2, the Vikings got embarrassed in front of a national audience on Sunday Night Football.
| J.J. McCarthy | Comp-Att | Yards (YPA) | TD-INT | Rating |
| 4th quarter vs. Bears | 6-8 | 87 (10.9) | 2-0 | 149.5 |
| The rest of his season | 18-33 | 214 (6.5) | 0-3 | 36.7 |
McCarthy injured his ankle against the Falcons and hasn’t played since. Wentz has started three games while McCarthy was out. The Vikings won two of them. Wentz is basically the same guy we knew in Philly – no pocket awareness, misses layups, takes big hits when he runs, but every so often he’ll rip a throw down the field that only a handful of other quarterbacks in the league can make.
“They are similar,” Vic Fangio said of McCarthy and Wentz. “They’re both athletic. They both do a good job running this offense. This is a good offense we’re going against. It’s a good scheme. It’s packaged well together. They do a good job of calling plays. It’s a tough offense.”
Fangio has given high praise to every quarterback he has faced so far this season, but it was a little muted this week. Whether it’s McCarthy or Wentz, it will be the worst starting quarterback the Eagles will have faced so far this season.
Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase are the best wide receivers in the NFL, in whatever order you prefer. This is Jefferson’s sixth season, and he already has almost 8,000 receiving yards.
| Justin Jefferson | Rec | Yards | YPC | TD |
| 2020 | 88 | 1400 | 15.9 | 7 |
| 2021 | 108 | 1616 | 15.0 | 10 |
| 2022 | 128 | 1809 | 14.1 | 8 |
| 2023 (10 games) | 68 | 1074 | 15.8 | 5 |
| 2024 | 103 | 1533 | 14.9 | 10 |
| 2025 | 29 | 449 | 15.5 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 524 | 7881 | 15.0 | 41 |
His career 96.1 receiving yards per game is the best in NFL history (minimum 16 games played):
There’s an almost 12 yards per game difference between Jefferson and the fifth guy on that list.
He is an exceptional route runner who gets great separation, and even when he doesn’t he’s a contested catch wizard. He wins at all three levels of the defense, and is a cheat code for anyone throwing him the football.
Oh, and hey, the Vikings also have a very good WR2 in Jordan Addison, who has 142 catches for 1,941 yards and 20 TDs in 34 career games (the equivalent of two full seasons). Jefferson and Addison are in the conversation for best WR duo in the NFL.
Of course, the Eagles have a problem at cornerback. Star CB1 Quinyon Mitchell left with a hamstring injury against the Giants and did not return. He was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday, but a full go on Thursday. The Eagles desperately need Mitchell to play on Sunday, and it looks like he will.
At CB2, Adoree Jackson was benched in favor of Kelee Ringo, who was subsequently benched in favor Jackson against the Giants. Asked who would start at CB2 if Mitchell can play, Fangio said it would likely be Jackson. If Mitchell can’t go, it’ll be Ringo and Jackson, in which case the Vikings could have a field day through the air.
When fully healthy, the Vikings’ offensive line would look like this:
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Christian Darrisaw | Donovan Jackson | Ryan Kelly | Will Fries | Brian O’Neill |
There’s a lot to unpack with the Vikings’ offensive line.
Darrisaw and O’Neill form one of the best offensive tackle tandems in the NFL. Darrisaw missed the first two games of the season while still recovering from from ACL/MCL tears suffered during the 2024 season. He has played the last three games.
O’Neill suffered a sprained MCL against the Steelers Week 4 and did not play Week 5. The Vikings had a bye Week 6, so he had a week off to heal up.
Jackson was the Vikings’ first-round pick in 2025. He played in the first three games of the season, but missed the last two after having surgery on his wrist. The Vikings didn’t place him on injured reserve, an indication that they thought he had a chance to return sooner than the four-game window required to be on IR.
Kelly won’t play. He’s on IR with a concussion. Michael Jurgens filled in for Kelly, but he too got hurt (hamstring) against the Steelers Week 4 and Jake Brandel filled in. Jurgens may or may not play Sunday.
Fries is the only Vikings starting offensive lineman to play in every game so far this season. He is good to go.
In summary, Darrisaw and Fries will play. Kelly won’t. O’Neill, Jackson, and Jurgens are maybes.
The Eagles’ pass rush has sucked so far this season, frankly. The edge rushers presently on the team have a grand total of one sack (by Patrick Johnson), and the team as a whole only has 9 sacks in 6 games. Only five teams have fewer sacks per game.
The return of Jalen Carter on Sunday and the eventual return of Nolan Smith after the bye will help, but expect the Eagles to trade for another pass rusher by the trade deadline.
One thing to note if Wentz starts is that he has a pocket presence quirk that leads to devastating plays. Once he either avoids an edge rusher, or an edge rusher runs by him, it’s as if he believes that player no longer exists, and won’t continue to keep trying to get after him. He did it throughout his career in Philly, and it has carried over into his many other NFL stops, including this year now in Minnesota. A sampling of his pocket presence this season:
Wentz has been sacked 12 times in three games. Normally, you don’t want your edge rushers getting too far up the field and simply getting escorted around the bend, taking themselves out of the play. Against Wentz, the Eagles’ edge rushers should not feel the need to try to flatten their path to the quarterback as much as possible. Taking wider paths to Wentz can be just as effective. If you get in behind him, Wentz will eventually drift back in the pocket into strip sack opportunities.
The plan should be to enclose him in the pocket, and whenever a lineman is within striking distance, tackle the football, not the quarterback, because over his career he has been one of the worst in the league at protecting it.
#FeastinMeter: 6/10 turkey legs 🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is known as a hyper-aggressive blitzer, which is sometimes true, but a better description of his defenses is that they are highly varied and unpredictable. He does a great job of disguising man vs. zone, and confusing opposing quarterbacks.
A common theme of Eagles games this season is that they have had success at times getting into a rhythm against certain defenses, but when the opposing defensive coordinator adjusts, the Eagles then don’t have answers. Flores is perhaps a difficult coordinator for what the Eagles have been so far this year, because he creates chaos by trying a lot of different things.
The Vikings represent another team against whom the Eagles have a chance to get their run game going. Opposing offenses have had success against the Vikings’ run defense so far this season:
| Vikings run D | Stat | NFL rank |
| Rushing yards per game | 132.2 | 24 |
| Rushing yards per attempt | 4.5 | 22 |
| Rushing first downs per game | 8.6 | 26 |
| % of rushes resulting in first downs | 27.9% | 23 |
This is a light defense.
| Pos | Player | Weight |
| EDGE | Dallas Turner | 242 |
| iDL | Jonathan Allen | 300 |
| iDL | Javon Hargrave | 305 |
| iDL | Jalen Redmond | 291 |
| EDGE | Jonathan Greenard | 263 |
| LB | Blake Cashman | 237 |
| LB | Ivan Pace | 231 |
| CB | Isaiah Rodgers | 170 |
| CB | Byron Murphy | 190 |
| S | Theo Jackson | 198 |
| S | Josh Metellus | 207 |
The interior linemen average under 300 pounds per man, and the heaviest of the three, Javon Hargrave, has always been a way better pass rusher than run defender. Additionally, one of the edges is 242 pounds, and both starting corners are small. You can run right at these guys.
Unfortunately, as we detailed earlier this week, the Eagles have gone from bullies to bullied in the trenches this season, notably on the offensive line. In past seasons, they’d have run right through these guys’ faces. This year? Dunno.
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In Week 2 of the NFL season, the Philadelphia Eagles will travel to Kansas City for a rematch of Super Bowl LIX against the Chiefs. Here are our five things to watch.
The Chiefs’ top two receivers are Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy.
Rice had 79 catches for 938 yards and 7 TDs as a rookie in 2023. His 2024 season was off to a great start, as he caught 24 passes for 288 yards and two TDs in the first three games before he injured his LCL and hamstring. He missed the rest of the season, and was the Chiefs’ most notable player to miss the Super Bowl. This offseason, Rice caused a car crash when he was driving like a maniac at 119 MPH, while weaving around traffic (video here). Rice was suspended for the first six games of the season. He won’t play.
Worthy was the Chiefs’ first-round pick in 2024. In his rookie season, Worthy had 59 catches for 638 yards and 6 TDs as a receiver, and he added 104 yards and 3 TD on rushes. He is perhaps best known for running the fastest 40 time in the history of the NFL Combine, where he ran a 4.21. He was also the star of the garbage time portion of Super Bowl LIX against the Eagles’ backups. Worthy reportedly suffered a dislocated shoulder in the Chiefs’ Week 1 loss to the Chargers in Brazil, and is unlikely to play Week 2.
With Rice and Worthy both out, the Chiefs’ top two receivers are Hollywood Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Brown got 16 targets Week 1, with Rice out and Worthy leaving early. He often seemed to not be on the same page with Patrick Mahomes, as Mahomes passes often went where Brown wasn’t. He also failed to make defenders miss after the catch. Here are his 16 targets, via @NickPenticoff:
Brown finished with 10 catches for 99 yards.
After one of his best seasons in 2022 when he had 78 catches for 933 yards, Smith-Schuster had two unproductive seasons with New England in 2023 (29-260-1) and then back in Kansas City again in 2024 (18-231-2).
The other receiver who got a lot of playing time Week 1 was Tyquan Thornton, another speedster who ran a 4.28 at the 2022 NFL Combine. Thornton was waived by the Patriots during the 2024 season, and spent the rest of the season on the Chiefs’ practice squad. He signed a futures contract in February, and made the 53-man roster out of training camp this year.
In their Week 1 win over the Cowboys, the Eagles struggled covering CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and the Dallas receivers. The commonly toasted corner was Adoree’ Jackson, who Vic Fangio said will likely start again on Sunday. Expect the Chiefs to attack Jackson, though certainly Lamb and Pickens are both better than anyone who will line up at receiver for the Chiefs.
And then there’s Kelce, who is arguably the best receiving tight end in NFL history. Kelce had seven consecutive 1000-yard seasons from 2016 to 2022, but his production dipped in 2023, and then again in 2024. While still a top 5 type of tight end, he is not the ultra-elite player he once was.
In Week 1 against the Chargers, everything the Chiefs tried to do offensively seemed to be a struggle, and far too dependent on Mahomes making Houdini-like plays.
Against the Chargers Week 1, Mahomes dropped back to pass 45 times. He attempted 39 passes, and scrambled six times. Andy Reid only ran it with his running backs 10 times. Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt combined for those 10 carries for 41 yards.
Their top two backs in 2024 were also Hunt and Pacheco, who combined for 3.7 yards per carry:
| Chiefs RBs | Rush | Yards | YPC | TD |
| Kareem Hunt | 200 | 728 | 3.6 | 7 |
| Isiah Pacheco | 83 | 310 | 3.7 | 1 |
Hunt and Pecheco combined for 2 runs of 20+ yards. Pacheco’s lone run of 20+ yards was 34 yards. Hunt’s was 20 yards. They are not game breakers.
The Chiefs’ leading rusher Week 1 was Mahomes, who ran 6 times for 57 yards and a TD. In recent seasons, Mahomes has taken advantage of his star status by drawing unnecessary roughness penalties near the sidelines. He has a habit of stepping out of bounds just before he’s about to be tackled by an oncoming defender, and then acting like he got shot by a bazooka if the defender so much as breathes on him.
Against the Chargers, CB Donte Jackson conceded that Mahomes was going to step out of bounds and pulled up from hitting him. Knowing full-well that Jackson’s guard was down, Mahomes threw a shoulder into him, and knocked Jackson to the ground.
That is a punk-ass cheap shot, in my opinion.
So, Eagles defenders have to be smart when Mahomes is near the sidelines. On the one hand, they must be conscious that Mahomes is master at baiting officials into throwing flags for weak penalties. On the other hand, if they have a chance light him up legally, they absolutely should.
During his Tuesday press conference, Vic Fangio got asked about Mahomes’ sideline chicanery:
Question: “I’m curious if you saw the Chiefs-Chargers game where Patrick Mahomes was running towards the sideline, the corner kind of conceded, ‘Okay, he can go out of bounds,’ and then Mahomes ran him over. Then other times, you see Mahomes near the sideline, gets hit very lightly, acts like he got shot. So, what’s the teaching point there in terms of him riding the sideline like that?”
Fangio: “Always be aware when you’re near the sideline for all those points you just brought up. One, the quarterback flopping going out of bounds. Two, the quarterback lowering his shoulder and tries to get the last piece of business in there. You have to play with good bent knees and be ready for anything that happens. But Mahomes is the ultimate competitor and it doesn’t surprise me to see him do that.”
I love that Fangio basically acknowledged that Mahomes is a flopper. But I suppose my takeaway here is also that the Eagles seem to have a plan for his nonsense.
In Super Bowl LIX, the Chiefs’ offensive line looked like this:
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Joe Thuney | Mike Caliendo | Creed Humphrey | Trey Smith | Jawaan Taylor |
Humphrey and Smith are both very good at C and RG, respectively. They spent much of the Super Bowl double-teaming Jalen Carter.
The other three spots were major problems. Over the course of the 2024 season the Chiefs tried a few different guys at LT, like Wanya Morris, rookie Kingsley Suamataia, and D.J. Humphries, who they signed in-season. None of them played well, so the Chiefs moved LG Joe Thuney out to LT. Thuney’s move to LT opened up a hole at LG, where 2022 UDFA Mike Caliendo filled in. Major downgrade. Meanwhile, at RT Taylor finished second in the NFL in 2024 with 18 penalties.
With Humphrey and Smith occupied by Carter, the rest of the Eagles’ defensive line annihilated the Chiefs’ three suspect starters, and punished Patrick Mahomes all day.
In Week 1 of 2025, the Chiefs’ offensive line looked like this:
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Josh Simmons (R) | Kingsley Suamataia | Creed Humphrey | Trey Smith | Jawaan Taylor |
Simmons is a rookie coming off of a torn patellar tendon. He had a couple of false starts in his rookie debut, and probably got away with a couple of easy holding calls. He also allowed four pressures, per PFF. He could eventually become a good starting LT, but it’s understandable if he’ll be a work in progress initially.
At LG, the Chiefs traded Thuney to the Bears. Suamataia started at LG Week 1. He mostly played LT in 2024, and as noted above, the Chiefs benched him. He also got some work in at LG in a meaningless Week 18 game. There could be some opportunity for the Eagles to do some damage there on Sunday. Moro Ojomo could have a favorable matchup.
Otherwise, the rest of the Chiefs’ line looks the same. Humphrey (C) and Smith (RG) are back, and Andy is still sticking with Taylor at RT.
#FeastinMeter™️: Six turkey legs 🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗
In the Super Bowl, the Chiefs defense sold out to take away Saquon Barkley, daring Jalen Hurts to beat them through the air. They were successful in limiting Barkley’s effectiveness as a runner, but Hurts tore them apart through the air.
My guess? Spagnuolo will roll out a similar gameplan and once again take his chances with Hurts over Barkley.
In Week 1, Barkley ran 18 times for 60 yards (3.3 YPC) and 1 TD. Oddly, the Eagles didn’t often run out of 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR), which has always been their strength. Instead, they mainly ran out of 12 and 13 personnel (two- and three-TE sets). Those runs didn’t work, as noted by Shane Haff:
Saquon Barkley had 14 carries for 30 yards out of 12 or 13 personnel, including a 16 yard misdirection toss. That basically means he had 13 carries for 14 yards when trying to run behind heavy personnel. He had only 4 carries from 11 personnel, gaining 30 yards.
The Chiefs’ starting linebackers are Nick Bolton and Drue Tranquill. Their third linebacker is Leo Chenal, a good downhill run stopper. Putting an extra TE on the field is only going to get Chenal on the field more, putting the Chiefs in a better position to stop the run.
But also, the Chiefs have some concern areas in their secondary. Defensive back Chamarri Conner plays safety in the Chiefs’ base defense. When the Chiefs are in nickel, Conner plays in the slot, and Jaden Hicks plays safety. Hicks got beaten for two TDs against the Chargers Week 1. He’s No. 21:
Hicks replaced Justin Reid, who left for New Orleans in free agency.
With Jahan Dotson looking like a quality WR3 throughout camp and in the first game of the season, the Eagles should be living in 11 personnel.
Brown didn’t get his first target until there were under two minutes to play against the Cowboys. If he is still hampered by the hamstring injury that kept him out for almost all of training camp, then he probably shouldn’t be playing until he’s healthy. If he’s healthy enough to play, the Eagles need to manufacture some touches for Brown, (a) to keep him happy, (b) to get him involved, (c) to get the Chiefs defense to shift their attention his way, and (d) because he’s really good!
Jones will be a tough early-season challenge for new starting RG Tyler Steen, and Landon Dickerson’s health will be a concern, until it’s not. Jones likes to roam around and pick his favorite matchup along the offensive line. If Dickerson has to exit the game at any point, the Eagles absolutely cannot allow Jones to get any one-on-one reps against backup Brett Toth. Spoiler: That will not go well for the Eagles.
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The Philadelphia Eagles will kick off the NFL season on Thursday night against the Micah Parsons-less Dallas Cowboys. Here are five things to watch.
The Cowboys’ run defense was abysmal in 2024:
| Cowboys run D | Stat | NFL rank |
| Rush yards allowed per game | 137.1 | 29 |
| Rush 1st downs allowed per game | 8.3 | 31 |
| Rushing TDs allowed | 25 | 32 |
| Yards per rush allowed | 4.8 | 28 |
| Rush DVOA | – | 29 |
This offseason, the Cowboys lost their best run defender in DeMarcus Lawrence, and they traded for LB Kenneth Murray to replace the injured DeMarvion Overshown. Grain of salt with PFF as always, but they have given Murray horrid run defense grades for years. NT Mazi Smith has also continued to be a major disappointment.
It might be pointed out here that the Cowboys will have a new defense in 2025, with the hiring of defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. Of course, Eberflus’ Bears defense finished 31st in run defense DVOA last year.
The Cowboys did add Kenny Clark in the Micah Parsons trade, and Jerry Jones spoke at length about how Clark will help the Cowboys’ run defense. Eh.
Meanwhile, the Eagles have an elite rushing offense led by Saquon Barkley, who was arguably the best player in the NFL last season; and Jalen Hurts, who doesn’t get enough recognition for his contributions to the Eagles’ rushing attack.
The Eagles rushed for 366 yards in two blowout wins over the Cowboys in 2024.
The Cowboys are thin at corner. Their projected starters are Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland, and Kaiir Elam. Let’s cover them each individually.
• Trevon Diggs: In January, Diggs had a “chondral tissue graft procedure” on his left knee. He also tore an ACL in that same knee in 2023. Diggs had a huge year in 2021 (11 INTs, 2 pick-sixes), but hasn’t been the same player since because of injuries and inconsistency.
Diggs returned to practice last Monday. To be determined if he can get into football shape in 10 days, but his availability on Thursday night appears to be a real possibility. Still, even if he is able to return to the lineup in time for the start of the season, what is he going to look like?
• DaRon Bland: Like Diggs, Bland also has a monster season in the NFL under his belt, in 2023, when he had 9 INTs, 5 (!) of which he returned for TDs. However, in his follow-up season, Bland missed the first 10 games of the season with a stress fracture in his foot. He played the final 7 games, and had 0 INTs.
With 2024 slot corner Jourdan Lewis leaving in free agency, Bland is likely play outside in the base defense, and shift inside to the slot in nickel.
• Kaiir Elam: The Cowboys traded a fifth-round pick in 2025 and a seventh-round pick in 2026 to the Bills for Elam and a sixth-round pick in 2025. Elam is 6’1 and he runs a 4.39 40, but for whatever reason he was a first-round bust for the Bills. He has just 12 career starts in 3 seasons.
The Cowboys’ primary backup corners are all unavailable:
• Caelen Carson (IR): Carson is a second-year player who started five games for the Cowboys as a rookie last season. He suffered a hyperextended knee in training camp, and will begin the season on IR.
• Shavon Revel Jr. (NFI): Revel was the Cowboys’ third round pick. He tore an ACL in September of last year, ending his season. Otherwise, he’d have been picked much higher. He will miss at least the first four games of the season on the non-football injury list.
• Josh Butler (PUP): Butler is a depth corner who started three games for the Cowboys last season. He tore an ACL in 2024, ending his season. He’ll begin the 2025 season on the PUP list.
So who is left in reserve at CB for the Cowboys? A couple of guys they claimed off of waivers (Trikweze Bridges and Reddy Stewart), and a career special teams guy (C.J. Goodwin). 😬😬😬
Anyway, that group will have their hands full with A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Jahan Dotson.
The Eagles’ concerns at cornerback are child’s play in comparison to the Cowboys’ cornerback issues, but they are concerns nevertheless.
Quinyon Mitchell and slot corner Cooper DeJean are both primed for stardom, but the CB2, likely to be manned by Adoree’ Jackson, is the most worrisome spot in the starting lineup, on either side of the ball.
And certainly, the Cowboys have a trio of receivers who can exploit that in Lamb, Pickens, and playmaker KaVontae Turpin.
The Cowboys’ offensive line will look like this in 2025:
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Tyler Guyton | Tyler Smith | Cooper Beebe | Tyler Booker | Terence Steele |
Let’s start with the interior.
• Smith is a very good player. He’s the only sure thing along the offensive line.
• Beebe had a decent rookie season starting at center after mostly playing guard in college. It’s reasonable to assume he’ll improve in 2025.
• Booker, the Cowboys’ rookie first-round pick, has prototypical size at 6’5, 321, with 34 1/2″ arms, and gigantic hands. As you might expect of a player his size, he gets movement in the run game, and he can anchor against power in pass protection. He also does a nice job of reading stunts and twists, and most importantly to the Cowboys, apparently, is that he is widely regarded as a smart player with leadership intangibles.
But, man, he is not a great athlete, to put it kindly.
That 10-yard split… Yeesh. That’s like, civilian speed. Still, the interior of the Cowboys’ O-line could (maybe should?) be fine.
The tackles? Yuck. 🤢
• At RT, Steele signed a five-year deal worth $82.5 million during the 2023 offseason after a very good 2022 season. He has since been a below-average starter, allowing 17 sacks over the last two seasons, per PFF.
• At LT, Guyton started as a rookie in 2024, and finished second in the NFL with 18 penalties. PFF had him down (very generously) for 6 sacks in 2024. He got benched multiple times during the season.
If there were a player that the Cowboys really needed to have a good training camp this summer, it was Guyton, but he broke a bone in his knee and missed the bulk of camp. Guyton has since returned to practice in a limited capacity, and may or may not play Week 1.
If Guyton can’t play, 2024 seventh-round pick Nate Thomas (0 career snaps) will likely start in his place.
Personally, I would take any other tackle tandem in the NFC over Guyton and Steele.
With the Cowboys likely to give Booker a lot of help against Jalen Carter on the interior, expect Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt to have one-on-one opportunities all night against these tackles.
#FeastinMeter: 7/10 turkey legs. 🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗
The Cowboys might have the best kicker in the NFL in Brandon Aubrey, who is a career 24 of 27 (88.9 percent!) from 50+ yards. He also has the second-longest made field goal in NFL history, at 65 yards.
What’s crazy about that kick is that it was the first quarter. It’s not like it was with seconds left in the half. The Cowboys were confident enough that Aubrey would make that long-ass kick that they were willing to risk giving the Ravens the ball at the Cowboys’ 45-yard line instead of pinning them deep at around the Ravens’ 10.
Aubrey is a weapon who changes in-game strategy.
The Cowboys also have arguably the best return specialist in the NFL in KaVontae Turpin. He can do things like this:
Turpin’s M.O. is to slow play his returns, like he did in the video above. He kind of lulls you to sleep by almost jogging to start his returns, and then he turns on the jets and hits top speed in a blink.
Turpin’s value is higher this season than it was a year ago with the NFL’s new rule that touchbacks come all the way out to the 35 yard line. The Eagles might be inclined to just concede the 35-yard line against a team with a roster that they otherwise completely outclass.
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