Struggling Cowboys and Eagles Meet Monday With NFC East Lead Still Within Reach

The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, both 2-4, meet Monday night in Philadelphia. Each team is looking for a way back into the NFC East race, and the division is weak enough that a turnaround still looks possible.

The New York Giants lead the division at 3-2-1, and the Cowboys and Eagles sit just behind them. Over the past two weeks, every team in the division played twice and none won a game. According to the source, that is the first time since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger that this has happened in a division.

The Eagles are on a four-game losing streak, their first of that length since 2020. Coach Nick Sirianni took over the following year. Philadelphia has scored only 58 points across the four losses, so the offensive struggles go beyond the quarterback. Quarterback Jalen Hurts is on injured reserve and is expected to miss the rest of the season because of blood clots. That leaves Tanner McKee, who spent most of his first two NFL seasons as a backup, in charge of the offense.

McKee made two starts after the Eagles had already clinched a playoff spot, but last week's loss to Carolina was the first meaningful start of his career. He had just two days of first-team practice before it. This week he gets more than a full week to work with first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. "I feel like I have a good preparation process," McKee said, adding that he plans to meet with the coaching staff more rather than prepare alone.

The Eagles' running game is another concern. Saquon Barkley has missed more than two games with a hamstring injury, though he could still return. His backups Will Shipley and Tank Bigsby are also hurt. Carson Steele, signed off the practice squad last week, hurt his shoulder against Carolina. Dameon Pierce was the only Eagles running back to carry the ball in that game, rushing for 35 yards. Dallas has allowed 4.7 yards per carry this season.

The Cowboys have their own problems. They rank 30th in the league in defense under first-year coordinator Christian Parker. On offense they scored only 29 points combined in their last two losses, including last week's 23-13 defeat to Green Bay. They have scored fewer than 20 points in consecutive Dak Prescott starts for the first time since 2019.

Owner Jerry Jones said at the NFL's annual fall meeting on Wednesday that he does not expect to make more coaching changes this season. He described the earlier hiring of longtime defensive assistant Mike Pettine this month as strategic and unique.

Several individual milestones are in play. Javonte Williams is the second Cowboys player with seven rushing touchdowns through the first six games of a season, behind Emmitt Smith's totals in 1994 and 1995. CeeDee Lamb has 48 receptions, third in the NFL and the most in franchise history through six games. He is also closing in on 8,000 career receiving yards. Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert needs one catch to move into third place on the franchise's career receptions list.

Dallas is favored by 4 points. The Cowboys are 3-3 against the spread and the Eagles 1-5. Dallas leads the all-time series 72-58 and won the last meeting 24-21 on Nov. 23, 2025. Kickoff is at 7:15 p.m. CST on ESPN. The Eagles play at Washington on Nov. 1, then host the Giants to finish a divisional stretch that should show whether their season can still be saved.