NFC East Deadlock: Cowboys and Eagles battle for division survival

The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles meet Monday night in Philadelphia, each team desperate to break a historic slump. Both squads sit at 2-4, and the division is currently winless. Over the last two weeks, every team in the NFC East played twice and failed to win a single game. That marks the first time since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger that a division has gone 0-8 in a two-week span.

The New York Giants hold the division lead at 3-2-1. The Cowboys and Eagles trail by two games, but the gap remains close enough for a turnaround. The Eagles are on a four-game losing streak, their longest since 2020. Their offense has managed just 58 points in those four losses. Quarterback Jalen Hurts is on injured reserve with blood clots and will miss the rest of the season. Backup Tanner McKee will start his first meaningful game of his career.

McKee had only two days of first-team practice before his start last week against Carolina. This week, he has a full week to work with first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. McKee said he feels prepared and plans to meet with the coaching staff more often rather than working alone. The Eagles also face depth issues in the running back room. Saquon Barkley is out with a hamstring injury, while backups Will Shipley and Tank Bigsby are hurt. Carson Steele, signed off the practice squad last week, hurt his shoulder against Carolina. Dameon Pierce was the only running back to carry the ball in that game, rushing for 35 yards.

The Cowboys rank 30th in the league in defense under first-year coordinator Christian Parker. Offensively, they scored only 29 points combined in their last two losses, including a 23-13 defeat to Green Bay last week. Dak Prescott has scored fewer than 20 points in consecutive starts for the first time since 2019. Owner Jerry Jones told reporters at the NFL’s annual fall meeting on Wednesday that he does not expect more coaching changes this season. He described the hiring of defensive assistant Mike Pettine this month as strategic.

Several individual milestones are in play for the Cowboys. Javonte Williams is the second Cowboys player with seven rushing touchdowns through the first six games, 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 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, while the Eagles are 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 will determine if their season is salvageable.