Cowboys and Eagles at 2-4: NFC East stays within reach Monday

The Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles both sit at 2-4, one game behind the New York Giants at 3-2-1 in the NFC East. The winner of Monday night's meeting in Philadelphia moves into a tie with New York for the division lead.

The division has produced no winners for two weeks. Every NFC East team played twice in that span and none won a game, the first time that has occurred in a division since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, according to the source.

Philadelphia has lost four straight, its longest skid since 2020, and scored 58 points across those losses. Jalen Hurts is on injured reserve with blood clots and is expected to miss the rest of the season. Tanner McKee takes over after making two starts once the Eagles had already clinched a playoff berth; last week's loss to Carolina was his first meaningful start, and he had two days of first-team practice before it. "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. He works with first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion this week with more than a full week of preparation.

Philadelphia's running game is depleted. Saquon Barkley has missed more than two games with a hamstring injury, and 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 Eagles back to carry the ball in that game, for 35 yards. Dallas has allowed 4.7 yards per carry this season.

The Cowboys rank 30th in defensive efficiency under first-year coordinator Christian Parker. They scored 29 points combined across their last two losses, including 23-13 to Green Bay last week, and 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 more coaching changes this season, calling the earlier hiring of Mike Pettine strategic and unique.

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

Dallas is favored by 4 points. The Cowboys are 3-3 against the spread and the Eagles 1-5. Dallas leads the series 72-58 and won the last meeting 24-21 on Nov. 23, 2025. Kickoff is 7:15 p.m. CST on ESPN. The Eagles visit Washington on Nov. 1, then host the Giants to close a divisional stretch.

The Eagles lost four of their last five games and Hurts remains on injured reserve.