When the Cowboys and Eagles landed on the Monday Night Football schedule, this probably wasn’t the matchup anyone had in mind.

Both teams are 2-4. Philadelphia has lost four straight, and Dallas has dropped two in a row after looking like they could score on just about anybody. Now, with the 4-2-1 Giants sitting atop the NFC East, neither team is out of the division race. But they can't keep waiting for things to magically turn around, either.

The names still make this game matter. Dak Prescott has CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Saquon Barkley could be back for Philadelphia. But Jalen Hurts won’t be on the other side of the field. He’s out for the year after the wild blood clot fiasco. His health comes first. On the field, Tanner McKee's getting ready for his second start of the season.

That changes the way we should look at this matchup. This isn’t about which team has the better collection of stars. It’s about which offense can stay functional for four quarters and give their defense enough help to win.

Can Philadelphia Make Life Easier for Tanner McKee?

The Eagles’ offense was already having issues before Hurts landed on injured reserve. Through six games, Philadelphia's averaging 255.5 yards a game, 30th in the NFL, and 17.7 points, 28th. Losing the starting quarterback only made a tough situation tougher.

McKee completed 26 of 45 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown in last week’s 25-14 loss to Carolina. He didn’t turn the ball over, which is important. But the Eagles still managed just 222 total yards, and they spent most of the game asking McKee to save drives that were already in trouble. The running game produced 35 yards. Thirty-five. That’s not exactly a quarterback’s best friend, especially when he’s making his first start of the season.

Barkley being back out there is the obvious place to look for a spark. He’s missed the past two games with a hamstring injury but was limited in practice Thursday and Friday. Dallas has allowed nearly 150 rushing yards a game, the most in the league. If Barkley can play, Philadelphia should test that matchup early and see if it’s really as favorable as it looks.

A functional run game would do more than pad Barkley’s stat line. It would keep McKee out of third-and-long and give offensive coordinator Sean Mannion a real play-action threat. McKee talked this week about staying on schedule and living to fight another down:

There are times, if it's a bad play, don't make a bad play worse. Obviously taking care of the ball, but sometimes as a quarterback the best play is to throw the ball away and not take a sack. It's boring, and sometimes it sucks, but at the same time second-and-10 is a lot better than second-and-18

That sounds simple, maybe even boring, until you're watching an offense do it over and over again for four quarters.

There’s another concern, too: Philadelphia’s receiving group could be really thin. DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, and Dontayvion Wicks all missed Friday’s practice. Whether they’re available will be huge for a quarterback still trying to find some rhythm.

Can Dallas Turn Points Into Control?

The Cowboys’ season average of 25.2 points looks fine on paper. The way they’ve gotten there is a little less comforting.

Dallas averaged 30.5 points over their first four games. They've scored 29 total over the past two. Against Green Bay last Sunday, the Cowboys fell behind 17-0 by halftime and had Prescott throw 54 passes in a 23-13 loss. That’s a whole lot of work for 13 points.

The passing game hasn't been the problem this season though. Lamb has 48 catches for 577 yards. Pickens has 33 for 428. Prescott's thrown 10 touchdowns through six games. When Dallas gets both receivers involved, defenses have to pick their poison.

The problem is everything around those throws. Dallas calls pass plays on 70.4% of their offensive snaps, the highest rate in the league, and they average just 76 rushing yards a game. Some of that imbalance comes from playing from behind. Some of it helps explain why the Cowboys keep playing from behind in the first place: drives are tough to sustain when defenses know Prescott's going to throw.

Dak knows it, too. He said this week that Dallas needs to stick with the run because it opens up the rest of the offense and keeps opponents from teeing off on the quarterback. He Knows they're up against it now:

We’ve got to go win.

Philadelphia's going to be an interesting test. Vic Fangio’s defense blitzes at one of the lowest rates in the league, but Tampa Bay and Green Bay have both made Prescott uncomfortable with pressure lately. He’s thrown four interceptions over the past two games and completed only 52.6% of his passes against the blitz in that stretch. Does Fangio send more rushers than usual, or trust his coverage and make Prescott stay patient?

Dallas doesn’t need to turn Javonte Williams into a 25-carry centerpiece. They just need enough from him to avoid another night where every meaningful snap feels like Dak versus the world. The Cowboys average only 27:37 in possession, 30th in the league.

Which Defense Actually Changes a Possession?

Both defenses have guys who can wreck a play. The problem is, neither one has done much with those moments once they’ve created them.

Dallas has just one interception through six games. Dee Winters finally got it against Green Bay, then left with an injury and didn’t practice Friday. The Cowboys are minus-four in turnover differential. Philadelphia has three interceptions and is minus-two. So no, these aren’t defenses that have been regularly handing their offenses short fields.

That matters when both offenses are operating with so little room for error. An interception near midfield could help Tanner McKee more than three solid completions. A strip-sack could give Dak Prescott the kind of field position Dallas hasn’t been able to create on their own.

Philadelphia has the steadier back end. Opponents have completed just 60.4% of their passes against the Eagles, and the front still has Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis clogging things up inside. And don't forget about Zack Baun, who can make something happen behind them.

Dallas ranks last in yards allowed per play and rushing yards allowed, and they've given up at least 20 points in 13 straight games. It’s tough to keep asking the offense to be perfect when the defense keeps putting that much on their plate.

There were some encouraging moments for the Cowboys against Green Bay. They generated pressure and finally picked off a pass. But the Packers converted 11 of 18 third downs, including nine of 10 before halftime. Pressure that doesn’t get a team off the field starts to feel less like a game-changer and more like a nice little footnote in somebody else’s win.

All stats courtesy of Fantasy Points Data.

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