Today’s game vs the Dallas Cowboys may be the most important of the season for the Eagles. Not just because it comes against our most hated rival, but because of what it could mean for the Eagles the rest of the way. Winning today would put them in an amazing position to win the NFC East.If they win, they will be 8-1, and the Cowboys will be 5-3. A 2.5-game lead, with 8 games left in the season, and obviously a head-to-head win. It would not seal the division for them, but it would make it incredibly difficult for the Cowboys to come back.

Yes, the Eagles have a tough stretch coming up. But it is not a cakewalk for the Cowboys either. Their next 3 games are Giants, Panthers, and Commanders. But after that, they have to play the Seahawks, the Bills in Buffalo, the Dolphins in Miami, and the Lions, on top of the Eagles again. However, if they lose to the Cowboys, it becomes just a half-game lead with the Cowboys having the edge in head to head, and in their divisional record.

The Eagles can win this game, then go just 2-3 over their tough 5-game stretch, and still get to 13-4. Their final 3 games are against the Cardinals and the Giants twice. But the path to 13 gets much harder if they lose.

So what will it take to walk away with a win over the Cowboys? The 49ers gave us a bit of a game plan for beating up on the Cowboys. Get lots of pressure on Dak Prescott, and run the ball. Two things the Eagles happen to excel at. But in order to pull that off, certain players are going to have to have big games. Let’s look at some of the most important Eagles players today (other than the obvious choice of Jalen Hurts).

Here are the 6 most important players (besides Jalen Hurts) for the Eagles this Sunday:

• Jordan Mailata

  The Eagles’ most important player this week may be Jordan Mailata, along with Lane Johnson. It will fall on those two to stop Micah Parsons. The good news is that Mailata is having an All-Pro Caliber season. Last year he struggled a little bit in pass coverage while being dominant in the run game. This year he is dominant at both. He is winning on 91% of pass blocks, and 81% of run blocks. The run block number is the second-highest in the league. And for whatever it is worth, PFF rates him as the top Offensive Lineman in the league through 8 weeks.

  PFF on Twitter: "The highest-graded offensive line this season:LT: Jordan Mailata - 86.9LG: Tyler Smith - 83.3C: Ryan Kelly - 83.5RG: Kevin Dotson - 85.3RT: Penei Sewell - 82.4 pic.twitter.com/bGIrW7lgHi / Twitter"

  The highest-graded offensive line this season:LT: Jordan Mailata - 86.9LG: Tyler Smith - 83.3C: Ryan Kelly - 83.5RG: Kevin Dotson - 85.3RT: Penei Sewell - 82.4 pic.twitter.com/bGIrW7lgHi

• A.J. Brown

  As long as Brown keeps putting up 125 yards per game, he will keep appearing on this list. Last week he became the first player ever to do so in 6 straight games. Can he make it 7? It will be his toughest test to date. The Cowboys have two outside corners, and both are playing at a very high level. Daron Bland and Stephon Gillmore. But Brown hasn’t just been picking on bad corners. On both of his TDs last week there was good coverage on him, he just made a great play on the ball. Hurts has the utmost trust in Brown and is not afraid to target him even when the windows are tight. So I won’t be shocked if he shows up again despite the tough matchup.

  NFL on Twitter: "AJ BROWN CONTINUES TO AMAZE.📺: #PHIvsWAS on FOX📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/Quwvdzpx7G pic.twitter.com/sBds7uLXan / Twitter"

  AJ BROWN CONTINUES TO AMAZE.📺: #PHIvsWAS on FOX📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/Quwvdzpx7G pic.twitter.com/sBds7uLXan

• D'Andre Swift

  Swift has slowed down a little bit after his scorching hot start. Not to say he has played poorly; he is just not impossible to stop like he was a few weeks earlier in the season. But if there was a week for him to get back to that form, this is it. The Cowboys are elite against the pass, and very mediocre against the run. They give up 108.9 yards per game and 4.1 yards per carry.

  The Eagles have had success in the past running the ball at Micah Parsons. And if they can do that with Swift, and find success doing so, it will go a long way to keeping him from getting after Jalen Hurts.

  FOX Sports: NFL on Twitter: "Touchdown D'Andre Swift to extend the Eagles lead!📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/O9Lt6J7q2t / Twitter"

  Touchdown D'Andre Swift to extend the Eagles lead!📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/O9Lt6J7q2t

• Whoever They Put In The Slot Against Cee Dee Lamb

  A lot of corners have been in the slot for the Eagles this year. Avonte Maddox, Mario Goodrich, James Bradberry, Eli Ricks, Bradley Roby, Sydney Brown, just to name a few. Last week it was a mixture of Ricks and Brown, and it did not go great. Part of that was the lack of Safety help, but some blame has to go on the rookie Brown as well.

  Whoever is in there this week has a huge task, covering Cee Dee Lamb. Lamb spends over 60% of his time in the slot, and that is about how much of the Cowboys offense he accounts for as well. He has 633 yards, while the rest of the offense has 517. He has half of their TD receptions. If you slow him down, you stop the Cowboys.

  It’s unlikely they leave the slot corner on an Island against Lamb, but whoever is there is their most important player on defense for this game.

  NFL on Twitter: "You gotta Cee Dee highlights from Lamb's career-high game 🔥🔹 12 catches🔹 158 yards🔹 2 TDs pic.twitter.com/H8hjbIKQVz / Twitter"

  You gotta Cee Dee highlights from Lamb's career-high game 🔥🔹 12 catches🔹 158 yards🔹 2 TDs pic.twitter.com/H8hjbIKQVz

• Josh Sweat

  The Eagles have a lot of elite pass rushers. But the most important one in this game might be Josh Sweat. The Cowboys star LT Tyron Smith is hurt (what else is new). It seems like he will be able to play, but even if he does he will likely be battling through his injury. Sweat has 15 QB Hits, and 43 QB Pressures, 5th and 3rd in the league. He also leads the league in 4th Quarter pressures with 17. It seems like a good time for Sweat to step up and take advantage of the ailing big man.

  Sweat also has a history against Dak, having gotten a Pick 6 off of him in the past.

  NFL on Twitter: "JOSH SWEAT PICK-6 👀 @SweatyJ_9📺: #PHIvsDAL on FOX📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/Gd75wO7QMX pic.twitter.com/9gft9EEE0i / Twitter"

  JOSH SWEAT PICK-6 👀 @SweatyJ_9📺: #PHIvsDAL on FOX📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/Gd75wO7QMX pic.twitter.com/9gft9EEE0i

• Haason Reddick

  Terrence Steele on the other side of the Cowboys’ O-Line is not hurt. But he is less than a year removed from an ACL tear. It has not kept him off the field, but at times it impacted his play. A big reason why the Cowboys got whooped by the Niners was Steel was getting beaten badly all game long. And Reddick has been on a tear for several weeks now. He seems to get his Sacks in the biggest moment, and a timely sack of Dak Prescott could be in store this week.

  Philadelphia Eagles on Twitter: "THERE HE GOES @Haason7Reddick pic.twitter.com/KNZWI75P3i / Twitter"

  THERE HE GOES @Haason7Reddick pic.twitter.com/KNZWI75P3i

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