Time not on Cowboys' side

IRVING, Texas - If there are any lingering doubts about the long-term viability of Chip Kelly's fastbreak-style offense in the NFL, you won't hear about them in the Dallas Cowboys' locker room.

Especially not now, as the Cowboys find themselves facing Kelly's Eagles in the shortest of preparation weeks.

Dallas heads into its traditional Thanksgiving Day home game after playing the New York Giants on the road late Sunday night - the team didn't make it back to North Texas until 5 a.m. Monday. That compressed time frame allows little time to adjust to the unique test Kelly's creation presents.

"We won't get to get the look of how fast it's going to be," defensive end Tyrone Crawford said. "We watch film and we're trying to get the feel that way, but it's more difficult than having a full week and getting the look from the scout offense."

Even if they had time for those reps, the Cowboys really couldn't get a true feel for the Eagles' perpetual hurry-up look, which is unlike any other offense in the league. And lately, it's been operating at its highest speed yet since Kelly brought it with him from the University of Oregon last season.

Through 11 games, the Eagles lead the NFL with 800 offensive plays run, an average of 72.7 per game, up from the 65.9 they ran per game in 2013. And they've picked up the pace considerably since the beginning of the season, running 78 or more plays in four of their past five games, including 83 in last week's victory over Tennessee.

"You see teams that try to run offenses quick and do what Chip does, but no one can do it like they do it," Crawford said. "They get the call in quickly and they get defenses scattered around and get you moving side to side. That's what they are. They're all about speed."

Not coincidentally, the Eagles rank among the top five in total offense (fourth) and scoring (third).

"They have a scheme they believe in, and a big part of that is playing fast and trying to play downhill at you," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "They're able to get themselves lined up quickly, and sometimes the defense doesn't get lined up and that gives them an advantage.

"They run plays they're confident in, that they run well, and they do it again and again and again. They play downhill at you and you have to make sure you're able to keep up with that pace, get lined up and play the right kind of defense."

The Cowboys plan to do that with discipline, communication and an eight-man defensive line rotation designed to keep players fresh.

The goal is to get the defense lined up before the Eagles can get their offense to the line, allowing Dallas to make its defensive calls and be ready when the ball is snapped.

"The key to this game is us being prepared," linebacker Bruce Carter said. "When they come to the line, we have to be waiting on them. If we have any confusion, that's when things start to break down.

"You've got to make the calls, you've got to be ready and set, and there are things you've got to communicate to the d-line and secondary. That's why we have to be really sound in what we do and make sure everyone is on the same page."

The offense has a role in the Dallas plan, too. The Cowboys have remade themselves into a run-first, ball-control team this season in part to help protect a defense that last year allowed the third-most yards in NFL history.

Dallas ranks fourth in the league in time of possession but has lost that battle in three of its past four games. Against the up-tempo Eagles, winning time of possession is high on the priority list.

"They have an explosive offense, so we've got to help our 'D' as much as we can and try to keep the ball," said running back DeMarco Murray, the league's leading rusher with 1,354 yards. "It's important for us to establish the running game and do what we've been doing."

Eventually, though, it will come down to the Dallas defense's ability to keep up with the Eagles' attack. Which, defensive end Jeremy Mincey said, actually requires the defender to "slow your thinking down."

"The thing about the hurry-up is that the offense is rushing, too," Mincey said. "So if you're disciplined and in the spot you're supposed to be in, the odds are good that you'll have a chance of making a play on the ball - if you're sound and disciplined and lined up before those guys are lined up.

"This game is going to take a lot of discipline. We've got to be smart, know the situations, know the down and distance and pay attention to the probabilities within the play."