Eagles-Cowboys scouting report

Carson Wentz will look to rebound from the worst start of his short NFL career against a Cowboys defense ranked No. 21 against the pass with 266 passing yards allowed. The Cowboys have allowed 10 touchdowns and have four interceptions and 11 sacks.

The lack of a top pass rusher is a good sign for an Eagles offensive line that kept the Vikings without a sack last week. The matchup to watch will be defensive end Demarcus Lawrence against Eagles left tackle Jason Peters. The Eagles still have Halapoulivaati Vaitai at right tackle, and he gets the start minutes from his hometown with St. Augustine Prep alumnus Jack Crawford rushing on his side.

The Cowboys are benefiting from steady play from their secondary, with 2012 first-round pick Morris Claiborne impressing at right cornerback and 2015 first-round pick Byron Jones at free safety. The Eagles need more production from Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz, who are supposed to be the team's top two targets. Matthews had 12 catches in the last four games after catching 13 passes in the first two weeks. He scored a touchdown in both of his career visits to Dallas, with 13 catches for 184 yards in those meetings. Matthews will be matched up against Orlando Scandrick in the slot. Ertz caught only two passes the last two weeks, but the Cowboys have been vulnerable against tight ends this season.

The best player on Dallas' defense is linebacker Sean Lee, a former Penn State standout who has terrorized the Eagles in recent seasons. He'll be important in a run defense that ranks 10th in the NFL with 92.2 yards allowed. However, they're allowing 4.4 yards per carry. The Eagles want a balanced offense and will look to establish a running attack with a running-back-by- committee led by Ryan Mathews. He averaged 5 yards per carry the last two weeks, although he fumbled twice in the last three games. The Eagles are sticking with Matthews, but they could continue to get Wendell Smallwood more work.

f it's a close game, the Eagles' special teams have an advantage. They scored kickoff return touchdowns the last two games and Caleb Sturgis has not missed a field goal since the season opener.

Even though rookie quarterback Dak Prescott is thriving in Tony Romo's place at quarterback, the emphasis from the Eagles defense has been stopping the Cowboys' rushing offense. They are No. 1 in the NFL with 161.2 yards per game, and it includes NFL leading rusher Ezekiel Elliott (137 carries, 703 yards, 5 touchdowns). The Cowboys are committed to getting Elliott the ball and can wear teams down with Elliott and an offensive line that includes three Pro Bowlers.

The Eagles have been inconsistent against the run this season, and they need to hope their performance is closer to last week's effort against Minnesota than it was against Washington a week earlier. The Eagles are playing without defensive tackle Bennie Logan and will rely on Beau Allen in his place. The matchup to watch is Fletcher Cox against Ronald Leary, who is an injury replacement on Dallas' line. Look for Cox to receive extra attention, putting the burden on the other defensive linemen.

The Eagles also need their linebackers to match last week's performance - especially middle linebacker Jordan Hicks, who had the best game of his season against Minnesota and the best game of his career last November in Dallas before exiting with a season-ending injury. The linebackers will focus on plugging their gaps and not giving Elliott second-level lanes.

In the passing game, Prescott has only one interception this season and is making sound decisions. The Eagles can force him into bad decisions with pressure - he's been sacked just nine times in six games. The defense forced three of the Eagles' four takeaways last week because of the pass rush. Connor Barwin will have a tough task against left tackle Tyron Smith, so the focus could shift to Brandon Graham against Doug Free on the right side.

The Cowboys' passing game will benefit from the return of star wide receiver Dez Bryant, who missed the last three games. Nolan Carroll could spend most of the time on Bryant. The Cowboys' top receiver this season has been slot receiver Cole Beasley, who has 33 catches for 390 yards and three touchdowns. The Eagles are playing their first game without slot cornerback Ron Brooks. Malcolm Jenkins is the top candidate to replace Brooks in the slot, although the Eagles could mix other options in depending on the matchup with Beasley and what they need elsewhere. Leodis McKelvin should be ready for a full workload and the Eagles have confidence in Jalen Mills. Jaylen Watkins will take on a bigger role at safety when Jenkins plays the slot.

The Eagles also need to know where Jason Witten is at all times - the veteran tight end is a 10-time Pro Bowler and excels at option routes.

Big number: 15:4

That's the combined touchdown-interception ratio for rookie quarterbacks Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott. The two most successful rookie quarterbacks this season have their teams atop the NFC East - Prescott's Cowboys at 5-1 and Wentz's Eagles at 4-2. The NFL has had its share of successful rookie quarterbacks in recent seasons, including Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and Russell Wilson, who all led their teams to the postseason in 2012. But the standard for rookie quarterbacks for Wentz and Prescott to chase is Ben Roethlisberger, who went 13-0 as a starter in 2004 and led the Steelers to the AFC championship game. Peyton Manning and Wilson have the rookie record with 26 touchdowns in a season, and Luck has the rookie record with 4,374 passing yards.

Zach Berman:

Cowboys 23, Eagles 21

Jeff McLane:

Eagles 26, Cowboys 24