December 10, 2023
Kate Frese/for PhillyVoice
Eagles LB Zach Cunningham will be back in the starting lineup Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys.
The Philadelphia Eagles played a San Francisco 49ers team that had three extra days of rest and preparation in advance of their matchup Week 13. In Week 14, the Eagles will once again face a team with three added days of rest in the Dallas Cowboys, who are fresh after beating the Seattle Seahawks at home 10 days ago.
Here are the Eagles' and Cowboys' inactives, with analysis.
Tanner McKee will be the emergency quarterback.
• RB Rashaad Penny: RB4.
• TE Albert Okwuegbunam: With Dallas Goedert healthy again, Goedert is TE1, Jack Stoll is TE2, and Grant Calcaterra is TE3.
• OG Sua Opeta: Jack Driscoll, Tyler Steen, and Fred Johnson will be the Eagles' backup offensive linemen.
• DT Moro Ojomo: The Eagles will roll with 5 active interior defensive linemen.
• LB Nakobe Dean: Entering the 2023 season, Dean was the clear No. 1 linebacker on the roster, as the team was counting on him to take on a much bigger role than what he had as a rookie in 2022. That has not gone to plan, as he landed on injured reserve after suffering a foot injury Week 1 against the Patriots. He returned Week 6 and played in four games before again suffering a foot injury that landed him on injured reserve for a second time this season. When he has played, Dean has been fine as a run defender and as a tackler (PFF has him down for 0 missed tackles), but he has struggled in coverage. PFF has him down for 13 completions on 14 targets for 120 yards.
• CB Avonte Maddox: Maddox had surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle. His season is likely over. The oft-injured Maddox missed games at three different junctures during the season in 2022, and was only able to play in two games in 2023. He also missed three games in 2018, four games in 2019, and six games in 2020. He is one of the best slot corners in the NFL when healthy, but it seems there will always be durability concerns. The Eagles had instability at slot corner for the bulk of the season with seemingly a different plan every week for a while, but Bradley Roby has become something of a full-time starting slot.
• S Justin Evans: Evans was the Eagles' choice to start opposite Reed Blankenship to begin the 2023 season, as he beat out Terrell Edmunds and Sydney Brown during training camp for that opportunity. He started four games for the Eagles, and when healthy, was a competent player. He landed on IR with a knee injury, lost his starting job when the Eagles traded for Kevin Byard, and reverted to season-ending IR when he was unable to make progress toward a return.
Nothing surprising here:
The @dallascowboys inactives against Philadelphia:
— Dallas Cowboys Public Relations (@DallasCowboysPR) December 10, 2023
#15 Trey Lance (emergency third QB)
#19 Noah Igbinoghene (CB)
#37 Eric Scott (CB)
#42 Deuce Vaughn (RB)
#76 Asim Richards (T)
#83 Jalen Brooks (WR)
• CB Trevon Diggs (IR): Diggs tore his ACL during practice in September. He is one of the NFL's elite defensive playmakers, as he has 18 INTs in just 47 career games. He has 4 INTs in 5 career games against the Eagles.
The Cowboys' starting trio at corner was Diggs, Stephon Gilmore, who the team signed in free agency this offseason, and second-year slot corner Daron Bland, With Diggs out, Bland moved into a full-time role on the outside and has absolutely crushed it. picking off 8 passes and returning an NFL record 5 of them for TDs.
If there's a weakness in the Cowboys' secondary in the aftermath of the Diggs injury it's Jourdan Lewis in the slot.
• LB Leighton Vander Esch (IR): Vander Esch is a starting linebacker. He had 30 tackles in 5 games for the Cowboys before landing on IR with a neck injury.
• LB DeMarvion Overshown (IR): Overshown was the Cowboys' third-round pick in the 2023 draft out of Texas. He tore an ACL and is done for the season.
• CB C.J. Goodwin (IR): Goodwin is a core special teamer, and a backup cornerback, and noteworthy because of the loss of Diggs.
• OT Matt Waletzko (IR): Waletzko is a backup tackle/guard. He is on IR with a shoulder injury. The Cowboys are without some depth pieces, but they have had good injury line along their offensive line so far this season.
• OT Josh Ball (IR): Ball suffered a serious hip injury during the preseason, and will miss a substantial amount of time.
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