The Philadelphia Eagles have a decent excuse for their 2-4 start. Injuries have hit hard, and now their injured list includes quarterback Jalen Hurts. It's not the only reason the Eagles are struggling, but it's a factor.
The Dallas Cowboys don't really have many excuses for their 2-4 start. They just haven't played well. The defense has been bad most of the season and the offense has had two off games in a row.
The Cowboys and Eagles were expected to compete for the NFC East title but both just want to get back to .500 before the midway point of the season. The two disappointing teams meet up on Monday night, with the loser on its way toward further obscurity this season. Since Week 2, the Cowboys and Eagles are a combined 1-7.
The Eagles are decimated heading into Monday night. Hurts is out and might miss the rest of the season. He'll be replaced by Tanner McKee, who was ineffective in his first start last week. Starting receivers DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks are out, as is pass rusher Nolan Smith. Offensive tackle Lane Johnson retired a few games into the season. Star running back Saquon Barkley has been out since Week 4 due to a hamstring injury, but could return against Dallas. He's listed as questionable. Anything would help.
The Cowboys' injury report is reasonably clean, but they're slumping. The Cowboys have lost two in a row and scored just 29 points in those two games. Dallas figured out early in the season that its defense, which gave up the most points in the NFL last season, hadn't improved much. The Cowboys still figured to outscore many teams, with Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and Javonte Williams on offense. When the offense dipped the past two games, it hasn't been pretty.
Nothing has come easy for any NFC East team this season. One of these two division rivals will sink even further in the standings.
Who needs it more?
No offense to the Eagles, but it is hard to believe they can stay in the NFC East race without Jalen Hurts. A team this talented shouldn't have its season practically over before the end of October, but that appears to be the case for the Eagles. The Cowboys might still be able to salvage their season. Even though the Giants got a nice win at Houston on Sunday to improve to 4-2-1, they are far from unbeatable. If Dallas loses to an Eagles team that is without several key players to fall to 2-5, not only would their season seem over, the criticism would be relentless after Dallas touted itself as a Super Bowl contender this offseason. Dallas needs this one badly.
Key player: Cowboys RB Javonte Williams
The Cowboys passing game has been pretty good, but the run game has been much less productive than last season. Dallas was 31st in rushing yards after Week 6. That has affected the offense as a whole.
"Because of the lack of a running game, we're a little bit one-sided and the best way to be on offense as a unit is to have balance," Schottenheimer said after last week's loss to the Packers, via ESPN. "So we have to find balance. And again, there's a lot of reasons for that. There's missed blocks, there's bad calls, there's missed runs, there's different things."
Williams is the key figure in the run game. His yards per rush has gone from 4.8 last season to 3.7 so far this season. An effective run game might also help out the defense by keeping the offense on the field. The Eagles have a solid run defense, ranking 13th in yards allowed per carry through six weeks, but Williams and Dallas will have to have some success against it if the offense wants to get back on track.
Betting market watch, by Ben Fawkes
Well, this MNF game certainly is less attractive than the schedule-makers anticipated back in May. This game was Eagles -3 this offseason, re-opened Eagles -1 on the lookahead line and now is Eagles +4.5 with Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith out, among others for Philadelphia. The Eagles' injury list reads like a CVS receipt, but at least they get to face the Cowboys coming off a disheartening 23-13 loss to Green Bay. This will be the Eagles' fourth straight game as an underdog and the third time already this season that Philadelphia is a home 'dog. If Dak Prescott & Co. can't get right in this game, it's going to a long season in Dallas.
Check out more of Ben's work at the Yahoo Sports betting hub.
Fantasy football storylines, by Scott Pianowski
We have to be ready for surprises as that wacky NFC East closes out Week 7. Here are three fantasy themes to track as the Cowboys and Eagles renew their rivalry.
1. What version of Saquon Barkley do we see? Barkley hasn't played a full game since the end of September and he hasn't scored a touchdown all year. Barkley has less help than normal, running behind a substandard offensive line and tied to an offense missing its quarterback and best receiver. But if Barkley's hamstring is healthy, this is a favorable matchup.
2. What's the runout for the Dallas receivers? We always expect receivers to be the variance position in fantasy, but even with that, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens have posted erratic returns this year. The Philadelphia pass defense has been average.
3. Will a pass catcher step up for the Eagles? With DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks unavailable, this is a key issue for Philadelphia. Rookie Makai Lemon hasn't done much yet, while Dallas Goedert has been solid between injuries. Keep an eye on Darius Cooper, who somehow has four touchdowns on just 15 targets. Teams have been shredding the Dallas secondary.
Check out more of Scott's work at the Yahoo Sports fantasy hub.