Dallas Cowboys: 5 Players that must shine vs Eagles in Week 16
5. Maliek Collins
Dallas’ rushing defense was surprisingly impressive against the Rams in Week 15. It all starts with the interior lineman who can make life tough for an offense in the trenches. Defensive tackle Maliek Collins can make a huge impact against the Eagles.
More from NFL Spin Zone
- Dallas Cowboys made the trade everyone else should have made
- Pittsburgh Steelers rookie sleeper everyone should be talking about
- Anthony Richardson putting jaw-dropping talent on display immediately
- Denver Broncos’ stud wide receiver might be out for a while
- Washington Commanders: Three takeaways from win over Ravens
Doug Pederson will look to attack the Cowboy’s defense on the ground because of the lack of options in the passing game. This would take some pressure off of Wentz in an attempt to control the pace of the game. Unfortunately for Philly, the Cowboys looked much improved in this area recently.
They held Todd Gurley and the Rams to just 22 yards rushing. An injured Jordan Howard might struggle if the defense can put up a similar effort and Collins should be heavily involved in run stopping.
The hope for Dallas is to force Wentz to make play after play through the air against a very stingy Cowboy secondary. They rank seventh overall in passing yards allowed per game through the first 14 games of this season.
While Collins probably won’t be rewarded with many tackles, his job is to basically get in the way by clogging the running gaps — alongside teammate Antwaun Woods. Although the next player on this list will likely be the one recording many of the key tackles.