Clarence Hill’s 5 Things the Dallas Cowboys must do to beat the Philadelphia Eagles

Cooper Rush is undefeated as the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.

But he’s under no illusion that he will keep the job when Dak Prescott returns to health, possibly as soon as next week’s game against the Detroit Lions.

“He’s gonna bring that energy and he’s communicating with everyone, and, yeah, he obviously wants to play and whenever he’s ready, he will,” Rush said when asked how Prescott has supporting him in practice and games while itching to get back on the field.

Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles could be Rush’s final start before Prescott returns. If he wants to keep his record as a starter spotless and unblemished, he needs to continue to follow the same formula for success that has allowed to lead the Cowboys on their current four game winning streak.

Don’t turn the ball over and make timely plays in the passing game.

The Cowboys have never been a situation where they faced a large deficit, forcing them to get out of their balance game plan and make Rush have to lean on the passing game.

In each of the last three weeks when the Cowboys have fell behind, he directed them on a scoring drive to retake they lead and they never trailed again.

“I got a tremendous amount of confidence in Cooper Rush. I think the most important focus for Cooper is to stay true to the plan,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “I think that’s huge strength of his. We’re not going to ask him to go out there and throw it 60 times a game and those types of things. He’s very, very intelligent, instinctive aware and their defense is playing at a high level too. Cooper is just going to stay within himself.”

5 Things the Cowboys must do to beat the Eagles:

Keep Dak Prescott on the sideline

Don’t be fooled by quarterback Dak Prescott officially being listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Eagles.

Consider it a bit of gamesmanship by the Cowboys to keep the Eagles guessing and the fans and media talking.

Prescott has missed the past four games with a fractured thumb. He threw to receivers on Wednesday for the first time since undergoing surgery to have plate put in his thumb on Sept. 12.

He was limited participant in practice on Thursday, taking a few reps during individual red zone drills. And he took Friday off with the rest of the team as a regeneration day.

Prescott was sore from throwing on Thursday.

Will Prescott be listed a primary backup on Sunday?

“We’ve thrown on air,” McCarthy said. “We haven’t thrown in a competitive drill so that’s one of the next hurdles. Hopefully we will potentially get over that (Saturday).”

Manage the health of linebacker Micah Parsons

There is no question that superstar linebacker Micah Parsons, fresh off winning NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors from a two-sack performance against the Los Angeles Rams, is going to play against the Eagles.

He is from Harrisburg, Pa., and will have many friends and family in the stands.

The question is how much he will he play and how effective he will be after being limited in practice all week managing a groin injury?

It will depends on how he looks warming up before the game. The Cowboys could limit to rushing only on passing downs.

But they need Parsons on the field to help run down Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

“Yeah, obviously I’m going to definitely take care toward it so I can play my best,” said Parsons, who tied for the NFL lead with six sacks on the season.

Contain Jalen Hurts as a runner

Speaking of Hurts, a primary focus of the Cowboys defense will be trying to contain the mobile Eagles quarterback, who is more dangerous as a runner than he is a passer.

Hurts has four passing touchdowns this season to six rushing touchdowns. The Eagles use him designed runs and he kills defenses with his scrambles from the pocket.

The Cowboys will have a spy on Hurts but they also will be fundamentally sound in their pass rush lanes to keep Hurts from exploiting their aggressiveness.

“It’s a great challenge,” Parsons said. “You look at the film, he’s just extending plays. He’s breaking the threshold of the coverage and he has some weapons that he can look downfield to. Guys are going to get open so we got to try to do our best to contain that this week.”

One thing to note is that the Eagles offense is better early than it is late, averaging 2.4 points per game in the fourth quarter to rank 29th in the NFL. It’s 3.4 in the third quarter, compared to 18.4 points in the second quarter to lead the league.

It’s a product of team’s getting accustomed to Philadelphia’s uptempo style and slowing them down in the second half.

Run the ball with Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott

Offensively, the Cowboys game plan is simple. Pound the ball with running backs Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott to take pressure off of quarterback Cooper Rush as well as a young offense line.

And then use the play-action pass to take shots down field in the passing game.

But it starts with Elliott and Pollard. They combined to rush for 164 yards on 30 carries in last week’s win against the Rams.

“We certainly want to run the ball,” offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said. “Certainly with Tony and Zeke and having those guys healthy, you want to get those guys opportunities in the run game. I think the way these games have gone they have provided us with opportunities to get those touches.”

The Cowboys, however, must improve on third down. Running the ball better on first and second down will give them better chances to convert on third down and keep the chains moving.

The Cowboys rank 29th in the NFL on third down with a 30.88 percent conversion rate.

Handle Eagles crowd and hostile environment

Cowboys offensive guard Jason Peters spent more than a decade in Philadelphia, so Sunday’s game will be special homecoming for him.

“I got my first Super Bowl there. I laid a lot of bricks there,” Peters said. “Philly, that’s my city. Just to go back, it’ll be great to beat ‘em.”

Peters knows he and his teammates will not be greeted with the warmest of welcomes by a Philadelphia crowd and fan base that hates the Cowboys more than anything.

“I just know Philly fans are (expletive) idiots when it comes to the camaraderie and the Cowboys, any team, really,” Peters said. “They know that. They pride themselves on being nasty. They’re going to cuss at you. ... Philly fans are the wildest fans out there.”

Peters is expected to get back in the lineup in a rotation at left guard after missing last week’s game with a chest injury. He can’t wait to take on his former teammates.

“It’s going to be a dogfight,” Peters said. “I had a few [former teammates] text me. But they know what I bring to the table and they’re going to be prepared for it, no doubt. But they know what’s coming to them.