Philadelphia Eagles versus Dallas Cowboys: 10 Story lines to watch

4. How effective will Alshon Jeffery be?

We were all kind of blindsided on Thursday when Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery‘s name just sort of popped up on the team’s injury report. He’s listed as questionable, so it’s not certain as to whether or not he can go. He’s been very productive over the last two weeks, but some have questioned his slow start.

One thing’s certain though. His presence makes a difference whether he catches the ball or not. Just having him on the field is honestly why so many of the other guys have seen opportunities to make plays

5. Bill Vinovich and his crew are officiating the game.

Sometimes, it can appear to be rather juvenile to complain about officiating and blame losses on refs. No one ever seems to credit refs for their wins, but this is a point that’s pretty interesting when you look at it. Philly’s lost three of the last five games Vinovich has officiated since 2012. The Cowboys, on the other hand, are 2-1 when he’s officiated theirs, and teams playing the Cowboys have seen the yellow markers thrown on their direction quite often. Keep in mind this is a home game for Dallas.

Well, there is good news. At least it isn’t Pete Morelli and his guys.

6. Could this be the game that the Eagles truly miss Jordan Hicks?

Say what you want to say about what the Eagles are or aren’t without their middle linebacker Jordan Hicks. Sure, by his standards, he was experiencing an off year when he was in the lineup. It’s just hard to ignore how great he’s been when he’s played the Cowboys. He’s, kind of, done to Dallas what Jason Witten always does to Philly.

He’ll be missed in this one.