Expect a dominant Fletcher Cox when Philadelphia Eagles meet Dallas

The Philadelphia Eagles defense has struggled the past few weeks, and there’s only one player who has the ability to turn it all around.

Remember Fletcher Cox? The highest-paid player on the Philadelphia Eagles defense has not been nearly as dominant in 2019 as we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. He’s accumulated a mere 3.5 sacks and only nine quarterback hits with two games left to go in this season, as opposed to last year when he recorded 10.5 sacks to go along with 34 quarterback hits on his way to his First-Team All-Pro selection.

Whether it’s due to the foot injury that forced him to miss all of training camp or the lack of another superb defensive tackle to take some heat away from him, there’s no denying that Cox has severely underachieved this year. Luckily for him, there’s still two game left to be played in 2019, and he has the opportunity to completely rewrite the narrative on him this season with a vintage performance against the Dallas Cowboys this week.

We all know how big this game is going to be. Not only will the winner of this matchup have the inroad to being crowned the champion of the NFC East, but they’ll also likely eliminate the opposing team from playoff contention in the process.

After Dallas put a beating on the defending NFC champion Los Angeles Rams this past Sunday and the Eagles struggled with the lowly Washington Redskins, there won’t be a soul who picks Philly to come out victorious in this NFC East showdown.

With the countless injuries that the Eagles have been dealt and how inconsistent they’ve played on both sides of the ball, any betting man will throw their money on Dallas without hesitation. The Birds will need their leaders to step up and play their best football of the season if they hope to keep their season alive.

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Jim Schwartz’s defense has struggled to stop some very subpar offenses in recent weeks. They allowed Ryan Fitzpatrick and DeVante Parker to have a field day, they let a 38-year-old Eli Manning torch their secondary in the first half of their game against the New York Giants, and this past week they allowed a rookie quarterback with a 20.9 QBR to throw for 261 yards and two touchdowns.

Simply put, the defense needs to step up immensely against Dallas, and it’ll all start with Fletcher Cox. If he can provide pressure through the middle of the Cowboys offensive line, not only will it help in containing running back Ezekiel Elliott, but it’ll force Dak Prescott to make quick reads without being able to step up in the pocket.

The offense has shown the ability to put up points despite being riddled with injuries. Now, the defense has to hold up its end of the bargain.

Big-time players make big-time plays in big games, and this is without a doubt the biggest game of the Eagles season. Fletcher Cox is about as big-time as it gets for a defensive tackle. It’s time for him to ball out and show the rest of the league that he’s still the dominant interior force we all know and love.

If he shows out with a huge game against the hated Cowboys, his Eagles just might find themselves atop the NFC East when it’s all said and done.