ARLINGTON, Texas – The stakes are high for Gardner Minshew on Saturday, and however long he remains the Eagles’ quarterback while Jalen Hurts recovers from a dislocated shoulder.
Minshew, after all, could be a free agent after the season, and he has expressed a desire to become the starting quarterback again in the past.
So Minshew knows he can get auditions from all 32 NFL teams against the Cowboys. This is his first start of the season after the previous three games – all in the fourth quarter of victories. Minshew has only caught 4 passes this season, completing 2 for 34 yards.
That will change against the Cowboys.
“I think every time you go out there, it’s an audition,” Minshev said. “This tape never goes away. So you just go out there and try to help your team win. I think if you do that, you’ll succeed.”
Minshew started two games for Hurts last season. The first game was crucial to the Eagles’ playoff chances last Dec. 5. Minshew completed 20 of 25 passes for 242 yards and 2 TDs. He also started the season finale against the Cowboys. The Eagles had already clinched a playoff spot and decided to rest Hurts that day.
Minshew wasn’t as successful in that game, going 19-for-33 for 186 yards with 2 TDs and an interception in the Eagles’ 51-26 loss.
But this is a new season, and Minshev is confident in the players around him.
“We have a lot of really good players,” he said. “I’m really excited to go out with them. I mean, pretty much the entire offensive line is in the Pro Bowl. It’s pretty cool, you know? A lot of great guys to throw to and a defense that plays really well. So I have to go out there and do my job and help us win in whatever way I can.”
The game will begin at 4:25 p.m. and will be televised on FOX with Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi.
Josh Sweet comes in at number 6
Quarterback Josh Sweet is better known for sacking the quarterback than scoring touchdowns.
Still, he was there, picking off a Dak Prescott pass and returning it 42 yards for a touchdown with 9:18 left in the first quarter to give the Eagles a 10-0 lead. For Suit, it’s his first career interception. Sweet was indeed a freshman at Florida State in 2015.
Swett made the play shortly after Minshey hit AJ Brown 48 yards on a perfectly executed pass to the Dallas 10-yard line. That led to a 25-yard field goal by Jake Elliott.
The Eagles are making some moves before the game
As expected, Hurts is on the Eagles’ game day inactive list. Hurts is joined by RB Trey Sermon, LB Kyron Johnson, DE Janarius Robinson, G Josh Sills and G Sua Opeta.
But the Eagles made some other adjustments leading up to the game. They signed LB Christian Ellis to the 53-man roster and placed TE Tyree Jackson on injured reserve. Jackson has a knee injury and will not be able to return until the playoffs.
Also, Reid Blankenship is back after missing last week’s game with a knee injury. He is expected to get the start over K’Vaughn Wallace, although Avont Maddox took some snaps last week.
Ellis, a special teams ace, earned a maximum of three practice squad promotions. Therefore, the Eagles could not use Ellis again in a game unless he was added to the roster. TE Dallas Goedert earned a spot on the open roster when he was taken off IR earlier this week. The Eagles had to create another one for Ellis.
Player Brett Kern was promoted to the practice squad for this game. This is his second.
3 things I watch
- Miles and Mika: Obviously, the Eagles will try to set up a run. That means Myles Sanders should get plenty of opportunities, especially since Minshew won’t hold the ball nearly as much as Hurts on read options. Meanwhile, the Cowboys defense has struggled against the run of late, though Micah Parsons is coming off another All-Pro season. The Cowboys allowed 192 yards on the ground last week, and Dallas will be without run-stopping DT Jonathan Hankins and LB Leighton Vander Esch.
- Duck Attack: The Eagles did not see the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott in the first meeting, a 26-17 Eagles win on October 16. However, Prescott has struggled since returning from a thumb injury, throwing 7 interceptions in his last 4 games. The Eagles, of course, have the most points in the NFL. So ideally, the Eagles would like to put pressure on Prescott and force him to make outside throws that defensive backs can pounce on.
- Dallas in Dallas: While Hurts will sit, the Eagles will return a key offensive player in tight end Dallas Goedert, who missed the last five games with a shoulder injury. In 9 games before the injury, Goedert had 43 catches for 544 yards. When Minshew started last December 5 against the Jets, he completed 6 passes for 105 yards to Goedert.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
