3 changes the Cowboys need to make to get a win over the Eagles

Week 10 in the NFL means we’re past the halfway point of the season and we’re beginning to see who the real contenders are and who’s faking the funk. The Dallas Cowboys are in a tough position with Dak Prescott out for what looks like it could be a good chunk of the season. Next up on the schedule is a rival in the Philadelphia Eagles, who currently own second place in the NFC East. At 3-5, the Cowboys need a win badly but will need to change a lot of things if they even hope to make this one close.

More than six carries for Dalvin Cook

The former Pro Bowler has been on the active roster for a couple of weeks now so it’s time to take off the training wheels. Let’s see what he’s got for real. Cook had six carries for 12 yards in his first game against San Francisco. On Sunday, Cook received just two rushes, gaining eight yards against the Atlanta Falcons. It’s time to ramp that up and see if the Cowboys can get him 10-12 carries — if not more.

At this point in the season, Dallas has nothing to lose, pulling together all their resources in trying to break this three-game losing streak. Rico Dowdle has been okay since becoming the Cowboy starter but he’s not exactly setting the earth on fire. Dowdle had 75 yards on 12 attempts in the loss to Atlanta, but he didn’t score and his longest rush was 15 yards.

There’s no guarantee Cook produces more but he needs the opportunity to prove he can or cannot. It’s hard to prove much of anything with just six carries. It seems Dallas wanted to bring him along slowly but this is game three and the season is on the line. These Cowboys are banged up from top to bottom so Mike McCarthy should be ready to throw caution to the wind.

Better third-down efficiency

One of the biggest areas the Cowboys have struggled with is third conversion rate. Whenever you want to figure out why a team is losing, many times you need to look no further than third down. Teams that can’t seem to convert on third down are usually losing a lot of games. It almost never fails.

During this three-game losing streak Dallas is currently on, they’ve managed to convert just 10 out of 38 third downs which is 26.3 percent. That will not get it done on a regular basis in the National Football League. It’s hard to see them breaking this trend in Week 10 against the Eagles who are one of the better defenses in the league.

Overall, Dallas’ third-down percentage is 37.9 this season, ranking them 19th in the league. It’s only gotten worse the past few weeks and with Philly on deck this week it probably won’t be improving too much anytime soon. Improving on third down will certainly give the Cowboys a better chance but with all of the injuries they’re dealing with winning this game won’t be easy.

Feature Dallas’ newest acquisition

It’s doubtful Dallas has big plans for Jonathan Mingo this week or even the rest of this season. But, why the hell not? Nothing else they’ve thrown against the wall has stuck so getting Mingo in and actually going to him early and often would probably catch everyone by surprise including the Eagles.

Mingo seems ready to go and has something to prove after his first couple of days of practice with his new team. No consistent receiving option has stepped up other than CeeDee Lamb this season and Jake Ferguson occasionally. Having a legit second and third option will help make Cooper Rush’s job, that much easier. The same can be said for Dak Prescott when he’s healthy. Dallas has nothing to lose coming out this week and seeing what the young man can really do.

"It kind of blindsided me, because my agent told me he didn't think anything was going to happen, slim chance," Mingo said of the trade. "So that slim chance happened. I'm happy to be a Cowboy, fresh start for me, new beginnings, God put me here for a reason."

"There are things I felt like I could've done better, just trying to be more consistent [in Carolina], trying to prove to them what I can be," Mingo explained. "[The Panthers] got me out of there so it is what it is, I'm here now so I can prove to people what I can do and show them the best version of me."