Saying that the Dallas Cowboys have had a porous defense in 2026 would be an understatement. Through six games so far this season, they ranked 31st in Dropback EPA, or expected points added, a measure of play-by-play success for opposing passing games. They are a little bit better against the run, ranking 22nd, which is an improvement over where they were to begin the season.

They'll hope to continue that improvement on Monday night, when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles and their beleaguered offense. The Eagles are the walking wounded, and will enter the contest without their dual-threat QB Jalen Hurts, their top two wideouts (DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks) and their No. 2 and 3 tight ends. In addition to their offensive line revamp and new OC Sean Mannion, this is a much different attack than folks foresaw in the summer. To make matters worse, RB Saquon Barkley has missed the last two contests and most of the third with a hamstring injury.

Will Barkley be able to play Monday night against the Cowboys?

Throughout his time with the Eagles, the Cowboys have relatively contained the star running back. Even in 2024 when Barkley ran for 2,005 yards and won the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award, he only had one huge game in his two against Dallas.

• 11/10/24: 14 carries for 66 yards (4.7 ypc), 0 TDs

• 12/29/24: 31 carries for 167 yards (5.4 ypc), 0 TDs

• 9/4/25: 18 carries for 60 yards (3.3 ypc), 1 TD

• 11/23/25: 10 carries for 22 yards (2.2 ypc) 0 TD

Barkley's averaged 5.0 yards per carry since signing with the Eagles as a free agent. Even though Dallas' run defense has been poor the entire time, they've managed Barkley relatively well.

His backups for the season, Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley, are both on IR. Dameon Pierce, formerly of the Houston Texans, will be RB2 for the Eagles.