In the wake of last week's loss to the Tennessee Titans, the Dallas Cowboys are facing a must-win situation for basically the rest of the season.
Sunday's NFC East matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles presents a significant challenge that has been augmented by Philly's recent acquisition of wide receiver Golden Tate. Tate burned Dallas during the Detroit Lions' loss in September, and Dallas is eager to prevent a repeat performance when he makes his Philly debut.
"We've got to prepare for everything and be on our toes and hopefully not let that happen again," Cowboys cornerback Chidobe Awuzie said, per Kate Hairopoulos of The Dallas Morning News. "That's probably why the Eagles got him, honestly. They know we don't like him."
The Eagles will be hoping for a repeat of Tate's Week 4 effort when he tallied 132 yards and touchdowns of 45 and 38 yards on eight catches via eight targets.
For Awuzie and the rest of the Cowboys secondary, he presents a significant challenge. Since 2014, Tate leads the NFL in missed tackles (108) and his 1,528 yards after the catch over the last three seasons is by far the best in the league (Jarvis Landry in second at 1,367), according to NFL Research.
With numbers like those, the Eagles are hoping trading for Tate will help them produce the same result that their mid-season trade for Jay Ajayi helped create -- a Super Bowl title. For the Cowboys, Tate, in combination with Alshon Jeffery, Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor and Zach Ertz, will provide a tough test for their fifth-ranked passing defense (217.0 YPG).
While the Eagles might be thinking Super Bowl amid an inconsistent 4-4 start, the Cowboys (3-5) understand their season is teetering on the brink of relevance.
"We'll prepare our best way. It's no extra or nothing less," Awuzie said. "When you love this game you approach everything like it's the hardest challenge, like it's the Super Bowl. We're going to approach this game like it's the Super Bowl."
