The Philadelphia Eagles will face not one but two premier talents at wide receiver when they go against the Dallas Cowboys in an NFC East clash on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
Slowing down Ceedee Lamb is a tall task the Eagles are familiar with. But limiting Dallas’ All-Pro receiver while also dealing with George Pickens will make things even more difficult.
That’s especially true for a recently-avenged Eagles cornerback, who will be back in the spotlight against a Dallas offense he struggled with back in Week 1.
Adoree’ Jackson is coming off arguably his best game as an Eagle. The 30-year-old veteran, who signed this offseason to compete for the CB2 job opposite Quinyon Mitchell, has been under scrutiny all year. But he played well in Sunday’s 16-9 win over the Detroit Lions.
Jackson got beat early by Lions speedster Jameson Williams for a 40-yard touchdown. But as defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said, Jackson “hung in there” and bounced back.
Jackson had a third-down pass breakup late in the fourth quarter. He had a key red-zone tackle on an earlier Detroit red-zone trip. That drive ended in a turnover on downs thanks to Jackson’s tight coverage. Jared Goff targeted Amon-Ra St. Brown, but Jackson rode him out of bounds.
It was a big night for Jackson, one he cherished after a collection of rough moments earlier in the season had fans questioning why he was even on the field.
“This was about me coming out here and staying true to myself,” Jackson said after Sunday’s game. “To have that resiliency, that understanding that, at the end of the day, if you can find a way to keep improving and keep stacking those days, good things will happen.”
Good things weren’t happening for Jackson when he first came to Philly. He didn’t perform well in training camp, and those struggles persisted throughout the first half of the season. At the bye week, Jackson’s PFF grade ranked 90th out of 93 corners with at least 200 coverage snaps.
Those figures, as well as the perception of Jackson throughout the Eagles’ fan base, were greatly influenced by his Week 1 performance against Lamb, Pickens and the Cowboys. Dak Prescott picked on Jackson, completing 5 of 7 passes 103 yards. Lamb, specifically, had three catches for 72 yards — and a crucial drop that Jackson lucked out on.
Now, Jackson — as well as Mitchell, Cooper DeJean and Co. — will face a confident Cowboys offense. On Monday, Pickens and Lamb combined for 210 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 14 receptions in a 33-16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Pickens has been ultra-productive since joining from the Steelers with 908 yards and seven touchdowns on 58 catches. Lamb has 557 yards on 40 catches despite missing three games.
In order to win their fifth straight game and take another step toward wrapping up the NFC East, the Eagles will need to limit Lamb and Pickens. And in order to do that, Jackson will have to play more like he did against Detroit than he did against Dallas in Week 1.
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