Update: NFL.com is reporting that Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel and right tackle Winston Justice will not travel with the team for Sunday night’s game against the Cowboys. This will be Samuel’s third consecutive missed game. In his absence, Philadelphia’s pass defense has fallen from 13th to 17th and quarterbacks Jay Cutler and Matt Schaub have had big days. King Dunlap will start at right tackle in place of Justice.
Fantasy Impact: In some ways, Samuel’s absence will be something of a wash given that Dallas’ star rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant has recently been placed on injured reserve. However, this is still an offense that features Miles Austin and Jason Witten and given this, and the past four games over which quarterback Jon Kitna has completed 79 of 114 passes (69.3%) for 954 yards, 7 TD passes, 1 TD run, and just two turnovers, with a Roy Williams fumble on Thanksgiving being the only thing separating the Cowboys from a perfect record over that stretch, I still expect the Eagles to have their hands full. Justice’ injury isn’t quite as much of a concern, given that Dunlap has filled in well for Justice and left tackle Jason Peters in the past, and Michael Vick’s elusiveness hides a lot of the offensive line’s deficiencies. Overall, despite the Cowboys’ recent resurgence under interim head coach Jason Garrett, I think the three losses that Philadelphia suffered at the hands of Dallas last season, including the wild card round of the playoffs, will still be fresh in the Birds’ minds and I think they will use the Sunday night stage of the billion-dollar Cowboys Stadium to pay back their rivals as well as to send a message to anyone who stands in their way as they attempt to return to the stadium for the Super Bowl on February 6.
