DALLAS — Those of us of a certain age always retreat to 1992 when the subject of the Cowboys playing at Philadelphia on a Monday night comes up. Two heavyweights going at it after a bye week, so there was a 15-day buildup. It didn’t disappoint. The Eagles landed the haymakers early and often and won the fight. The Cowboys won the ultimate prize by beating Philly two more times on the way to a ...

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley stiff-arms Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown on a second-quarter run at AT&T Stadium on Nov. 10, 2024, in Arlington, Texas.

Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News/TNS

DALLAS — Those of us of a certain age always retreat to 1992 when the subject of the Cowboys playing at Philadelphia on a Monday night comes up. Two heavyweights going at it after a bye week, so there was a 15-day buildup. It didn’t disappoint. The Eagles landed the haymakers early and often and won the fight. The Cowboys won the ultimate prize by beating Philly two more times on the way to a Super Bowl blowout of Buffalo.

This game Monday night at Lincoln Financial Field?

This isn’t that.

The Eagles may have a recent Super Bowl pedigree, the kind the Cowboys only dream of these days — three trips in the last decade, two Lombardi Trophies. But a rash of injuries, age and some odd dismantling from within have Philadelphia entering this game with a four-game losing streak and the same sad record (2-4) as Dallas. If the Giants don’t pull an upset at Houston Sunday (J.J. McCarthy will be New York’s third starting quarterback), then the Cowboys-Eagles game represents a chance for the NFC East to get its first win in three weeks.

Not exactly Super.

As poorly as the Cowboys have played in this stretch of Not Ready for Prime Time performances — losing at home to an undermanned Tampa Bay team, then getting blanked for 30 minutes until the game was out of reach at halftime in Green Bay — they are favored in this game. That has less to do with how the oddsmakers were impressed with some sudden life from the Dallas defense at Lambeau (An interception! Three sacks! No touchdowns after halftime!) and more to do with the state of the Eagles in the post-blood clot era for Jalen Hurts.

Tanner McKee is again expected to start at quarterback for Philadelphia, and therein lies the Cowboys’ brightest of hopes. There are really two games being played on Monday night — an “A” game when Dallas has the ball, the “B” game when the Eagles are on offense — and it is an advantage in the “B” game that gives the Cowboys their best opportunity for a win.

First of all, I recognize that calling the Dallas offense versus the Eagles defense the “A” game is a bit of a stretch. We’re going by the names on the jerseys more than the recent performances. Dallas’ vaunted offense has produced all of 29 points the last two weeks. The Cowboys have the 31st-ranked rushing attack in the league. They are only 13th in total offense and 11th in scoring so a little closer to league average than elite.

Still with Dak and CeeDee and Pickens, a foundation for success is at least in place.

Same goes for the Eagles with tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis and cornerback Cooper DeJean — important Super Bowl players still having fine seasons within a defense that has fallen off. The Eagles rank 27th in total defense and have just three takeaways on the year (same as Dallas). But they’re still sixth best in completion percentage against, and they’re solid on third down (13th) compared to the Cowboys’ defense (32nd).

I see this matchup as a push with the Cowboys not getting close to their goal of 30 points but able to get back to 20 for the first time in three weeks.

It’s the slight improvement on defense, the addition of Joey Porter Jr. and the return of linebacker DeMarvion Overshown that gives the Cowboys the edge in the “B’’ game. Word is that Saquon Barkley may return after missing really the last three games (he was injured on his carry against the Rams in Week 4) with a hamstring injury. That’s an upgrade over fourth-string Dameon Pierce, to say the least, but this Eagles’ offensive line can’t compare to the unit that opened holes for Barkley and protected Hurts on the way to the Super Bowl in the 2024 season.

McKee’s first start of the season was an ugly one against a Carolina defense that is as vulnerable as the Cowboys. He completed passes for just 4.8 yards per attempt, was sacked three times and really was unable to sustain drives for any length of time in a 25-14 loss at home. Porter, who has not yet allowed a completion as a Cowboy, will probably cover DeVonta Smith — the Eagles’ best weapon now that A.J. Brown has been dispatched to New England — most of the night.

The Dallas defense actually broke up eight passes Sunday night in Green Bay. They had eight tackles for losses. They held the Packers’ run game (admittedly an awful one) to 2.2 yards per rush. There are reasons to believe the Cowboys can produce similar results against an offense that won’t have anything close to Jordan Love at quarterback.

And the final piece of the victory puzzle for Dallas could be the fans. As much as they hate the Cowboys in Philly, they hate having a bad team — especially a surprisingly disappointing one — even more. If you thought there was some booing at the last Dallas home game, wait until the Eagles first few punts, especially if they come after three-and-out failures. The Eagles opened last week’s game with five punts, only one of them coming after having gained 10 yards.

Philadelphia might be just about the most hospitable place the Cowboys could find in Week 7.