When a rival’s offensive coordinator spends his time praising your defense in detail, it’s more than just respect; it’s a warning. That’s the message Dallas Cowboys OC Brian Schottenheimer sent this week regarding the Philadelphia Eagles. And it almost sounded like someone who’d sat in on Eagles’ defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s meetings.

“It starts really with the front seven. Very, very talented group. You talked about Jalen Carter. Again, just a dominant interior defensive lineman. Really good move by them to go out and get Jaelan Phillips, a guy that Vic knew in his time in Miami. He’s very disruptive off the edge. Then again, Jordan Davis, I think, is playing great football. Hunt, they’re deep,” Schottenheimer said, subtly warning his team’s offensive line for the upcoming game on November 23.

He carried on praising the other guys, “They’ve got guys, and then Zach Baun, just an incredible linebacker. Great instincts, and he fits their defense to a tee. And then Jihaad Campbell and NaKobe Dean, those are really good players. The front seven is what drives this defense…(Cooper DeJean) can play inside. He plays corner and base, plays nickel and sub, and always finds a way to be around the ball.”

All of that naturally brings back memories of Week 1, when this matchup brought its own fireworks. Eagles Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jalen Carter was tossed before the first snap for spitting on Dak Prescott. Understandably, the Cowboys kept Prescott upright the entire game. It may not look that clean this time around.

Philadelphia’s defense is coming off one of its sharpest outings of the season. Against Detroit, the Eagles forced Jared Goff’s worst completion percentage in 144 career games, pressuring him on 15 of 39 dropbacks and holding a top-five offense to its lowest scoring output of the year. For the season, they’re giving up just 20.1 points per game.

But things might not come as easily against the Dak Prescott-led Dallas offense, which has been firing on all cylinders.

The Cowboys’ offense has enough weapons to come out on top

The Eagles got out with a win back in Week 1, but anyone who watched it knows it easily could’ve swung the other way. Dak Prescott played well enough to win, but his receivers didn’t hold up their end. And the twist heading into this rematch on Sunday is that the Cowboys’ offense has only sharpened since that opener.

Dallas enters the week ranked second in scoring at 29.6 points per game, third in total offense at 378.7 yards, and first in passing at 268.6. It all starts with Prescott, who’s in the middle of one of the cleaner stretches of his career. He’s coming off a 268-yard, four-touchdown night against the Raiders.

Then there’s the receiving tandem of George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb, which gives defenses very little margin for error. Even after both were benched for the first series in Las Vegas, they came right back and made their presence felt. Lamb finished with five catches for 66 yards and a score, while Pickens matched a career high with nine receptions.

Between them, Prescott’s top two targets have put up 98 catches, 1,465 yards, and nine touchdowns. Add in tight end Jake Ferguson’s emergence and running back Javonte Williams giving Dallas real balance in the backfield, and the Eagles’ defense certainly won’t have an easy outing this time around.