Cowboys-Eagles MNF preview, plus Seattle's 20-3 win over the Chiefs

On Sunday night, Seattle beat Kansas City 20-3 at Lumen Field, handing the Chiefs (now 5-1) their first loss; Jaxon Smith-Njigba had 150 receiving yards and a touchdown for the Seahawks (4-3), according to ESPN's box score and The Seattle Times.

What happened Sunday night in Seattle?

The Seattle Seahawks gave the Kansas City Chiefs their first loss of the season on Sunday night, winning 20-3 at Lumen Field, according to ESPN's box score. Kansas City falls to 5-1 but still leads the AFC West, half a game ahead of Denver (5-2), in NFL.com's standings. Seattle, which arrived on a two-game skid, climbed to 4-3 and sits two games behind San Francisco (6-1) in the NFC West.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba did most of the damage. ESPN's scoring summary shows his 28-yard touchdown catch from Sam Darnold late in the second quarter for a 10-0 lead; The Seattle Times reported that Darnold changed the play at the line after reading a blitz. Smith-Njigba finished with nine catches for 150 yards, the Kansas City Star reported. Darnold went 20 of 28 for 257 yards and a touchdown, per The Seattle Times, but he also threw an end-zone interception to Nohl Williams just before halftime, a throw he acknowledged afterward was a poor decision, the paper reported. Running back Emanuel Wilson finished with exactly 100 yards on 24 carries and put the game away with a 21-yard touchdown run with 3:47 left.

Seattle's defense did the rest. It held an offense that came in leading the league in yards per play to 213 yards, 11 first downs and no trips inside the 20, The Seattle Times reported; the paper said the yardage, first downs and red-zone total were the lowest in Patrick Mahomes' 153 career starts, and the three points tied his fewest. Former Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III, back in Seattle for the first time with Kansas City, was held to 36 yards on 14 carries. Mahomes completed 19 of 33 passes for 165 yards, according to Chiefs Wire, and was intercepted by safety Ty Okada while under pressure, the Kansas City Star reported. Kicker Harrison Butker made a 50-yarder for the Chiefs' only points but missed from 58 and 45 yards. Coach Andy Reid said Butker has been one of the league's most consistent kickers but is a little off right now and the team needs to fix it, the Star reported. Kansas City faces Denver next, Chiefs Wire said.

When and where is the game, and how can I watch?

Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. ET Monday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, and the game airs on ESPN and ABC, according to ESPN's matchup preview. ESPN adds that the game also airs on its alternate "ManningCast" with Peyton and Eli Manning on ESPN2, which Eagles Wire said begins at 8 p.m. ET. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman call the main broadcast, Sporting News reported.

Why does a game between two 2-4 teams matter?

Because of the division they play in. The NFC East has been the league's weakest group this fall. The AP noted that over the past two weekends, every team in the division played twice and none of them won, something the news agency said had not happened since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. ESPN Research flagged the same winless stretch.

The Giants, at 4-2-1, now sit alone in first place after beating the Texans 27-21 in overtime on Sunday. Washington, idle this weekend, is 1-4-1. That leaves the Cowboys and Eagles a game and a half behind New York, with the loser falling to 2-5.

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, speaking to ESPN, summed up the opening: he said the division is there for someone to take over. Cowboys defensive tackle Kenny Clark made a similar point last week, ESPN reported, noting that Dallas had lost but so had everyone else in the division.

What happened to Jalen Hurts, and who is Tanner McKee?

Hurts was placed on injured reserve after being diagnosed with blood clots. The Eagles and Hurts' agent, Nicole Lynn, said in an Oct. 19 statement that he has deep vein thrombosis and blood clots in both lungs, and that they expect a full recovery. Both ESPN and the AP said he is expected to miss the rest of the season.

That puts the offense in the hands of McKee, who had spent two seasons as one of the more highly regarded backups in the league, according to the AP. Monday will be the fourth start of his career and his second in a row. The AP pointed out that his first two starts came late in a season after Philadelphia had already clinched a playoff spot, so last week's game against Carolina was the first one with real stakes.

It did not go well for the team. The Eagles lost 25-14 to the Panthers. ESPN reported McKee completed 26 of 45 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions. McKee told the AP he believes in his preparation routine but plans to meet more with coaches this week, and said this loss hurt more than the earlier ones. He has had a full week of first-team practice this time, under first-year offensive coordinator Sean Mannion.

The problems are bigger than one position. The AP reported that Philadelphia scored only 58 points across its four straight losses, and ESPN said the Eagles rank last in the league in second-half scoring, at five points per game.

What is going on with the Eagles' roster?

A lot, much of it in the last month. Longtime right tackle Lane Johnson announced his retirement on Oct. 6, and the next day the team agreed to trade center Cam Jurgens to Baltimore, the Eagles announced. On Oct. 16, Philadelphia signed quarterback Joe Milton off the Cowboys' practice squad for depth, NFL.com and the Cowboys' website reported.

The injury report is long. According to the final report summarized by Bleeding Green Nation on Yahoo Sports, Philadelphia ruled out wide receivers DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and Dontayvion Wicks (ankle), edge rusher Nolan Smith (concussion) and cornerback Michael Carter II (abdomen). That leaves McKee without his top two receivers; the site listed Makai Lemon, Darius Cooper, Elijah Moore, Hollywood Brown and Britain Covey as the available group.

Seven Eagles are listed as questionable: Barkley (hamstring), guard Landon Dickerson, edge rushers Jonathan Greenard and Jalyx Hunt, tight ends Eli Stowers and Grant Calcaterra, and cornerback Jakorian Bennett. Barkley was a full participant on Saturday after two limited days, which the site read as a sign he plans to play. The AP said he has missed the last two-plus games. Tight end Dallas Goedert practiced fully Saturday and carries no game status.

As of about 8:05 a.m. ET Monday, the NFL's official injury report still listed all seven as questionable. Eagles Wire reported early Monday that NFL Network's Mike Garafolo had said Barkley was in line to play; Eagles Wire also noted that the inactive list, released about 90 minutes before kickoff, will settle it. Greenard, who sat out the last two practices with what he called an ankle sprain, not a high ankle sprain, told NBC Sports Philadelphia he expects to be a game-time decision. He said the Monday night kickoff gives him a little extra time for the ankle to calm down before a decision is made. Hunt was limited all week with knee and ankle injuries, Eagles Wire reported.

Four of the questionable players, Dickerson, Stowers, Calcaterra and Bennett, are on injured reserve with practice windows open. The team must activate them by 4 p.m. ET Monday for them to play, Bleeding Green Nation reported. As of Monday morning, no activations had been reported, according to Eagles Wire's early coverage; the site said an activation announcement would decide whether Stowers, a rookie, makes his NFL debut.

How have the Cowboys gotten here?

Dallas lost 23-13 at Green Bay last week, and the AP said the offense managed just 29 points combined in its two straight losses. Quarterback Dak Prescott has thrown four interceptions over those two games after throwing eight touchdown passes and one interception in the first four, according to ESPN.

The AP added a historical note: it is the first time since 2019 that Dallas has scored fewer than 20 points in back-to-back Prescott starts.

There are bright spots on offense. Running back Javonte Williams has seven rushing touchdowns, which the AP said makes him only the second player in team history to reach that number through six games, after Emmitt Smith. Even so, Dallas ranked 31st in the league in rushing yards per game (76.0) as of Sunday night, according to ESPN's team statistics. Receiver CeeDee Lamb's 48 catches are the most in franchise history through six games, and the AP said he is closing in on 8,000 career receiving yards.

Why is the Dallas defense under so much scrutiny?

The AP said the Cowboys rank 30th in the league in defense under first-year coordinator Christian Parker, and ESPN reported that opposing quarterbacks have completed 69% of their passes against Dallas, which has one interception and eight sacks. Earlier this month the team hired veteran coach Mike Pettine as a senior defensive assistant.

Owner Jerry Jones said at the NFL's fall meeting last week that he does not expect to make any more coaching changes this season, the AP reported, describing the Pettine hire as strategic. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer has taken responsibility publicly, saying some criticism is deserved and that he needs to coach better, according to ESPN.

Parker came to Dallas from Philadelphia's staff under Vic Fangio, the Eagles' defensive coordinator. Asked about his former assistant on Oct. 21, Fangio told reporters that Parker is a good coach who will work through it, according to the Eagles' transcript of his news conference.

Dallas also added cornerback Joey Porter Jr. in a trade, ESPN reported. On the injury side, the Cowboys ruled out linebacker Dee Winters, who is listed with a calf injury on the NFL's official injury report; after the Green Bay game, Schottenheimer had described it as an Achilles strain, DallasCowboys.com reported. Also out are returner and receiver KaVontae Turpin (ribs) and rookie tackle Drew Shelton (hamstring). Edge rusher Marist Liufau and safety P.J. Locke, both on injured reserve with practice windows open, were also ruled out, according to a later Oct. 25 update on DallasCowboys.com.

What happened the last time they met?

Dallas won 24-21 on Nov. 23, 2025, in Arlington, Texas, the AP reported. The AP also noted Dallas has had the NFL's second-best record against division opponents over the last 10 seasons, 40-16, behind only Kansas City.

On the other side, head coach Nick Sirianni has never had a losing season in Philadelphia. The AP said the Eagles would need to go 7-4 the rest of the way to post a sixth straight winning record under him.

What we know

• Kickoff is 8:15 p.m. ET Monday on ESPN and ABC, per ESPN.
• Both teams are 2-4; the Giants lead the division at 4-2-1.
• McKee starts for Philadelphia with Hurts out for the season, according to the AP and ESPN.
• Philadelphia has ruled out DeVonta Smith, Wicks, Nolan Smith and Carter II; Dallas has ruled out Winters, Turpin, Shelton, Liufau and Locke, per the NFL injury report and DallasCowboys.com.

What we don't know yet

• Whether Barkley, Greenard and Hunt will play; the inactive list comes out about 90 minutes before kickoff.
• Which Eagles players on injured reserve will be activated by the 4 p.m. ET Monday deadline.

What happens next

The winner moves to 3-4. The Eagles stay in prime time next week at Washington on Nov. 1, then host the Giants, the AP said. The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 10, according to ESPN, and both teams have already made moves.

*Credits: reporting from ESPN, The Associated Press (via Fox Sports), Bleeding Green Nation (via Yahoo Sports), The Seattle Times, the Kansas City Star, Chiefs Wire and Eagles Wire (USA Today Sports Media Group), NBC Sports Philadelphia, Sporting News, the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys team sites and NFL.com. NewsCubby articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed by humans.*

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