The Philadelphia Eagles (9-7) play host to the Dallas Cowboys (11-5) on Saturday night in a special edition of primetime NFL football. Both teams have clinched playoff spots and neither controls its own destiny in terms of final seeding in the NFC playoff picture. The Eagles have also had several players in COVID-19 protocols throughout the week, further muddying the waters. These factors have created a great deal of uncertainty as to what players will be taking the field for this contest.

Let’s take a look at the best Cowboys vs. Eagles player props picks for this Week 18 NFC East matchup.

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Cowboys vs. Eagles Player Props Picks

Corey Clement Anytime Touchdown Scorer

A Week 18 game of questionable importance offers that rare instance where you can find a third-string running back with -110 odds as an anytime touchdown scorer. And we are going to lay the short number here with the belief that Corey Clement will actually find paydirt in this one in such a role.

There’s no guarantee that Dallas ends up deciding to play any or all of its best players in this one. Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard were both listed as questionable at points this week. Even if either or both of them start the game, you have to imagine that as soon as an outcome looks decided either way (and possibly sooner), those two are going straight to the bench and Clement is going to handle the workload the rest of the way.

Clement proved a reliable back during his time in Philadelphia, also creating an interesting motivator for the Wisconsin product here. Clement ran the ball 163 times over four seasons with the Eagles, while also catching 37 passes. He did not lose a single fumble in that span and tallied nine total touchdowns. Clement will surely want to make his mark in a more featured role against his former team. It would be even sweeter for him to reach the endzone here, having grown up just over the bridge from Philadelphia in Glassboro, New Jersey.

Clement will be facing a Philadelphia defense decimated by COVID-19 this week and with little other reason to send its best players onto the field.

Opposing running backs have scored 13 touchdowns against Philadelphia this season with all of them coming from 11 yards out or less. In fact, the Eagles have conceded 12 one-yard touchdowns already this season, an area where we could certainly see Clement get some touches.

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Sean McKeon Anytime Touchdown Scorer

If you have paid attention to Philadelphia’s season, you have learned by now that they have great difficulty guarding the tight end position. The Eagles allowed the third most targets per game (8.19), most receptions per game (6.31), and seventh-most yards per game (62.3) to opposing tight ends.

Most relevant to us here, however, is the fact that only one team allowed more tight end touchdowns than the Eagles all season. Opposing tight ends scored 12 touchdowns in the team’s last 14 contests, only failing to reach paydirt in four of those outings. The first time these two met this season, Dalton Schultz scored twice against the Eagles, starting that run of terror by the position against the Birds.

Schultz is unlikely to play the entire game here and could conceivably not play at all. His backup, Blake Jarwin, is listed as questionable, having just been designated to return from Injured Reserve on Tuesday following a hip injury that held him out since Halloween. How much is he likely to contribute in a somewhat meaningless game?

That leaves Sean McKeon as the next man up and the one we think most likely to see considerable playing time in this game. McKeon has just four catches on the season, but one was a touchdown, one of nine that Dallas tight ends have hauled in this season.

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All four of McKeon’s catches went for 12 yards or fewer this season, making him unlikely to prove a downfield threat. However, that suits just fine against Philadelphia, as the Birds allowed the 11th least yards per catch by tight ends this season (9.86), despite all of their other poor statistics against that position. Following suit, all 12 of the touchdowns that opposing tight ends scored against Philly this season went for 22 yards or less with five of them coming from one or two yards out. Paying out at nearly 5:1, McKeon is a worthy pick to become the next less-than-household tight end name to score against the Eagles this year.

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Greg Ward Anytime Touchdown Scorer

This is wild to take in, but Greg Ward has just six catches on the season, yet is third on the team in receiving touchdowns. In fact, entering last week’s game against Washington, three of Ward’s four catches this year went for scores.

With a scoring rate like that, it’s only natural to want to take a chance on him to score in this game with odds around +350 to do so. After all, logic would dictate that Ward should be on the field for most of this game with Philadelphia expected to rest most of its starters for at least part of this one, given the lack of implications the game itself is likely to have on Philly’s playoff situation.

While only sparingly used this season, Ward has still managed to score 30 percent of the team’s wide receiver touchdowns.

Now, he will face a Dallas defense that will be sitting a number of key defensive players, including one or both starting cornerbacks. The Cowboys have conceded 15 scores to opposing wide receivers this season and saw 61.1 percent of the touchdowns scored against come via the pass, the league’s 13th highest rate.

That may come with the territory a bit for a defense that was ninth-worst at stopping the pass this season. Dallas also concedes the second-highest yards per catch average in the NFL, which could play into Ward’s hands a bit, as he has the highest yards per reception average of any Eagles player with at least three catches this season. Wildly, 10 of the 15 touchdowns scored against Dallas by opposing wide receivers this season went for at least 15 yards. Coincidentally or not, all three of Ward’s scores this season went for 15 yards or longer, including the one he scored against Dallas in the first meeting.

Expect to see him add to his total here against a lower caliber of competition lining up across from him.

Get ready for NFL Week 18 with a $1,001 first bet match, risk-free same game parlay, and other bonuses on Caesars Sportsbook.