The Mississippi State bond between Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott won't matter much when they face other on Monday night at AT&T Stadium.
In other words, if Cox has an opportunity to break through the trenches and put Prescott on the ground, he won't hesitate to do so. Friendship on hold.
"Dak's my guy. We were at Mississippi State at the same time," Cox told the Tiki and Tierney show on Wednesday. "We communicate and we're good friends. But he plays quarterback and I play D-tackle. It's always fun getting after him... I've got a job to do. As long as it's a good hit, you want to affect his throws. If he's still holding the ball, you want him to feel you, because when quarterbacks get hit, they feel that pressure, they see you coming.
"And when you've got a good, clean shot on him, obviously, you want to take it. You don't want to hurt anybody. But if you've got a good, clean shot, you want to take it and get the sack or the strip fumble -- even just be disruptive and get the pressure on the edge... He wants to win and I want to win, so it's going to come down to our defense versus their offense on Monday night."
Through two games, Philadelphia's defense has showed up, as the unit ranks fourth in the NFL in average yards (283.0), second in average points (11.5), and third in yards per play (4.2). They've yet to force a turnover, however, and according to NBC Sports' Rueben Frank, the Eagles are just the third team in history to allow 23 or fewer points through two games without a takeaway.
A Monday night matchup against Prescott, who's fully recovered from a gruesome 2020 ankle injury and a preseason shoulder strain, is no easy task. The Cowboys' sixth-year starter has completed 76.5-percent of his passes for 640 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions through two games, and orchestrated a game-winning drive against the Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday at SoFi Stadium.
Philadelphia (1-1) and Dallas (1-1) are scheduled to kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET on Monday. According to FiveThirtyEight's projections, the Eagles currently have a 34-percent chance to reach the playoffs and a 26-percent chance to win the NFC East.
The entire Eagles conversation between Cox and Tiki and Tierney can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Tiki and Tierney Show on Twitter @TikiAndTierney and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.