When the final roster cuts were coming down in late August, many amongst the Philadelphia faithful assumed that linebacker Casey Matthews would find himself on the scrap heap, finally cut after several years of wholly mediocre play and talk of just what his family dinners must have been like as a child (for the record Juan Castillo is, by all accounts, an amazing man and amazing offensive line coach who never should have been allowed to try his hand as a defensive coordinator).
The arrival of finally-healthy, versatile youngster Travis Long - who seemed to be popular with the coaches thanks to his ability to play both inside and outside linebacker - and the continued rise of Najee Goode, a top back-up who seemed to be coming on and may actually have been in line for an increased role this season, made it seem almost a virtual lock that Matthews would find himself out the door.
But an ACL injury to Long in the preseason meant that the window of opportunity for Matthews to don the midnight green stuck open just a bit longer.
Now, ahead of the Eagles Turkey Day match-up with bitter NFC East rival, the Dallas Cowboys, Matthews, instead of finding himself on the scrap heap, finds himself in a starring role - and with a pretty tall task ahead of him.
As one of the two inside linebackers - he is the "Mike" to Mychal Kendricks' "Will" - in Bill Davis' 3-4 scheme, Matthews will, assuming the nose and ends can keep him clean, spend most of his day attempting to corral powerful, yet elusive, running back DeMarco Murray before he can get loose in the secondary and start running roughshod over Philadelphia's overmatched defensive backs.
It is quite the undertaking, especially for a player of Matthews' somewhat, limited, athletic skill.
"It all starts with that run," Matthews said, according to Jeff McLane of The Philadelphia Inquirer. "If they get success running the ball, it opens up their passing game. If you shut it down early, get a little lead, get a cushion, it narrows down their offense."
The Cowboys currently boast the league's second-ranked rushing offense. Murray has 1,354 yards so far this season, by far the best mark in the NFL thanks to one of the best run-blocking offensive lines, which boasts athletic linemen like tackle Tyron Smith and guard Zach Martin.
Murray has gone over 100 yards in 10 of his 11 games this season, and has yet to average less than four yards a carry - he's averaging 5.1 per carry on the year, according to ESPN.
"The stretch is their No. 1 play, but they've got counters, so we've got to have our eyes right this week," Matthews said. "DeMarco - when he gets in the open field, he's able to hit the hole when he's at his best. If you can get him to stop his feet and change direction, I think that's where you can shut him down."
The Eagles' defensive line, a group comprised of starters Cedric Thornton, Benny Logan and Fletcher Cox and key back-ups in Vinny Curry, Beau Allen and Brandon Bair, is one of the league's best run-stopping units.
But the trick for the Eagles, and Matthews, will come at the second level.
His task is a tall one, but if Philly has any hopes of slowing down the - seemingly - unstoppable Dallas offense, it will start with finding a way to corral Murray and the devastating Cowboys run-game.
