By Patrick Del Gaone, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
The Philadelphia Eagles will be without defensive tackle Bennie Logan (left groin strain) when they travel to Dallas for a Sunday night showdown at AT&T Stadium.
Logan is one of the team’s premier run-stuffers, and will be a key loss as the team prepares to go against the Cowboys’ top-ranked rushing attack. Philadelphia was able to surmount the absence of the former LSU Tiger against Minnesota last Sunday, but this weekend’s rivalry game presents a much more strenuous challenge with dynamic running back Ezekiel Elliott and the NFL’s best offensive line on the horizon.
“It’s huge,” Pederson said. “Anytime you lose a great player like Bennie for a couple of weeks. But I’ve always been under the next man up mentality, and that’s where we’re at.”
Elliott’s tenacious running style during his time at Ohio State has been a perfect fit behind the Cowboys’ gargantuan lineman. In his first season, the former Buckeye is averaging over five yards per carry and currently leads the NFL in rushing with 703 rushing yards.
“You put the tape on and it seems like every run was an explosive run. We had him here this spring, [he’s a] sharp kid. He’s a true running back. He can catch the ball, he can obviously run the ball. A dynamic difference maker is what we saw in the spring.”
Defensive tackle Beau Allen stepped up and delivered a fine performance filling in for Logan last week, helping hold Minnesota to just 93 rushing yards on 27 running plays in the Eagles’ win. Today, Pederson talked about the value of having a dependable backup along the interior of the defensive front.
“Beau played good [against Minnesota],” Pederson said. “He’s a guy that gives you great effort when he’s in there. Obviously the fumble recovery was big for us. But Beau is consistent, he’s solid, just fortunate to have him.”
After detailing some of the footwork issues rookie quarterback Carson Wentz has been having on Wednesday, Philly’s first-year head coach updated the media on the type of progression he’s made throughout this week of practice.
“It’s been going good this week,” Pederson said. “He really focused in, took the coaching well. When he kind of calms his feet, and he’s right, his timing and accuracy really picks up. But he’s had a good week throwing the ball.”
You can watch the full press conference from Pederson below.
