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Philadelphia returns to the field in the city of brotherly love for the first time in the regular season since winning the Super Bowl. The crowd will be raucous as the Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons kick off the regular season here in 2018. Atlanta’s last trip to Philadelphia led to their exit from the playoffs in the divisional round, but they were just one play away from possibly ending the Eagles magical season. Philadelphia is a -3 point favorite heading into Thursday night and the o/u sits at 45.5.
What Philadelphia Needs to Do Offensively
The speculation surrounding the Eagles’ offense all off season has been settled: Carson Wentz is not ready to go. The hero of the playoffs for Philadelphia, Nick Foles, will once again be under center for the Eagles. No problem right? Foles threw for 971 yards, 6 touchdowns, and just 1 interception while leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl last year.
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That included 246 yards against the Falcons in the divisional round. The biggest question outside of Carson Wentz is what kind of quarterback Foles will be this time around. Prior to the playoff run last season, Foles was an average NFL quarterback. If Foles struggles on Thursday, the Eagles can still be OK if they can run the ball successfully and take the pressure of the quarterback. Doug Pederson is not afraid to think outside the box with his play calling and he has tremendous weapons at the running back position.
Look for Philadelphia to utilize all their running backs, along with Zach Ertz, for a bunch of short throws. Philly’s movement down field will be more of a slow trudge than a dynamic assault. This has worked against the Falcons before and it can work again.
What Philadelphia Needs to Do Defensively
The Eagles defensive unit is a bruised and battered unit. Say what you want about Jim Schwartz as a man or as a head coach, but the guy can coach up a defensive unit. Schwartz will have to do just that as he is plugging in youth and inexperience on a team that last year finished 4th in total defense last season.
Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham anchor this unit and should be able to provide the leadership needed for this to be a top 5-8 defense in the league again. The Falcons offensive plans are to deliver body blows underneath with Sanu, Freeman, and Ridley and then occasionally take the top off of the defense with Julio Jones. You cannot ask any defensive back in the league to cover Julio Jones mix of size and speed for an extended period of time, so the Eagles must get in the face of Matt Ryan. They do not need to necessarily sack Ryan or even hit him, they just need him to feel their presence and make him get rid of the ball early before Jones can escape coverage. The Falcons were terrible in the red zone last year and the Eagles need that to continue. Points will be at a premium on Thursday night so the Eagles need to keep those field goals from becoming touchdowns.
Expectations
Overall, the city of Philadelphia should be rocking on Thursday night. Philadelphia can win this game by protecting Foles and not needing him to do too much. If they get down big early, they are in trouble. Their defense will prevent that from happening. Philadelphia rides the wave of the emotional night and covers -3 by a score of 20-13.
