How are you feeling about this matchup?
Even with A.J. Brown not playing, I don’t think the Atlanta Falcons can come to Philly and flat out beat the Philadelphia Eagles.
That being said, the Eagles are absolutely capable of defeating themselves. They cannot continue to make the kind of mistakes that allow their opponent to hang around.
Jalen Hurts must take care of the football. The turnovers need to stop. He doesn’t need to be the biggest reason the Eagles win. He just needs to not be the biggest reason they lose.
The Eagles still have ample offensive talent to work with. Philly’s offensive line appears to be off to a good start. The coaching staff can and should ride Saquon Barkley hard in this spot, just like they did in Week 1. DeVonta Smith had eight catches for 148 yards (18.5 average) the last time Brown didn’t play. At the very least, Dallas Goedert and Jahan Dotson figure to be quality complementary pieces. (Though I do wonder about Hurts’ comfort level with throwing to Dotson, who is conceivably still adjusting to a new quarterback and offensive system.)
It’s not like the Eagles’ offense should be tasked with winning in a shootout. The Falcons managed to muster just a single touchdown in Week 1 with Kirk Cousins looking hampered. One would expect Atlanta to make adjustments, so, it’s possible we’ll see a better version of Cousins than the one who played last weekend. Still, it’d be surprising if the limitations disappeared entirely. Evaluating the Eagles’ pass rush on a slippery field was tough. Now there will be no excuse if they don’t get the job done by putting pressure on the Falcons’ quarterback.
Prior to Brown officially being ruled out, I had the Eagles winning this game by two scores: 27 to 17. I’m going to bring the prediction down slightly to a one-possession game at 24 to 17.
I do feel confident about the Eagles winning this game. Of course, I’m sure observers of the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Baltimore Ravens, etc. all felt good about the outlooks of those teams yesterday morning. The NFL is wacky and it’s best to expect the unexpected.
Ultimately, though, there’s no way the Eagles lose their true home opener on Nick Foles retirement night … right?!
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Suggested format:
Score prediction:
Bold prediction:
My predictions:
Score prediction: 24 to 17, Eagles win.
Bold prediction: Jahan Dotson scores two touchdowns.
Your predictions:
Leave your own score predictions in the comments.
