Eagles opposing player to stop, Week 13 edition

When the Eagles take the field against the AFC North Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium, they will have gone over two months without losing a game. The Eagles’ seven-game win streak stretches back to September 29th at Tampa Bay. Since then, the Eagles have suddenly emerged as “Super Bowl contenders.”

They do lead the woeful NFC East over the upstart Washington Commanders by 2.5 games. The Eagles possess the NFL’s No. 1 defense, surrendering 274.6 yards a game, and are giving up 18.1 points a game, the sixth-lowest amount in the NFL. The huge question is who they have done this against: The Eagles past seven opponents have a cumulative 28-52 record that have been outscored by 361 points. Washington is the only team that the Eagles have beaten that is over .500. Washington and Cincinnati are the only two teams of the last seven Eagles’ opponents that are on the positive side in outscoring their opponents.

The Eagles will face the biggest test of their season in reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens, the NFL’s leading offense that averages 426.7 yards a game and 30.1 points a game, which is No. 2 in the NFL.

Personally, Jackson has a 23-1 record against the NFC, and has only faced the Eagles once, on October 18, 2020, at Lincoln Financial Field, which resulted in a 30-28 Baltimore victory. Jackson displayed all his skills in that game, throwing for one score and scoring on a 37-yard, third-quarter touchdown. Baltimore led 24-6 entering the fourth quarter, when Carson Wentz led the Eagles back to make it competitive (which seems like a 1,000 years ago).

Ravens coach John Harbaugh certainly thinks highly of the Eagles.

“This is a really good team we’re playing,” he said on Wednesday talking to the Baltimore media. “I think some people think that they might be the best team in the league.”

To combat Jackson, the Eagles may have to do that with Saquon Barkley, and their punishing running game. That will be a test. Right now, the Ravens are No. 2 in the NFL against the run, surrendering 935 yards for an average of 77.9 yards a game. The Ravens are one of only four NFL teams that have given up less than 1,000 yards rushing this season. Here’s the issue: Baltimore is a team that entices opponents into shootouts, since the Baltimore defense ranks dead last in the NFL against the pass, giving up an NFL-high 3,332 yards, almost 300 yards more than the nearest team (Jacksonville-3,061 yards). So far, Baltimore and Jacksonville are the only two teams in the NFL that have given up over 3,000 yards passing this season.

When asked about facing the Ravens’ offense, especially without Brandon Graham, who is out for the year with a torn triceps, Eagles’ defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said, “[Baltimore’s] whole offense is dynamite. They run it great. They throw it great. They’ve got good receivers. They’ve got the best group of receivers there that they’ve had in a really long time. Two really good tight ends. Their line is blocking good. It’s no accident they have the No. 1 offense in the league.”

As for facing Jackson and the offense coordinator Todd Monken has built, “Well, he’s got a lot of talent, and they run it effectively. They play pass it effectively. They drop back effectively. You’ve got the Lamar Jackson gun-run game to defend. Obviously, [Derrick] Henry. They’ve got a lot of weapons and a lot of ways they can hurt you. [Jackson] just getting better and better at everything that he was already really good at. Without giving a long dissertation about him, I just think he’s a very special player.”