How are you feeling about this matchup?
If there was ever a week for the Philadelphia Eagles to pivot from running the ball over and over, it might be this one?
The Baltimore Ravens are allowing the fewest yards per carry in the NFL. At the same time, their defense is allowing the second-most passing yards per game.
But the thinking here is that the Eagles should not be looking to abandon the identity that’s helped them rattle off seven straight wins. And nor do I think they will.
We’ve previously seen the Eagles have success against top rushing defenses; past games against the New Orleans Saints come to mind in this regard. And those performances were achieved without the benefit of having Saquon Barkley, who’s basically been unstoppable. The Eagles MUST continue to pound the rock.
That being said, the Eagles must continue to be efficient when they do pass. There’s probably going to be less margin for error in this game given how good the Baltimore Ravens’ offense is. Jalen Hurts and company can’t afford to leave meat on the bone if it’s going to take a shootout to win.
But maybe the offense won’t need to do all the heavy lifting? Vic Fangio’s defense has been so good since the Eagles’ Week 5 bye; Philly’s allowing just 12.3 offensive points per game since then. That unit is now facing their toughest test of the season with Lamar Jackson being the best quarterback they’ve faced and Derrick Henry being the top running back they must stop.
The feeling here is that the Ravens are going to be able to put up points. Just like we talked about the Eagles being able to run on top rush defenses in the past, we’ve seen the Ravens have success against strong defenses.
And if that’s the case again here, it’s really up to the Eagles’ offense to outpace the Ravens’ scoring output.
Should be a great game. I think this comes down to a field goal at the end.
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Score prediction:
Bold prediction:
My predictions:
Score prediction: 31 to 28, Eagles lose.
Bold prediction: Saquon Barkley scores four touchdowns.
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