How are you feeling about this matchup?
Really not trying to be a buzzkill, I swear, but I don’t have the Philadelphia Eagles winning their Friday night opener against the Green Bay Packers in São Paulo, Brazil.
That being said, I do have the Eagles finishing 13-4 this season, so I’m hardly suggesting that a Week 1 loss — and a close one, at that — is going to doom them.
I just think the Packers are an ascending team whereas there’s a bit more uncertainty with the Birds.
Perhaps I’m not giving the Eagles enough credit. They are coming off a really encouraging summer where these things transpired:
- The team stayed healthy (for the most part)
- Jalen Hurts looked better than ever before
- New coordinators Vic Fangio and Kellen Moore displayed some schematic wrinkles to inspire optimism
- Young players showed signs of improvement
- The vibes were positive
Maybe the Eagles are going to make me look silly for picking against them in this spot.
But, after the way last season ended, I’m not going to kick myself for not giving them total benefit of the doubt. Is anyone going to be truly shocked if Jordan Love picks up where he left off last year and has success against this defense? Is it unthinkable to think that the coaching staff hasn’t completely sorted out all of the issues against the blitz? Is Nick Sirianni definitely going to give his team an edge after failing to do so when we last saw him coach?
Let’s see some proof of concept first.
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Suggested format:
Score prediction:
Bold prediction:
My predictions:
Score prediction: 27 to 24, Eagles lose.
Bold prediction: Jahan Dotson scores the Eagles’ first touchdown this season.
Your predictions:
Leave your own score predictions in the comments.
