Philadelphia Eagles: 5 Players that are key to a Divisional Round victory over the Saints

Rasul Douglas, CB

This one could go either way. This week, you have to assume that Sean Payton and the Saints offense will have a pass-heavy gameplan to attack the Eagles young corners on the outside. As of late, Rasul Douglas and Avonte Maddox have been playing reasonably well. That doesn’t mean that they are lockdown corners though. You better believe that the Saints will have tons of confidence this week in their passing offense after what happened the last time around.

Drew Brees decided to pick on Sidney Jones during the first matchup since he was dealing with hamstring issues. Assuming that Jones sees a limited amount of time this week if he does suit up, Brees will go after Maddox or Douglas. In coverage, Maddox is clearly the better corner. So if they are going to try and pick on a cornerback this week, it might end up being Rasul Douglas.

As of late, Douglas has been a solid corner. Right now, he may be the best tackler on the team. However, he isn’t flawless when it comes to the deep ball. There have been some big plays given up by Douglas, and the Saints may try and expose him for that this weekend. And after Maddox got beaten by a few double-moves last week, they probably won’t hesitate to go after him as well.

So, if Douglas can shut down his opponent early, the Saints may start throwing in Maddox’s direction. I’m going to make a bold prediction here – both Douglas and Maddox will come up with interceptions on Sunday. Maddox has been due for one since the Houston game, and Douglas seems to snag one every once in a while in a very crucial situation of the game.