3 Keys to victory for Philadelphia Eagles versus New Orleans Saints

1. Jonathan Gannon needs to let the Philadelphia Eagles defense play aggressively.

Last week, the Birds made it tough on the Denver Broncos offense with more man coverage and the pass rush getting home versus a banged-up offensive line. Jonathan Gannon looked a bit better. This week, the Saints will be without both of their starting tackles which is exactly what Denver had to deal with last week. Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk have both been ruled out. The interior offensive line has presented some issues as well with Andrus Peat going down earlier this season.

Trevor Siemien also shares some similarities with Teddy Bridgewater. Both hold onto the ball fairly long at 2.5 seconds in the pocket each. Both will attack zone coverage and take the underneath pass all game long. It would be wise of Gannon to employ a heavy dose of Cover 1 and Cover 2 man. If he is going to employ his two-deep zone coverages or Cover 3 and 6, it needs to be in the right situations. Some of those zone calls need to be match coverages so wideouts aren’t running free at the second level.

Outside of Deonte Harris, the Saints wideouts and tight ends have struggled to consistently threaten defenses. Their third-leading receiver in Alvin Kamara will be out in this one.

With that said, keeping one safety in the box to stymie Mark Ingram early could force the Saints into a pass-heavy attack could be huge. Sending more pressure on occasion should be considered but with the Saints offensive line situation and Siemien taking his time, opportunities should present themselves for Josh Sweat, Javon Hargrave, and company to get home.