Bold predictions for the Eagles defense in Week 2 game vs. Atlanta Falcons
Despite both being members of the National Football Conference, the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons haven't met often. The latter joined the NFL in 1965, 32 years after Philly birthed its franchise.
Atlanta's first NFL season came in 1966, but despite only meeting on the field 37 times, many of those games have been quite memorable.
Philly owns a 21-15-1 edge in the head-to-head tally. That includes four victories during the five most recent meetings dating back to 2016. The Eagles have also won three of four postseason matchups. The only loss was a Wild Card Game played in 1978.
Defense has often lifted Philly to victory. Think of Brian Dawkins' knockout shot on Michael Vick in January of 2003. We can also draw from Dawk's blow on Alge Crumpler.
Both teams' defenses will also play a role in determining the winner of this one. We just feel like the one that will be wearing green is the better unit.
Let's talk about some bold predictions ahead of this one.
Kirk Cousins turns the ball over three times.
Kirk Cousins owns a 6-5 record versus the Eagles as a starter, but he's been humbled during the past two meetings. Both losses came as a member of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Birds beat the Vikes in those games by a combined score of 58-35. Both games were played in primetime as this one will be.
Coincidence? No sir! No ma'am! We think not! The stars are aligning.
Kirk's performance last season (364 yards passing and four TD tosses) more closely resembled the Kirk Cousins that has haunted Philly through the years. It was definitely a better showing than his three-interception performance in 2022.
This is also potentially one of the better Eagles defenses that he has faced, and we believe they'll put something together in this one. After a Falcons debut that will be remembered for two interceptions thrown, he throws an additional three in Week 2 under the lights in primetime.
Bryce Huff and Nolan Smith both register a sack.
We walked into Week 1 with questions about Nolan Smith and Bryce Huff. Let's just say they didn't answer those questions to our liking. Eagles defensive coordinator made himself clear about his feelings for Huff during a Week 2 presser.
"He needs to separate himself from the other guys”.
Brandon Graham won't be enjoying his swan song as a companion piece in Huff and Smith's breakout season. Fangio has been clear that B.G. will play and play often!
Graham played more defensive snaps than Smith and Huff versus the Green Bay Packers. We're hoping that fired the youngsters up. We expect both to register a sack in this one.
Zack Baun again leads the Eagles in tackles, racking up 13 or more and at least one tackle for loss.
Umm... The Birds have found something here. Zack Baun has already done what Coach Fangio wants Bryce Huff to do. He has separated himself from some of the other guys on the roster.
Who knew?
Some guys play with chips on their shoulders. He and Nakobe Dean play like they're carrying boulders, and after leading Philly's defense with 15 tackles and two sacks during his Eagles debut in Brazil, we expect Baun to be equally as impressive at Lincoln Financial Field.
How are we feeling? 13 tackles or more and at least one TFL? How does that sound? We like it if you guys love it!
The Eagles limit the Falcons to 20 points or less and 250 yards of offense or fewer.
So, after deliberation, here's our verdict. There's no reason why the Eagles should lose this game. The Falcons have a better pass rush, but Philly is better at quarterback and the skill positions.
Philly has a better O-line. They're better coached, and even though there was more to like about Atlanta's Week 1 defensive performance, Vic Fangio has forgotten more about football than either of Atlanta's coordinators has learned.
No disrespect is intended to Atlanta's defensive coordinator, Jimmy Lake or their OC, Zac Robinson, but this is a game where Philly's coaching staff should win a battle of Xs and Os, especially when the Falcons have the ball.
Atlanta scored ten points at home during their opener. We can't imagine them scoring more than 20 (or racking up over 250 yards on offense) on the road versus a fired-up Eagles team on Monday Night Football.