The Eagles Don’t Need Style Points Tonight, Just Win
Warning! I don’t give a damn about style points when it comes to the Monday Night Football matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. There are many reasons to think the Eagles will live up to the pre-season hype after their impressive win over the Packers in Brazil. There are also many reasons for a more cautious approach to expectations. These are some of the reasons that I love the Eagles to come away victorious but would lean towards taking the 5.5 points with the Falcons.
No AJ Brown…no problem?
The loss of AJ Brown with hamstring tightness most certainly impacts the Eagles’ victory chances. They may have plenty of offensive weapons but without their largest, it could be more difficult sledding. Brown is the most likely player to receive two men in attention from the opposition so the Eagles become immediately easier to defend.
This may require them to lean on Saquon Barkley more and hopefully Dallas Goedert can step up and become more of an intermediate passing game threat. Davonta Smith will now become the primary focus and rookie Johnny Wilson is having hamstring issues so he probably won’t be a promising option.
Cousins isn’t usually ready for prime time
Though he always tends to light it up with huge passing yards performances, Kirk Cousins seems to be blinded by the bright lights of prime time games. His turnover numbers usually escalate and the Eagles young secondary should have opportunities to put their offense on a short field.
Cousins is still slowly recovering from last year’s Achilles injury but Atlanta says he is not suffering from any lingering effects. He was a sitting duck in the pocket last week vs the Steelers and the Eagles better be able to generate a pass rush against him.
The Falcons could be more dangerous than expected
The embarrassment of losing at home to the Steelers and only scoring ten points was a topic of discussion all week long in Atlanta. Their offensive line did a horrendous job of protecting their quarterback. They were particularly vulnerable up the gut and that should suggest to us that Jalen Carter could have a very disruptive night.
The edge rushers should also find themselves with chances to affect the passing game. The Falcons have weapons but without time to execute they won’t have a good chance to succeed. Will we see Bryce Huff make an impact? This would be the game to do it while the Falcons get things figured out.
So what happens?
If you are planning to build your same game parlay I would suggest starting with the Eagles money line. They should leave the Linc 2-0. What I wouldn’t do is lay 6.5 points to Atlanta. The Falcons should have a much better offensive plan after seeing all that went wrong the week before. I also don’t see the Eagles defense wreaking as much havoc as the Steelers did.
Devonta Smith enjoys a big night and Saquon Barkley accounts for another 100 yard plus night of offense. The Eagles secondary will be challenged and I expect a bumpy ride. I’ll figure they trail once or twice, but the Eagles prevail in a 27-23 victory.
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