September 25, 2019
The Eagles have a big game to play on Thursday night, and while it won't decide the outcome of their season, it will likely send them on one of two tracks.
With a win over the unbeaten Packers at Lambeau Field, the Eagles would be back to .500 with a winnable game at home against the Jets on the horizon. Suddenly, things don't look so bad and the Birds can more or less get back to where we all thought they would be five games into the season with second victory over the gets following a long week and a few extra days of rest.
But, should the Eagles lose, things could get really dark in Philly. That would put the Eagles at 1-3, and even a win over the Jets wouldn't get them back to .500 before embarking on three straight road games before returning home to face the Bears. But it's about more than simply what a loss could do to their record. Should the Eagles fall to the Packers, that long week leading up to the Jets game is suddenly going to seem a lot longer. The pressure from the fan base to right the ship is only going to grow louder and louder.
The good news is, win or lose, the Eagles will have a little more time after this one to get healthy, which is something they desperately need. Currently, their injury report is littered with the names of starters and major contributors, and while some of those guys won't be ready to play by Week 5, some, like perhaps DeSean Jackson, will. Moreover, the rest will give time for guys who are still playing through injuries to get closer to 100% before the next game.
First, however, the Eagles will have to go up against the 3-0 Packers. Here's a look at what you need to know for the game, as well as how our writers see this primetime matchup playing out...
TV: FOX/NFLN | STREAM: Amazon | RADIO: 94.1 WIP
SPREAD: Packers (-4.5) | TOTAL: 46.0 (via Bovada)
Throughout the first 3 games, the Eagles’ pass rush has simply not been good enough, and I don’t expect that to suddenly change on a short week on the road in Green Bay.
While Aaron Rodgers has not been the elite player we expect him to be so far this season, I like his chances of being able to extend plays and making his patented throws outside of the pocket.
The Eagles’ offense will keep it close behind another solid performance by Carson Wentz, but ultimately, it won’t be enough, for the third straight week.
In my opinion, this game will come down to two things: the pass rush and the skill players.
I just read somewhere that the Eagles pass rush was the third best in the NFL at beating blockers in 2.5 seconds. Unfortunately through two weeks, opposing quarterbacks have been getting rid of the ball too quickly for Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham and the rest of the defense to generate sacks. Aaron Rodgers has the slowest "time to throw" of any quarterback this season at 3.06 seconds (and had the fifth slowest of all QBs in 2018). This is the game for the pass rush to shine.
If the defense does it's job there, the Eagles offense needs to hang on to the ball. The Packers lead the NFL in turnover ratio and the Eagles cannot afford to worsen their minus-2 giveaway-to-takeaway ratio. Which means Miles Sanders, Nelson Agholor and the rest of Carson Wentz' weapons need to hang onto the ball.
I am going to give this one more try, and go out on a limb here and take the Eagles as road dogs, 24-21 in another close one.
Immediately following the Eagles' Week 3 loss to the Lions, a friend texted me a simple question: "They're about to be 1-3, aren't they?" And my immediate reaction was to say text back, "Do you really need to ask after watching that?" But then I thought about it for a second.
In Week 2, there were many picking the Eagles to win, only to watch them hand Atlanta their only win so far this season. Then, last week, almost everyone was predicting the Birds would bounce back with a win over Detroit, but they didn't. So why are we so quick to assume that this game is going to play out the way it's supposed to? If I've learned anything while watching the Eagles over the last two seasons, it's to expected the unexpected, for better or worse.
I haven't seen any of our other writers' predictions yet, but I'm assuming most people will be taking Green Bay in this one. That's the easy pick, and I don't blame them for making it. However, I just have a little feeling in the back of my mind that, like we've seen many times before, it's far too early to count this Eagles team out. The undefeated Packers are likely coming into this game with a lot of confidence, while the underdog Eagles are coming in desperately hungry for a win.
And we all know what they say about hungry dogs...
I have absolutely zero confidence in this group slowing down Aaron Rodgers. With their pass rush struggling, your best hope is that Ronald Darby’s absence actually improves the secondary enough to get some coverage sacks, and I’m not making that bet.
I expect a spirited effort from a team trying to avoid 1-3, but unless Carson Wentz is absolutely lights out, this one is going to be tough.
We know about the Packers. They’ve found a defense, which attacks. It’s why they’re a plus-6 in the giveaway/takeaway department, which leads the NFL. They’ve given up the fewest points in the NFC (35) and the second-fewest in the NFL. And they’ve done it against a strength-of-schedule that’s the best in the NFC. Having a future hall-of-fame quarterback like Aaron Rodgers doesn’t hurt, either.
We know about the Eagles, too. They’re not getting any pass rush. They’re 31st in the NFL in sacks (.7 per/game). When your quarterback and punter have more tackles in a game than your star, multi-million dollar defensive tackle, that says something. Their left side can’t block or stay healthy. They lead the NFL in dropped passes, with 8—followed by the woeful Miami Dolphins (7).
In boxing, a great fighter can suddenly age overnight in one fight. In 2017, this was a great team. In 2018, it wasn’t.
Is this the year the supposed Super Bowl-contending Eagles are suddenly showing their age?
Instinctively, I’d like to be optimistic about the game but the Packers look too good for me so far this season to believe that whatever Doug pulls out of his magical play book offensively against the Packers lights out defense will be enough to cure the dropsies and stupid mistakes we witnessed last weekend, even if the Eagles are able to get points on the board early. Offensively, the Packers have allowed only two turnovers this season and Aaron Rodgers has yet to throw an interception.
Without these types of mistakes by the Packers, I don’t think the Eagles on a short week have miraculously found the synchrony they need quite yet to pull this one off unless they execute flawlessly.
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