The Philadelphia Eagles will travel to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to take on the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday afternoon in NFL Football action.
The Philadelphia Eagles finished last season with an overall record of 4-11-1 and although the Eagles have some talent, this looks to be a rebuilding year for the Eagles. Philadelphia no longer has head coach Doug Petersen or QB Carson Wentz and hope that first year head coach Nick Sirianni can help improve an offense that ranked just t-25th in scoring offense at 20.9 ppg on 334.6 total yards per game. Philadelphia had a decent rushing attack that ranked 9th in the NFL at 126.7 yds/game, however, the passing attack was non-existent after finishing 28th in the NFL at 207.9 passing yds/g. Leading the way for the offense this season will be RB Miles Sanders who finished last season with 867 rushing yards & 6 TD’s on 164 carries. Dual threat QB Jalen Hurts will be back under center after completing 52.0% of his passes for 2,620 yards, 16 TD, & 15 INT while also rushing for 354 yards & 3 TD’s. The leading targets for Hurts and the Eagles passing game will be TE Dallas Goedert (46 rec, 524 yards, 3 TD), WR Jalen Reagor (31 rec, 396 yards, TD), & WR Greg Ward (53 rec, 419 yards, 6 TD) and incoming 1st round pick DeVonta Smith.
Defensively, Philadelphia allowed their opponents to average 26.1 ppg on 363.1 total yards per game (237.4 passing yds/g; 125.8 rushing yds/g). Defensively, the Eagles will be led by Fletcher Cox & Brandon Graham.
The Atlanta Falcons will be looking to bounce back this season after finishing the season with just an overall record of 4-12. Offensively, Atlanta averaged 24.8 ppg last season on 368.4 total yards per game. The Falcons were solid in their passing attack, ranking 5th in 272.7 passing yds/g, however, Atlanta didn’t have much of a ground game, ranking just 27th with 95.8 rushing yds/g. Atlanta’s offense will be once again led by QB Matt Ryan who completed 65.0% of his passes for 4581 yards, 26 TD, & 11 INT last season. Ryan lost one of his best receivers in Julio Jones, however, still has some solid weapons led by Calvin Ridley (90 rec, 1374 yards, 9 TD), Russell Gage (72 rec, 786 yards, 4 TD), & Olamide Zaccheaus (20 rec, 274 yards, TD) and will also have incoming 1st-round pick in TE Kyle Pitts. Leading the way for the Falcons backfield will be Mike Davis who finished with 642 rushing yards & 6 TD’s on 165 carries last season while also hauling in 373 yards & 2 TD’s on 59 receptions last season with Carolina.
Defensively, Atlanta allowed their opponents to average 24.8 ppg on 368.4 total yards last season (293.6 passing yds/g; 104.8 rushing yds/g). Atlanta brought in a new defensive coordinator this season in Dean Pees and should be led by their solid LB duo of Deion Jones & Foyesade Oluokun.
The Eagles are 1-9 ATS in their last 10 games in September and 0-6 ATS in their last 6 road games. The Falcons are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games vs. NFC opponents and just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 September games.
Both Philadelphia and Atlanta look to improve on their 2020 seasons, however, I see Atlanta having much a better chance in doing so. Philadelphia has some major question marks on both ends of the field and although Jalen Hurts did bring some energy to the Eagles offense last season, he still doesn’t bring much to the passing game after watching him complete just over half his passes last season. Matt Ryan and Atlanta no longer have Julio Jones, however, still has some great weapons in Calvin Ridley & Kyle Pitts and as I think the Falcons defense will be improved this season, I think the Falcons do enough in this one to cover this small spread. Good Luck!
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
Follow Brett Nault on Twitter @BrettCU05