The Philadelphia Eagles open their defense of their Super Bowl title with a home game against the Atlanta Falcons on September 6, 2018 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The Eagles and Falcons faced each other in last year’s divisional playoffs. Philadelphia won that game 15-10 and they proceeded to beating the Minnesota Vikings in the Conference Finals and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52.
Both teams didn’t have a good preseason as the Eagles only won once in four games while the Falcons were winless in four preseason outings. But this is the regular season where it all counts and expect a fiery rematch from these NFC rivals.
The biggest issue for the Philadelphia Eagles is the continued absence of starting quarterback Carson Wentz. Wentz suffered an ACL injury last season but instead of folding, the Eagles rallied behind back up quarterback Nick Foles to win Super Bowl 52. Wentz is expected to return this season but for week one, he won’t be calling the plays for the Eagles, meaning Foles gets the call for this one.
Give credit to Nick Foles for leading the Eagles to victory at Super Bowl 52. More props to him for winning Super Bowl MVP honors as well. But the guy played terribly during the preseason. In a total of three quarters of preseason action, Foles threw a total of four interceptions and lost one fumble. He led 10 offensive drives but the Eagles weren’t able to get points in those possessions. Sad to say but it seems the honeymoon is over and Foles is reverting to his old self before becoming the Joe Montana of the Eagles.
The Eagles lost their first three preseason games including one to the Browns where they went scoreless. However, they salvaged their preparations with a 10-9 win over the New York Jets at home in their final preseason game. But even in that win, Philadelphia still needed a late (18 seconds left) 4 yard touchdown pass from Joe Callahan to Matt Jones to win the game. Despite their struggles, that was just the preseason and we expect the champs to be ready on opening night, with or without some of their key players.
The Falcons took a big lead at Super Bowl 51 before they fell victim to another Tom Brady comeback. Last season, Atlanta had a chance to beat Philadelphia in the divisional round of the playoffs. Late in that game, the Falcons had the ball at the two yard line and sent five receivers wide. But Matt Ryan couldn’t complete a lob pass to Julio Jones and the Eagles advanced to the Conference Finals and then went on to win their first Super Bowl. Atlanta will host the Super Bowl in 2019 but the question is will the Falcons go deep enough to play in the big game?
Atlanta’s chances lean heavily on quarterback Matt Ryan whose 20 touchdowns last season were his lowest since he was a rookie in 2008. Ryan converted on 64.7% of his passes for a total of 4,095 yards and had 12 interceptions for the Eagles last season. Despite his struggles, Ryan was one pass away from eliminating the Eagles in the last postseason.
Like the Eagles, the Falcons didn’t have a good preseason. In fact, they were worse than Philadelphia after going winless in four tries. Their last preseason game was a forgettable 7-34 loss to the Miami Dolphins at home. Atlanta’s defense was terrible early on, allowing 21 first quarter points which ultimately cost them the game. But as we said with the Eagles, the Falcons should be ready to rumble on Thursday, especially with no significant injuries in their roster.
These two teams have been excellent in season openers with the Falcons winning three of their last four and the Eagles with six victories in their seven most recent openers. The Eagles won seven of their last eight games at home last season while the Falcons split their last six games on the road. Head to head, the Eagles are 10-4 in their last seven meetings and have won eight out of their last nine games in Philadelphia. But more than the trends, it’s the injuries that should decide the outcome of this game.
With Carson Wentz still not ready, Foles is getting the start. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, not only are they dealing with a struggling Foles but they will also be missing wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Shelton Gibson. Jeffery, who led the Eagles in touchdown catches last season, is expected to miss the Eagles’ first two games with a shoulder injury. Gibson, who had a great preseason after a disappointing rookie year, is expected to be out for a couple of weeks after being placed in the concussion protocol in early August. Likewise, top defensive end Brandon Graham is questionable for this contest and that should have a significant effect on the Eagles.
On the other hand, the Atlanta Falcons are relatively healthy heading into Thursday’s opener and should be able to move the ball well enough to win this game outright. Despite losing their last meeting against the Eagles, the Falcons enter this game confident knowing that they were one play away from winning at Lincoln Field the last time around. Opening nights have not been kind to defending champions and this one may be no different. We’re picking the Atlanta Falcons to beat the Philadelphia Eagles on 9/6/18.
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