The Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons have developed a heated NFC rivalry over the past few years, with the Birds from up north, having won three straight in this series dating back to 2016. The Eagles lead the all-time series 20-14-1 but haven’t won in Atlanta in over fifteen years.
With the Falcons needing this win badly, here are 3 keys to an Eagles victory on the road Sunday night.
1. Establish a heavy dosage of the running game
The Falcons like every other team in the NFL saw the Eagles aerial attack against the Redskins, especially the deep bombs to DeSean Jackson. With Dan Quinn being more than impressed by the Birds wide receiver, expect Atlanta to give up everything underneath. With Jordan Howard, Miles Sanders, and Darren Sproles all having huge moments against the Redskins, look for the Eagles to take a page out of Minnesota’s book and focus on the running game. With Atlanta working the kinks out of their 3-4 defense, look for Philadelphia to ground and pound all night.
2. Contain Julio Jones
Julio Jones has been unstoppable against the Eagles secondary, with 51 targets in the last three matchups. Jones has 45 receptions for 698 yards in six games versus the Eagles, including last seasons 169-yard outburst. The Eagles will likely mix their coverages up while having Ronald Darby shadow Jones at times as well. Look for defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to focus heavily on the blitz, with the hope that more pressure can knock Matt Ryan off his game. The Eagles are fine with Jones racking up the huge yards, they just don’t want him to score.
3. Pressure Matt Ryan
Speaking of Matt Ryan. With rookie right tackle Kaleb McGary and right guard Jamon Brown in the lineup, look for the Eagles to pressure Ryan from the first snap. Fletcher Cox has been dominant against the Falcons over the years and he’s dominated Bown in matchups. While Graham is coming off a season opener in which he was credited for six quarterback pressures against the Redskins. The Falcons will look to protect Ryan after a ballgame that saw him sacked four times and knocked down three others.
In his past three games against the Falcons (all wins), Schwartz blitzed on 27% of Matt Ryan’s dropbacks, compared to only blitzing 19% against the rest of the NFL.
In those matchups against Schwartz and the Eagles, Ryan has posted a Total QBR of 30, while averaging 343 passing yards and a 55% completion percentage. Philly has sacked Ryan nine times and delivered 32 quarterback hits in those matchups as well.
