Philadelphia Eagles: Revenge on the mind vs. Saints in Divisional Round
By Carl Naimoli
The Philadelphia Eagles are facing the 13-3 Saints this week. The Saints seem to have it all, but the Eagles will have the revenge factor on their side.
The Divisional Round of the 2019 NFL Playoffs are here. To the surprise of many, the Philadelphia Eagles are still alive. This week they head into New Orleans to face the Saints, the team with the best record in the NFL.
The Eagles are seeking revenge on the Saints after their embarrassing 48-7 loss in Week 11. It was the Eagles most lopsided defeat since their 42-0 setback against the Seahawks back in 2005. It was also the worst loss in NFL history for a defending Super Bowl champion.
The consensus in Philadelphia was to forget about that game and throw the game tape in the trash. Instead, the Eagles see themselves facing the Saints again with the season on the line. They’ll need to study that tape day and night to correct every mistake they made in that game.
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The Saints have the best odds of winning the Super Bowl of the eight teams still alive in the postseason. They are stacked on offense as they average over 30 points per game. The running back tandem of Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram have tortured opposing defenses all season.
Their quarterback, Drew Brees, is having one of the best seasons of his long, Hall of Fame career. At the age of 39, he achieved a career-best quarterback rating this season and has thrown for 32 touchdowns and just five interceptions.
This will be the toughest team the Eagles have played against all season. And it will be in a crazy environment in the Superdome. But if anyone has a chance at pulling off the upset, it’s this Eagles team led by Nick Foles.
The Eagles have been one of the hottest teams in the NFL. They have won four consecutive games since Foles was inserted as the starting quarterback for the injured Carson Wentz. They have the experience of last year’s playoff run in their corner as well.
But they will still need to play almost perfect to win on Sunday in New Orleas. The 16 points that they scored in Chicago to earn their Wild Card Round victory clearly won’t be enough. The Eagles defense could play amazing and still give up 28 points to the Saints — they are just that good.
The Eagles best hope of winning is if this game turns into a repeat of last year’s Super Bowl against the Patriots. If Foles shows the composure and skill to reel off scoring drive after scoring drive, they’ll have a chance.
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If the offense is stagnant and can’t get anything going, it could be another long day for the Eagles. Either way, this team has been written off on more than one occasion this season, and still they are standing. Who’s to say they can’t pull one more rabbit out of their hat?