Philadelphia Eagles vs. Atlanta Falcons: 5 Bold predictions for Week 2
The Philadelphia Eagles travel to face the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football in Week 2. Five bold predictions for this big NFC showdown.
It was almost a bad Week 1 for both the Atlanta Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles. For the former, it was bad overall as the Dirty Birds were flat-out embarrassed on the road against the Vikings. Meanwhile, things started off poorly for Philly as they fell behind 17-0 to Washington early on but ultimately rallied back to get the 32-27 victory to begin the season.
Frankly, it just looked like a slow start for an Eagles team that rested their starters for much of the preseason. Once they hit their groove, Carson Wentz, DeSean Jackson and a strong defense seemed to settle in and dominate as expected. The Falcons, however, were troublesome.
This was an Atlanta team expected to ride Matt Ryan and Julio Jones to a monster season, particularly with the healthy defense finally taking the field. Instead, they looked like a middling team not capable of competing against the better teams in the NFC.
Week 1 can sometimes lie, though, so we’ll see on Sunday Night Football if that’s the case for these two teams. With what we know and can project, though, let’s make five bold predictions for this primetime matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons.
5. Sanders explodes for 80+ yards
Rookie running back Miles Sanders made his debut in the Eagles offense in Week 1 and actually led the team in terms of carries, toting the ball 11 times on the day. However, he was the least effective rusher in the offense as both Darren Sproles and Jordan Howard amassed more yards on the day.
Having said that, it’s clear in flashes that Sanders is the most talented running back in the Philadelphia offensive arsenal. Furthermore, with the way that the Falcons were shredded by Dalvin Cook and Minnesota last week, you have to believe that the Eagles took notice and plan to commit to the running game a bit.
All told, that should lead to Sanders again getting looks but he’ll be more effective against the uninspiring Atlanta defense. The Penn State product will flirt with the first 100-yard game of his career on Sunday night, though he’ll fall short almost solely due to the time-share he’s working in.