Philadelphia Eagles vs. Atlanta Falcons: 5 Bold predictions for Week 2
2. Cox eats big against banged-up line
Of the many problems that the Falcons experienced last week, one of the biggest was the pressure that Matt Ryan faced throughout the game. The Vikings strong defensive front continuously harassed the quarterback. What’s worse, that could be the case for a while now as rookie first-round guard Chris Lindstrom is slated to miss significant time.
With a backup offensive guard now in the mix, Fletcher Cox has the opportunity to really make trouble for the Falcons offense in this game. He’s already one of the fiercest defensive tackles in the league against any matchup. But when you give him an advantage like this, he’s going to feast. On Sunday Night Football, he’ll do it to the tune of at least two sacks.
1. Hooper comes up with a 100-yard game
As the Redskins moved the ball far better than anyone expected them to against the Eagles last week, perhaps the most shocking contributor was 36-year old tight end Vernon Davis. The ageless big man finished the game with four catches for 59 yards and a touchdown against Philadelphia’s shaky secondary and sneaky troublesome group of linebackers.
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There’s no question that Atlanta Falcons tight end Austin Hooper is a superior player to Davis at this point in the latter’s career. Even amidst the Dirty Birds’ struggles, the tight end was a monster as he caught nine targets for 77 yards on the day. He’s going to be open again in this matchup against Philly and Ryan will find him over and over again en route to a 100-yard outing for Hooper.