Falcons at Eagles

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Who Wins?

  • Falcons

    Votes: 14 82.4%
  • Eagles

    Votes: 3 17.6%

  • Total voters
    17
  • Poll closed .

CGI_Ram

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https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...ch-stream-saturdays-divisional-round-playoff/

If you're looking for the strangest underdog story of the 2017 NFL season, look no further than Philadelphia on Saturday.

That's where this weekend's slate of postseason games will kick off, but it's also where the Eagles (13-3) will open their playoff run as the first higher-seeded team since 1970 to be underdogs in their own home game. Ranked atop the NFC after a historic win streak on the back of MVP candidate Carson Wentz, the Birds have been both downplaying and talking up their status as a "disrespected" No. 1 seed since Wentz's season-ending knee injury raised questions about their ability to go deep in the playoffs.

Their first foe, the Atlanta Falcons, are in a very different place.

A surprise playoff team after their monumental Super Bowl LI collapse, the Falcons are also the conference's lowest-ranked postseason contender, and yet they enter Lincoln Financial Field as the favorites to return to the NFC Championship. Talent-wise, not a whole lot has changed since they last made a run through their January schedule, and they're fresh off an upset over the high-flying Los Angeles Rams. But they've also battled sloppiness throughout the entirety of 2017, making the Eagles, whose record would have them favored in any other year, a potential spoiler.

Come kickoff, everything will be on the line for both sides. Win, and it's on to the NFC title game with a shot at the Super Bowl. Lose, and the season is over.

How to watch, stream
  • Kickoff: Jan. 13, 4:35 p.m. ET
  • TV: NBC (Check local listings)
  • Streaming: fuboTV (Try for free)
How can the Eagles win?
  • This starts with the defense. Since Wentz went down, it's been Jim Schwartz's unit that's had the most pull on Eagles victories, save for backup quarterback Nick Foles' four-touchdown debut as the fill-in under center. Philadelphia has been opportunistic all year, and the team has been even better in stopping the run. So limiting the Devonta Freeman-Tevin Coleman combo, forcing Matt Ryan to throw at a stadium where he's 1-3 on his career and getting pressure in the pocket is the biggest key to Philly upsetting the defending NFC champions.
  • Running the ball would also be a monumental help for the Eagles. Foles is at his best when he's got a ground game on his side, so feeding Jay Ajayi, the team's most explosive option out of the backfield, is a must. Philadelphia likes to do a lot of East-West running, especially with No. 3 man Corey Clement, but against Atlanta, the best bet might be to charge the ball right up the middle, so as to at least partially limit linebacker Deion Jones' impact as a sideline-to-sideline run stopper. Gaining more than 100 yards on the ground would be a recipe for success not only for Foles but for the team, which ran the ball to victory over the Falcons in 2016.
How can the Falcons win?
  • Ryan has plenty of weapons at his disposal, so priority No. 1 should be utilizing them in balance. The Falcons have been just pedestrian for stretches of this season, but when they're firing on all cylinders, allowing Julio Jones to stretch the field, the running backs to set up short conversions and guys like Austin Hooper to float in the middle, they're dangerous. The Eagles have a potential weak link in the middle, where late-season pickup Dannell Ellerbe may or may not start at linebacker, so Atlanta would be smart to attack the heart of Philly's "D," then get creative in spreading the ball -- and, thus, holding it for most of the game.
  • Special teams is almost always overlooked until it, you know, swings the outcome of a game. But the Falcons are coming off a Wild Card win that came largely thanks to some big plays on that unit. It's hard to force your special teams into a huge role during game day, perhaps, but Atlanta should be confident if Saturday's showdown comes down to this area. Matt Bryant is built for these types of matchups, and he's also got quite the history kicking against the Eagles. Saturday's clash figures to be close if Bryant has a chance at a clutch play, and common sense says that if things are close, the Falcons have the edge.
Who will win?
The Eagles might be the No. 1 seed, but almost no one likes them to come off what's essentially been two weeks of rest to "upset" the Falcons, as seven of our eight NFL analysts at CBSSports.com picked Atlanta to go back to the NFC Championship.

Other national media have also piled onto the Falcons bandwagon in advance of Saturday's showdown, making Atlanta the consensus favorite to turn the 2017 Eagles into a one-and-done playoff team.

Still, even without Wentz, Philadelphia boasts the NFL's top-ranked run defense and has a favorable history against the Falcons, particularly at home. So if you're looking for the weekend's biggest toss-up outside of maybe the Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints, this is it.
 

CGI_Ram

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  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #2
 

den-the-coach

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Unless the Falcons turn the ball over I just don't see how Nick Foles can win this game....Now some pundits feel otherwise and think because it's a home game and the Eagles have plenty of rest that will carry them to victory and the Eagles do run the ball effectively, however, still believe the Falcons win the game.
 

DaveFan'51

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I see the Falcons trying to Shut down the Eagles run game, and make Foles Try to Beat them with his Arm, And that's just not going to happen, Foles doesn't have the Arm! Falcon will Win this one!
BUT!!! Atlanta won't get past whoever Wins the Vikes / Saints game!!
 

Prime Time

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http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp-falcons-eagles-matchups-20180112-story.html

Falcons vs. Eagles: How the two teams match up in the NFC divisional round
Sam Farmer

1150x647

Max Faulkner / Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Can the Philadelphia Eagles keep rolling without the face of their franchise?

With quarterback Carson Wentz recovering from a season-ending knee injury, Nick Foles will do his best to pick up the slack for the No. 1 seed Eagles. The early results haven’t been especially encouraging.

Foles completed 47 of 87 passes for 439 yards (with five touchdowns and two interceptions) in his three games, barely playing in the third.

There was a significant drop-off from Wentz, particularly when it came to scrambling and making plays outside the pocket.

Atlanta players aren’t breathing easy, though.

“I think when you’ve played for a while and it’s been done at a high level, which he has, that lends to that kind of respect,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said of Foles.

“He’s done it at a high level, and he takes care of the ball. He really looks equipped in that kind of system in the gun and doing all of the things that they do.”

In the last two games of the regular season, Foles converted one of 17 third downs, alarming because that was one of Wentz’s many strengths.

Eagles coach Doug Pederson said that number is somewhat deceptive.

“I don’t think third down is the problem,” he said. “I think first and second down is the problem, because we’re losing yards on first and second down with penalties, negative rushing plays, sacks.

‘That’s what’s put us in third and long. You can’t get to third down until you fix first and second down.”

Either way, it’s not good.

Jay train

With uncertainty at quarterback, it’s logical that the Eagles might lean heavier on running back Jay Ajayi, who has been bothered by knee issues and will see his first action in 19 days.

“I feel really good, like, I feel really good,” Ajayi told reporters. “No. 1 seed team with an opportunity to go get a Super Bowl. I’m grateful, I'm blessed, I’m excited for this opportunity because it’s all in front of us and if we really take advantage of what we want to do and execute how we can, we can get it done.”

Ajayi, who began the season with the Miami Dolphins, ran for 130 yards against the Falcons two weeks before he joined the Eagles.

Stats all

1 — Number of touchdowns by Philadelphia in its last 18 drives.

3 — Eagles receivers with at least eight touchdowns this season: wide receivers Alshon Jeffery (nine) and Nelson Agholor (eight) and tight end Zach Ertz (eight)

5 — Consecutive postseason games in which Atlanta’s Matt Ryan has had a passer rating of at least 100, tied for the second-longest such streak in league history. (Joe Montana reached eight.)

6 — Different offensive line combinations used by the Eagles; the Falcons had the same offensive line configuration in 13 of 16 games.

13 — Wins by the Eagles, tying a franchise record.

79.2 — Rushing yards per game allowed by Philadelphia, best in the league.

By the numbers

How teams compare statistically. All stats are per-game averages, except for sacks and turnover differential, which is for season (league rank in parentheses):

Points scored:

Atlanta: 22.1 (T14) Philadelphia: 28.6 (T2)

Points allowed:

Atlanta: 19.7 (8) Philadelphia: 18.4 (4)

Pass offense:

Atlanta: 249.4 (8) Philadelphia: 233.6 (13)

Rush offense:

Atlanta: 115.4 (13) Philadelphia: 132.2 (3)

Pass defense:

Atlanta: 214.3 (12) Philadelphia: 227.3 (17)

Rush defense:

Atlanta: 104.1 (9) Philadelphia: 79.2 (1)

Sacks:

Atlanta: 39 (T13) Philadelphia: 38 (T15)

Penalty yards:

Atlanta: 22.1 (T14) Philadelphia: 60.1 (T22)

Turnovers:

Atlanta: -2 (19) Philadelphia: +11 (4)

Farmer’s pick

This is a tough one, because the Eagles are rested and they’ve had time to tweak the offense to Foles’ strengths.

Still, the Falcons have a lot of speed on defense, and some momentum coming out of the win at Los Angeles. Bizarrely, the sixth seed is in a better position here.

FALCONS 27, EAGLES 21
 

Adi

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I picked the falcons but the eagles are not wentz and a bunch of scubs.

Eagles have alot of talent and should be competitive
 

Ramhusker

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I said all week the Falcons D is playing better, Foles doesn't have what'll take, but today I've changed my mind out of some crazy gut feeling that the Eagles D rises to the occasion and home field advantage plays a role. It'll probably take turnovers for the Eagles to win.
 

Ram65

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It's been kinka fun listening to the radio this week. Funny how the sport jocks can change the narrative to engage the audience. First it was Foles sucks and no way to win. Eagles pride kicks in and everyone should think they can win. All week talk of the weather had everyone down as it was supposed to be warmer (40's) but, it turned to windy and cool 32-34 by game time yesterday. The bad weather gives the Eagles a chance.

I'm expecting a close game. The wind is always worse at the sports complexes there. The crowd is going to be going crazy like you've never seen before. It's like a citywide victory to get one win without savior Wentz. They have been using the underdog (point spread) as a rallying cry. Bulletin board material has been put up. Jaws is honorary captain today. The Eagles defense feels disrespected. This is an interesting game. The Falcons are better than the Eagle fans think (some give Eagles no chance). Overall it could be turnovers and FG kicking that decide the game.. I think the Falcons win but, it no sure thing.
 

gabriel18

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It's funny out of the 4 QB's left in the NFC playoffs , two of them are recent Rams . It could be 3 . Fisher really knew his QB's .
 

Merlin

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Falcons will struggle on offense. Eagles are quality in the trenches and won't let them have easy yards on the ground like they got vs the Rams.

But if the Falcons don't win this game, they're just sorry. Nick Foles is terrible man. Get him behind the sticks and roll.
 

Ram65

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F U M B L E !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Darn after the PI and nice run they lose the ball. TOs going to cost them.

Too bad I have to leave in a few minutes. listen on radio in car.
 

Ram65

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Anyone question the play calling around the 17 yard line?

Run no gain
Pass really short 3rd and 8
Short pass 4th down.
FG