8:20 PM EST, NBC – Line: Eagles -1.5, Over/Under: 45
After setting the league on fire in earning 2016 MVP, Ryan regressed in 2017 throwing just 20 Touchdowns as the Falcons survived a proverbial battle royale to get into the Playoffs.
The National Football League is finally back, folks, as the 2018 Regular Season kicks off with the defending Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles looking to begin a successful Lombardi Trophy defense against the Atlanta Falcons, from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We’ll get into the Champs shortly, but first we’re going start off with the Falcons (10-6, 3rd in NFC South in 2017), who are aiming to improve upon a disappointing campaign which definitely fell short of expectations, particularly after competing in Super Bowl LI a year prior. With former Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan off to San Francisco, Dan Quinn replaced his former colleague with veteran playcaller Steve Sarkisian, and needless to say, the results were mixed at best. Granted, Atlanta’s Offense remained solid in a number of areas, ranking Eighth Overall in both Total Yards (364.8 Y/G) and Passing Yards (259.1 Y/G), and Third Overall in Net Yards per Attempt (7.2 NY/A), while leading the league in Third Down Efficiency (44.7%) and committing it’s ninth-fewest Turnovers (18). However, throughout large stretches of the term this was a unit that looked out of synch, rarely sporting the chemistry and timing that led to the league’s most explosive Offense in 2016; two years ago under Shanahan, they averaged a robust 33.8 Points per Game (1st Overall), while also finishing Ninth Overall in Red Zone Touchdown percentage (61.9%), only to see both of those figures plummet significantly a year later under Sarkisian, placing a meager 15th Overall inn Scoring (22.1 P/G) and Twenty-Third Overall in the Red Zone (50.0%). So just what was the problem, you ask? Quinn labeled it as under-executing, which in so uncertain terms translates to sloppy play. How else can one explain a formerly explosive group that had returned virtually it’s entire Offense inexplicably lead the league in Passes Dropped (30) all of a sudden? Also, after racking up huge scoring plays wholesale, there was a dearth in this category, for the Falcons had amassed a staggering nineteen Touchdowns of over twenty yards or more in 2016, with that number regressing to a more modest eight in 2017. Nobody was effected by this transition more so than one Matt Ryan (64.7%, 4,095 YDS, 7.12 NY/A, 20 TD, 12 INT 68.3 QBR in 2017), who after setting career-bests in a slew of categories and leading the NFL in Yards per Attempt (9.3), Net Yards per Attempt (8.25), Yards per Completion (13.3), Passer Rating (117.1), and Quarterback Rating (79.4) in route to earning MVP honors, suffered a steep decline across the board, throwing nearly less than half Touchdowns and 849 fewer Passing Yards, saw his Interception total increase by virtually 50.0%. Quinn is banking on another Offseason of continuity in Sarkisian’s system serving as the antidote for what ailed his Quarterback, particularly after Atlanta made Ryan the first player in NFL History to receive $100 Million guaranteed in his recent contract extension. With all that said, the problems that this team faced offensively did not deter them from clawing their way back into the Playoffs despite a hellacious NFC South that sent three teams to the Postseason, and an overall NFC that is as deep as it’s ever been. Ryan also led them to a 26-13 road upset of the Los Angeles Rams on Wild Card Weekend, before their campaign came to a bitter end in a 15-10 defensive slugfest with tonight’s opponent, the Eagles. In frigid conditions, Ryan valiantly led the Falcons to the doorstep of victory, completing 22-of-36 Attempts for 210 Yards and a Touchdown, though his performance would ultimately be defined on the fact that he had four consecutive attempts inside of the host’s 10-Yard Line (three of them to Pro Bowler Julio Jones), and was unable to put the football in the End Zone, with the final attempt falling through his target’s hands at the 2-Yard Line. Talk about underscoring their struggles in the Red Zone…
After putting together a herculean Postseason culminating in a Lombardi Trophy, Foles will serve as the Starter as long as Carson Wentz remains sidelined in his rehab from knee surgery.
Meanwhile, though we don’t doubt for a moment that there are still plenty in the City of Brotherly Love celebrating their team’s first Lombardi Trophy, it must seem like ancient history to the Eagles (13-3, 1st in NFC East in 2017) at this point, who have endured a chaotic (to say the least) buildup to the 2018 Campaign. First and foremost, it would be impossible to talk about Philadelphia’s prospects heading into tonight’s Season Opener without covering their situation at Quarterback, which could potentially make or break the potential of any successful bid of a repeat. When MVP candidate Carson Wentz (60.2%, 3,296 YDS, 6.70 NY/A, 33 TD, 7 INT, 77.2 QBR in 2017) went down with a torn ACL back in a Week Thirteen meeting with the Rams, veteran journeyman Nick Foles (56.4%, 537 YDS, 4.65 NY/A, 5 TD, 2 INT, 34.7 QBR in 4 Games in 2017) took over to very little excitement, and nor did he necessarily warrant it over the final three weeks of the Regular Season. However, something miraculous happened in the Playoffs, with the current and former Eagle morphing into Joe Montana overnight, leading his side to victories over the aforementioned Falcons (15-10), Minnesota Vikings (38-7), and most notably the New England Patriots (41-33) in Super Bowl LII, completing a shocking Postseason run in which he completed a staggering 72.6% of his Attempts for an average of 323.7 Yards on 8.86 Net Yards per Attempt, while tossing Six Touchdowns in comparison to one lone Interception. His performance against none other than Tom Brady on that final Sunday will likely stand as the most inexplicably stellar showing by a Quarterback in a Super Bowl for years to come; Foles was ridiculous in that contest, completing 28-of-43 Passes for 373 Yards, Three Touchdowns and an Interception, while hauling in a 1-Yard Touchdown Pass from Tight End Trey Burton in what has already become arguably the most famous trick play in Super Bowl History, the Philly Special. And it’s with that said, that it was concerned a major coup that Doug Pederson was able to convince Foles to stay with the Franchise, though he had numerous offers to start elsewhere, knowing that once Wentz was cleared to return to action he would once again be relegated to holding a clipboard. Which brings us to the present, folks. Wentz has yet to be cleared by team doctors, and as a result, Foles has seen all the First-Team Reps throughout Training Camp and Preseason. However, the catch is that few Starting Quarterbacks have looked worse than this guy in the Preseason; the 29-Year Old has looked abysmal in two Preseason Starts, completing just 16-of-26 Attempts for 171 Yards on 6.58 Yards per Attempt, with Zero Touchdowns and Two Interceptions, while suffering a total of Six Sacks. Furthermore, the First-Team Offense failed to score a single point with him at the helm. Earlier this week, Pederson proclaimed Foles as the Starter with Wentz still not cleared for contact in Practice. And if that wasn’t enough, the Eagles could be without a host of players for tonight’s contest; Linebacker Nigel Bradham (88 TKL, 1.0 SK, 8 PD, 1 FF, 1 FR, 1 TD in 2017) will be serving a suspension, with Free Agent Defensive Lineman Michael Bennett (40 TKL, 8.5 SK, 1 PD in 2017) possibly following suit, while the Offense will be without Alshon Jeffery (57 REC, 789 YDS, 9 TD in 2017), who is nursing a surgically-repaired Rotator Cuff, and possibly fellow Receiver Nelson Agholor (62 REC, 768 YDS, 8 TD in 2017), along with Tailbacks Jay Ajayi (70 CAR, 408 YDS, 1 TD in 2017) and Corey Clement (74 CAR, 371 YDS, 4 TD in 2017), with the three Eagles suffering from an assortment of lower body ailments.