Gameday – at TEN

The Eagles are in Nashville for an important game. A win gets the Eagles off to a 3-1 start. That keeps them atop the division and makes life easier down the road. The Eagles are a better team than the Titans so this is a game they need to win.

The Eagles got some good news this morning.

An Eagles team source told me “We were excited getting Carson back, that gave us a big boost and getting Alshon back will do the same… when you get one of your lead dogs back, you’re excited about that… can’t wait to go out there and get back into that groove.” #FlyEaglesFly

— Tiffany Blackmon (@tiffblackmon) September 30, 2018

That’s big. Even if Jeffery is a bit rusty and less than 100 percent, he can make a difference. He doesn’t need to catch 10 passes to help the Eagles. The Titans will blitz and that means there are going to be some 1-on-1 matchups for receivers. Jeffery can win in those situations.

Here is my full game preview for PE.com.

In a fantasy world, the Eagles would jump out to a 10-0 or 14-0 lead in this game and put the Titans on their heels. Tennessee wants to run the ball. If you can build a lead on them, they’ll have to open up the offense. Marcus Mariota will be wearing a special glove with some fingers cut out so he can get a better grip on the ball. He had a nerve injury in his elbow and that’s affected his hand and grip on the ball. Simply put, you want him throwing the ball. If he beats you with his arm, so be it.

#PHIvsTEN Inactives: RB Clement, T Mailata, G Pryor, RB Sproles, QB Sudfeld, DE Sweat, G Warmack

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 30, 2018

Big news there. Corey Clement is out. We knew Darren Sproles would miss this week, but Clement is a surprise. Those are the two best receivers out of the backfield. They are also key returners. Now you can see why the Eagles re-signed DeAndre Carter. He could very well be the RS today.

Wendell Smallwood was a key player last week and that will be true once again. He is now the best pass-catching RB in the game so he could play a lot on 3rd downs. Jay Ajayi will be the workhorse and Josh Adams will get mixed in as needed.

The Eagles defense has been much better at home than on the road, but this sure feels like a game where they need to come up big. Tennessee is struggling on offense. The Eagles need to tackle well and play smart. They need to come out and be bullies. Shut down the Titans and let Wentz and the offense get going.

The Titans aren’t a rival. This isn’t an NFC game so it isn’t as important for playoff seeding. Still, it feels like a key game because this could somewhat set the tone for the next month or so. Are you a 3-1 team that is getting healthy or are you 2-2 and a team in search of an identity?

Go win this game.

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