Game Preview – GB at PHI

Posted: September 6th, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Game Preview – GB at PHI

The 2024 Eagles season opens on a Friday night. In Brazil. Those were sentences I never expected to type, but that is life in the modern NFL. The only true constant is change. 17 games. 7 playoff teams. Weird kickoff rules. Andy Reid loading up on Super Bowl rings. Who thought any of this craziness would ever happen?

As Nick Sirianni said, the Eagles aren’t worried about the trappings. They are focused on winning a football game. He did admit to being excited about playing on Friday night because of his background as a high school football fan and player. Friday night lights are special to him.

The Eagles and Packers had opposite seasons in 2023. Green Bay started 3-6 before going 6-2 to finish 9-8 and earning a playoff berth. They went to Dallas and destroyed the Cowboys. The Packers had a 32-point lead in the 4th quarter of that wonderful playoff game. They led SF 21-14 in the 3rd quarter in the divisional round, but ended up losing 24-21.

I don’t think I need to re-hash the Eagles season. It sure didn’t involve a 6-2 finish to the regular season or a 32-point lead in the playoffs.

The Packers are hoping to build on last year while the Eagles are trying to bounce back from it. Both teams added star RBs and new defensive coordinators. It will be interesting to see if Saquon Barkley outplays Josh Jacobs and if Vic Fangio can out-coach Jeff Hafley.

Fangio will have his hands full with the GB offense. They were 12th in points scored last year. They were Top 15 in both rushing and passing yards. That kind of offensive balance is tough to stop. Do you focus on Jacobs or Jordan Love and his bevy of wide receivers? Fangio will mix things up, with the primary focus being to limit big plays.

LB Devin White is out and Nakobe Dean will start. There are reports that Dean was going to start either way so it will be fun to see him in action. Dean is coming off the best camp of his young career and earned playing time. The Eagles haven’t had an actual playmaking LB in the middle of the defense in a while.

The key to the Eagles defense will be Jalen Carter. Dominant DL change everything. Look at Chris Jones for the Chiefs. Think back to Derek Landri with the Eagles. Carter flashed dominant ability in the first part of the season, but seemed to wear down. He needs to play at a high level all year for Fangio’s defense to be at its best.

Fangio does have a revamped secondary to slow down the Packers group of gifted receivers. There may not be one elite player, but the overall group is outstanding. It will be interesting to see if Quinyon Mitchell plays in the slot and outside or just stays at corner. The Eagles first round pick had a strong summer and looks like he could be an impact rookie.

The Eagles defense doesn’t need to pitch a shutout. They need to limit TDs and to make some plays. The Eagles offense is loaded and should be able to score. Jalen Hurts is healthy and coming off a great camp. He added Saquon and Jahan Dotson as weapons. And he now has a coach in Kellen Moore who will be more creative and offer some schematic advantages that were missing last year.

This group has the potential to be the best Eagles offense we’ve ever seen. The OL is a bit of a mystery with Cam Jurgens sliding into the middle and Mekhi Becton taking over at RG. Both players have a lot of talent so the line could continue to play at a high level.

The Eagles were an emotional roller coaster all of last year. They had the burden of coming off the Super Bowl loss mixed with high expectations, lots of player changes, lots of coaching changes and James Bradberry rapidly aging like someone in a sci-fi movie. That was about as dysfunctional as a season could get.

The team is hungrier now. They have veteran coaches. They should be much more stable on and off the field. There is every reason in the world to expect the Eagles to bounce back from a disappointing season and return to being a title contender.

Get ready for a fun Friday night and hopefully a fun 2024 season.

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