Good Test

The Eagles have won 3 of 4 games. The last two victories came over the Browns and Giants, two of the worst teams in the league. The Eagles are 4-2 and seem to be headed in the right direction, but it would help to see them tested. We’ll get that on Sunday.

The Bengals:

• Have won 3 of their past 4 games
• They have a 2-game win streak (also NYG and CLE)
• Have an elite QB who is playing at a high level
• Have a strong group of receivers, including one special player (Ja’Marr Chase)
• Have scored 21 or more points in 5 of 7 games this season
• Have a defense that has only allowed 21 total points over the past 2 weeks

Cincy isn’t a great team. They started 1-4, but that includes losses to the Chiefs and Ravens, two of the best teams in the league. They do have some star players and they have been good in recent years. Their last year with a losing record is 2020.

The Eagles need to be challenged. The Packers were the best test of the year. There were close games against the Falcons, Saints and Browns, but those had more to do with sloppy play by the Eagles than strong competition. Green Bay is 5-2. They have a good coach and star QB. They have talented players. The Eagles out-played them and won 34-29 in the opener.

A lot has changed since the opener so it will be good to see how the Eagles do in another good test, especially for the defense. Vic Fangio’s group has played well in 3 of the past 4 games and seems to be on the rise. They stumbled against Tampa. Baker Mayfield torched them with quick throws that negated the pass rush and kept the chains moving.

Fangio has been around a long time. He knows how to adjust and find solutions. But those solutions are a lot easier to come up with when going against broken QBs like Deshaun Watson and Daniel Jones. Joe Burrow is a whole other story.

It will be interesting to see if the revamped secondary can slow down Burrow and Chase. It will be interesting to see if the pass rush can get to Burrow and/or pressure him on a regular basis. I don’t expect the Eagles to shut down the Bengals the way they did the Browns or Giants. The defense needs to come up with some key stops. It would be great if the defense could come up with some takeaways. Cincy has turnovers in 5 of 7 games so they are vulnerable in that area.

The Eagles offense has to score TDs. This isn’t a game where you are likely to kick FGs and win. The Eagles scored 2 TDs in  against the Saints, Bucs and Browns. They scored 4 last week. They are going to need more of that to beat the Bengals.

*****

Friday’s Injury Report#PHIvsCIN pic.twitter.com/8haVxeRBpy

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 25, 2024

Tyler Steen will be starting at RG. He played well last week and has looked good this season. Becton is more erratic, but has more dominant moments.

No Goedert isn’t ideal, but also not surprising. The Eagles have enough weapons to win without him. Still, life is a lot less easy when you go from an above average starter who can catch and block to a pair of young TEs, one who can catch and one who can block.

Overall the Eagles are pretty healthy. They will win or lose this game on performance, not the injured list. A win wouldn’t mean anything definitively, but would sure make everyone feel even better about this Eagles team.

Keep stacking those wins.

Dallas is all over the place. The Niners are beat up and struggling. The Vikings have lost two in a row. The Lions are the best team in the NFC, but things are wide open after that.

_