Game Preview – DEN at PHI

Another week, another test. The Eagles have played a tough schedule so far and things don’t get any easier on Sunday. The Broncos are only 2-2, but don’t let that record fool you. This is a very talented team with a ton of potential.

As I watched and listened to football content in August, the Broncos were mentioned over and over as the sleeper team to reach the Super Bowl. Good offense, good defense, good coach. That’s a winning formula. They got off to an erratic start in the first three weeks (sound familiar?) and found themselves just 1-2 after some last minute losses. Then the Bengals came to town. The final score was 28-3, but the Broncos out-gained Cincy by more than 350 yards. That is nuts. Total domination.

Does that game show Denver is now ready to roll? Maybe. But I’m reminded of the 2007 Eagles. They started 0-2 with a couple of close losses. The Lions came to town and the Eagles destroyed them, 56-21. We all hoped the Eagles were set to go on a roll. They lost the next week and 2 of the next 3 games. The great win over the Lions was fun, but a major anomaly.

The Eagles will be a huge test for the Broncos. This is their chance to show they can beat a top team. You can bet Sean Payton will have his team ready to go. QB Bo Nix is in his second season. He’s been up and down this season, but he’s coming off his best game of the year. Vic Fangio talked about Nix reminding him of Baker Mayfield. I thought the same things when watching MNF as Nix shredded the Bengals. He is a good pocket passer. He also throws well on the move and knows how to use his legs to either buy time or move the chains.

Denver has a good OL and wants to run the ball. The Eagles run defense has been porous at times so this will make for a tough matchup. Payton will see what the Rams were able to do with formations and try to steal some ideas. You can’t sell out to play the run because the Broncos have talented receivers. It will be interesting to see if Quinyon Mitchell follows Courtland Sutton around or just plays one side.

The focus in this game will be the Eagles offense against the Broncos defense. The whole world has spent the past week talking about what is wrong with the Eagles. Now they will go up against the second-ranked scoring defense in the league. Denver has the best pass rush and arguably the best corner. That makes for a major challenge.

The good news is that Denver likes to play man coverage. The Colts gained 476 yards on them and the Chargers got 376. If you have good players, you can have success. The Eagles have good players, but we’ve seen maddeningly inconsistent offense this year. After all the noise about the WRs, this would be a good time to get the ball to AJ and DeVonta early and often. Patrick Surtain is an elite corner. He will be a tough matchup for whoever he goes against.

The Eagles OL must come up big in this game. Denver edge rushers Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper are explosive. They have the size and style that can give Mailata and Johnson fits.

#Broncos OLB Jonathon Cooper has the fastest average get-off (0.69 seconds) of anyone in the NFL with 10-plus QB pressures so far, per @NextGenStats

Edge partner Nik Bonitto is tied for second (0.72 seconds)

— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) September 30, 2025

Zach Allen is a disruptive DT. Landon Dickerson needs to keep him under control. It sure would help if the run game got going. That means good blocking by the OL, TEs and WRs. Saquon Barkley has to do his part. There is too much talent for the Eagles to be struggling the way they are. Jordan Mailata has an interesting theory on one issue.

Eagles LT Jordan Mailata reveals what he thinks could be causing some of the issues on the offense right now.

From tonight’s Jordan Mailata Show: pic.twitter.com/995dqaxVbp

— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) September 30, 2025

It does bother me to see the Eagles snapping the ball so late play after play. Get set and give Jalen Hurts time to look at the defense. Let the OL see who they need to be blocking. Hopefully the Eagles will speed up the operation a bit and that will have a positive effect.

Hurts is a much better QB vs man coverage than zone. It will be interesting to see if Broncos DC Vance Joseph plays more zone because of this or sticks with his preference. The Eagles can study what Shane Steichen did a few weeks back when Indy had so much success. The red zone will be huge in this game. The Eagles have the best red zone offense. The Broncos have the best red zone defense. Who will win that battle?

I go back and forth on this game. Part of me thinks the Eagles will respond to all the noise from the week with a good performance. This team has found ways to win all year. They’re at home and should be able to do it again.

On the flip side the Broncos have a mobile QB and elite speed rushers. Those are the kind of players who can give the Eagles fits. While it has been great to see the Eagles make clutch plays this season, you can’t get by on that all year. Could this be the week that catches up with the Birds?

I lean toward an Eagles win, but I don’t say that with a lot of confidence.

*****

If you need something to kill some time, check out this PHI-DEN game from 1989. Cunningham vs Elway. Lots of big plays and wild moments. Fun game.

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