ATLANTA, GA- Looking to rebound following their disappointing week one loss, the Atlanta Falcons welcome the Philadelphia Eagles to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for Sunday Night Football.
A 28-12 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn spoke bluntly about his feelings of his team’s performance last week saying, “I was more pissed off than I’ve been in a long time.”
Now, Atlanta must turn their attention towards Philadelphia, and coach Quinn talked about his team wiping the slate clean saying, “We certainly, over the last couple of days, evaluated and identified where mistakes were made. That’s the fun part about it. The fresh canvas begins again, and it will be up to us to define our outcome come Sunday night.”
History isn’t on the Atlanta Falcons side, however, having not beaten Philadelphia since 2015, the Eagles have won three consecutive matchups against Atlanta.
If the Falcons are going to rebound, it will start with the battle up front on both sides of the ball, as both struggled mightily in week one.
For the offensive line, it’s all about protecting veteran quarterback Matt Ryan. Allowing four sacks in the season opener, it felt as if Ryan was under pressure throughout the game, and the offense could never find its rhythm because of it. They will have a difficult task on Sunday night, as the Eagles feature one of the premier defensive linemen in the game in tackle Fletcher Cox.
The Atlanta Falcons will also have to overcome a tough injury, as first-round draft pick Chris Lindstrom, unfortunately, injured his foot and requires surgery, he was placed on the IR.
Atlanta’s defensive line was unable to create the same kind of pressure as their Minnesota counterparts, creating just one sack. Much like the Falcons offense couldn’t get in a rhythm because of the constant pressure, the opposite was true for the Vikings, as Kirk Cousins was able to sit in the pocket comfortably and control the game while running back Dalvin Cook was able to explode for a breakout performance.
The battle upfront will be the key matchup to look for, and if the Falcons can remain competitive on both sides of the line, they will be in this game.
For Atlanta to bounce back in week two, they’ll need to get in the endzone and avoid costly turnovers. Actually outgaining Minnesota in week one, the Falcons had two drives end in Vikings territory at times in the game where they desperately needed to put points on the scoreboard.
Matt Ryan’s stat line was better than it should have been, completing 33 of his 46 passing attempts for 304-yards with two late-game touchdowns as Atlanta tried to rally in the fourth quarter. Ryan’s two interceptions were costly, however, as one gave the Vikings prime field position deep in Atlanta territory, and the other a bad overthrow to the back of the endzone. Coach Quinn has constantly preached winning the turnover game, and the Falcons failed to do so in week one and will need to make a point to correct this to avoid falling to 0-2 on the season.
I wrote in my Vikings preview that Atlanta had too many unknowns and question marks coming into the season for me to pick them to win. Now that we have seen them for a game, it’s more a matter of fixing issues from the season opener. I believe the Falcons will be more competitive in week two, but the issues upfront remain and will be a sticking point for this team until they can find a permanent fix. Due to this, the losing streak to Philadelphia will continue, as I have the Eagles beating the Falcons.
Prediction: Eagles 27 – Falcons 24
The Falcons and Eagles will take the stage for Sunday Night Football from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta with an 8:30 p.m. kickoff.
