Battle Of The Birds Should Lack A Bit Of Explosiveness

Falcons vs. Eagles, 8:15 ET

Falcons vs. Eagles, 8:15 ET

Tonight serves as a day for me to try and break even for the week, or potentially get ahead if my betting leads to more than one play. I didn’t hit a first touchdown winner this week after getting two in week one, but maybe tonight is the night? I lost the teaser that I put out for us to play – both legs actually lost and would’ve provided a great payday if you parlayed the moneylines of the Raiders and Vikings. Nonetheless, we are back and trying to capture a win on Monday Night Football as the Falcons take on the Eagles.

The Falcons were… uninsipiring in their first game of the season. I was openly a member of the Arthur Smith has no idea what he is doing and using Kyle Pitts and Bijon Robinson incorrectly. Maybe I was wrong and they both just aren’t that great at this level. Perhaps it is wrong to overreact to just one game with a new coach and a new (to the team) quarterback, but very little went well for the Falcons in their first game. Atlanta took on the Steelers in the first game and you know that Pittsburgh is going to bring a good gameplan and defense to the party. They did just that and stopped the Falcons from getting much of anything as they gained just 226 yards and went 2-for-9 on third down attempts. Kirk Cousins looked rusty, going 16-for-26 and tossing two interceptions. The Falcons have to establish the ground game if they want to give Cousins any type of time or to give space on the field. The Philadelphia defense has a decent secondary, but they certainly have some spots they can be beaten. It was clear, at least during the game against the Steelers, the Falcons didn’t want to take many chances, their longest completion was just 20 yards. They have to mix up their attempts and see if they can get a couple of big plays to give momentum and stop them from facing third and long multiple times. 

Atlanta Falcons rookie QB Michael Penix Jr. trains with QB Kirk Cousins during OTA workouts. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

The Eagles first game had a lot more positive, and the team was quick to showcase their new running back, Saquon Barkley. Barkley was able to pile up three touchdowns, two on the ground and one through the air. He was given the rock 24 times and carried the Eagles to 109 yards as well. The Eagles line wasn’t great and there were some issues between their new center and Jalen Hurts, but this is still the best line that Barkley has probably ever run behind. A big factor in the game against the Packers was AJ Brown. Brown, a great receiver, hauled in five of his 10 targets for 119 yards and a touchdown. Philadelphia will be without Brown tonight so I do have a bit of concern for how effective the offense will be. Barkley will probably be featured even more tonight than last week. Additionally, I wouldn’t be totally surprised to see Dallas Goedert to get additional looks from Hurts. The Falcons defense is decent enough, and I expect them to try and have Hurts beat them through the air. It is possible that Hurts can get that done. He is capable of it, but he also has a penchant for making dumb throws, especially when he is on the move. 

It is almost certainly still going to take some time for the Falcons to figure out their offense and get everything firing on all cylinders. In theory, the team probably has the assets needed to put together a tough offense to beat. On defense, the team has enough pieces to at least keep them in most games. They should keep them in this game without AJ Brown on the field as well. I’ll back the under 45.5 in this one. 

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