The Eagles may have survived Brazil without any significant injuries and flew back to the U.S. with a shiny 1-0 record atop the NFC East, but that was no home opener.
This Monday, the Eagles will play their first game at the Linc. For the third straight year, they’ll be played by a Kirk Cousins-led team.
However, instead of the looming threat of Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson, the Eagles will now have to plan for Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, and Drake London.
Close Encounters of the Kirk Kind
Dating back to 2014, Kirk Cousins is 6-5 when playing the Eagles.
With his years on the Commanders(formerly Redskins), 4-3. With 4 games against the Eagles, while playing on the Vikings, he had gone 2-2. With his 2 wins coming against Doug/Wentz-led teams and the 2 losses against Sirianni/Hurts-led teams.
In those 2 losses, Kirk Cousins posted these state lines
- 2023 Week 2(34-28): 31/44, 364 Yards, 4 TD, 0INT
- 2022 Week 2(24-7): 27/46, 221 Yards, 1TD, 3INT
While the Eagles’ defense had a dominating performance in 2022, there was room for worry when the 2023 defense was blowing leads to the Vikings, Patriots, and Commanders to start the season.
With a 2-score lead entering the fourth quarter, it wasn’t long before it was a 6-point game with 7 minutes to play.
The Eagles may have been able to beat Kirk the last 2 times he visited Lincoln Financial Field.
But can they do it again?
The Only NFC Bird Team On The 2024 Schedule
Thankfully, the Eagles don’t have to play the Seahawks or Cardinals again this regular season. Both of those games were disasters, so they’ll have to play a different black and red bird team instead.
The last time these teams played was Jalen Hurts first season as a starter. They played on the road in Atlanta to start the season, and the Eagles came out swinging with a 32-6 victory with a rather middling team start to gather some attention. While that Eagles team went on to finish 9-8 before being routed by Tom Brady in the Wildcard round, there was promise for a future.
That’s where this team comes in. Two years removed from the Super Bowl, with a disastrous bunch of interim coordinators replaced, it is hunting for a third straight 2-0 start.
Jalen’s one and only game against Atlanta saw a 264-yard, 3TD night. While things might not have looked promising against Green Bay, there are multiple reasons to be more and less worried about this week’s matchup.
Offense
The Falcons offense STRUGGLED against the Steelers. Kirk and Bijan were both outplayed by Justin Fields and Najee Harris. There isn’t much to get excited about Fields’ 156-yard day, but Kirk’s 2 interceptions, multiple fumbles, and questionable plays left a looming question for the Falcons. Was $180 million for a 36-year-old quarterback coming off a mid-season Achilles tear really the best decision? There’s room to grow for Kirk Cousins in this new offense, but perhaps Penix will see playing time before they’re truly ruled out from playoff contention.
With the Buccaneers and Saints already picking up wins to start the year, the Falcons will be off to a rocky start if they come out of the gate 0-2.
The Eagles’ defensive line might not have a complete game wrecker like T.J. Watt, but they have more than enough pieces that should be able to keep Cousins in the pocket and force loss of yards and turnovers.
Defense
Heading into the season, I had the Falcons as a near-division winner but likely coming up short as a wildcard contender. That title might change following this weekend, but I’ve been paying attention to some of the additions the Falcons have made over the last few months.
A team that lost Bud Dupree and Calais Campbell was looking thin on the defensive line, but for the cost of a 2025 3rd round pick, was able to add Matthew Judon, who missed most of his final season in New England. And just a day later, the Falcons added Justin Simmons to the secondary, a player who many thought the Eagles might’ve pursued with connections to Vic Fangio.
Grady Jarrett, Jessie Bates, and A.J. Terrell are still on defense. There could be concern about what the Eagles are up against on Monday. Hurts’ game wasn’t flawless in Brazil, and these are the easy games that need to be picked up early to hopefully grow a lead on the division or even the NFC.
Will the Eagles continue to roll with over 400 yards of offense again? Or was the 18-10 defensive outing from last week just a preview of what’s to come from a new Falcons team?
PHOTO: Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
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