After a breather in the previous week, it’s the turn of all four teams who won 13 victories in the regular season. The Philadelphia Eagles against the Atlanta Falcons go into their second playoff week as outsiders for the first time ever, despite the top seed. The Tennessee Titans, on the other hand, have little to say about the New England Patriots. The Divisional Round matches can be seen live on Saturday from 22.35 hrs on DAZN.
The way to the playoffs:
Eagles: No other team in the entire league has been as compact and reliable as the Eagles over long stretches of the season. Philly was able to rely on Carson Wentz’s meteoric rise in the second season. The quarterback threw 33 touchdown passes to lead his side to a 10-1 start of the season after a disappointing previous year. On Running Back the team had a luxury problem for Jay Ajayi over long distances and at the latest after the trade. In addition to the J-train, coach Doug Pederson had three other options with LeGarrette Blount, Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement, which he could always count on.
Defensive, on the other hand, was dominated by the run stop. Football Outsiders lists the Eagles over the Regular Season with 2.99 Adjusted Yard Lines, by far the best value on place 1. Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham had a great year in the Pass Rush and many young players were able to make a step forward. Quite a few people saw the Eagles in the role of favorites – cross-conference. Then week 14 came. There was the game at the Rams and Wentz’ painful touchdown run, which, to top it all, was also invalid because of a holding offence.
Falcons: The Falcons are after the victory in LA. towards their big target, the Super Bowl revenge. The season was one with a slow start and a strong final spurt. In the NFC, however, it was still only third place. At least the Wild-Card-Spot was caught. Here they won against an inexperienced Rams-team with 26:23.
Especially the defensive side worked in L. A. excellently prepared for the strong run of Todd Gurley. In the Red Zone, the opponent was held in one of four successful trips. Offensively, Matt Ryan saw himself under strong pressure, but was able to rely on his go-to-guy, Julio Jones.
The current situation:
Eagles: The Eagles enter the game as outsiders. Lane Johnson is even annoyed about a “treatment as if we were the browns”. All eyes are now on backup quarterback Nick Foles. The Playcaller, who even managed a 7-touchdown performance in his career, is not expected to do much after the past seasons. The performances in the last three games were also not very promising. In the last game of the season against the cowboys, the QB was even placed on the bench after only 4 of 11 successful passes and a pick for Backup Nate Sudfeld.
Foles is an all-or-nothing quarterback. There is a good and a bad foles, so to speak. In his 29 victories, he scored 64 percent of his throws (8.18 yards per attempt) for 49 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. In the 20 defeats, it was 55 percent successful passes (5.75 yards per attempt) with 12 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. At cold temperatures in Philly, the race will probably have to get most of the success for the Eagles.
Falcons: Just when the chemistry between Ryan and Jones from last season seems to be refreshing again, the Wideout announced itself of two units this week. On Saturday, however, he should be fit again on the pitch. Jones had been plagued with recurrent ankle problems. On Saturday he will have to deliver a big game.
Defensively, Atlanta seemed very stable against the Rams. With regard to the game against Philly, this will play an enormous role. The Eagles will primarily bet on the run and, unlike rams, will be able to attack with several different weapons.
Players to Watch:
Eagles: Jay Ajayi. There’s no question about it, with the current situation on quarterback Philly wants to get the running game going. The newcomer was able to establish itself well during the season and became the first running back early on, even if you tend to split up snaps. For Ajayi, the Falcons are not the best formation in terms of run defense. The former Dolphin will be the deciding factor when it comes to identifying gaps and fighting for extra yards. Phillies Running Backs run for 4.52 yards per run this year. One of the top scores in the league.
Falcons: Julio Jones. 9 receipts for 94 yards and a touchdown for Jones at the game in LA. He will have to play a similarly important role on Saturday evening. In the running game you will encounter a strong unit that provoked one of the top scores in third-and-long trials during the season. In addition, Ryan is again expecting a lot of pressure against a strong pass rush and so the veteran will be happy to look for a large play station.
That’s what matters:
On the one hand, the Eagles will always try to take as much pressure as possible from Foles and push the ball into the hands of the running backs. It will be very important to win the game on the Line of Scrimmage. The same applies to Phillies Defense. You must not let the opponent’s running game get going and must force Ryan to throw. The Interior Pass Rush can make the difference here.
The Falcons, on the other hand, want to control the game with their own possessions and spend as much time as possible with the ball in their own hands. Already against L. A. the Time of Possession was an enormously important factor that took the opponent out of play after his early backlog. The running game on both backs has to work in Philadelphia, too.
forecast:
For the first time in the history of playoffs, a first-overall seed goes as an outsider in the game against the Wild Card team. The Eagles have lost their rhythm without Wentz and don’t really trust their backup. He would like to prove the opposite to everyone, but the game is decided at the line of scrimmage. Here Atlanta made a very good impression recently and will be able to underline this against Philly. The Falcons are also the more play-off-experienced team. Tip: 16:9 Falcons
Pascal
De Marco
Page 1: Philadelphia Eagles – Atlanta Falcons
Page 2: New England Patriots – Tennessee Titans