For the third year in a row, the Eagles Week 2 game comes against Kirk Cousins in Prime Time. Philly won the last two, which makes sense when going up against the legend of Prime Time Kirk, who had four total turnovers in the two games. Kirk is 12-20 all-time in Prime Time games, with only four of those wins coming on the road. Of course, the last two times were when Cousins was a member of the Minnesota Vikings, and now he'll be on the Atlanta Falcons.
This is the Eagles' second straight Prime Time game, as they're coming off a Friday night win over the Packers in Brazil. The Eagles have five total Prime Time games this year after going 4-5 in Prime Time last season. This week, it's on a Monday Night in Philadelphia so that the Birds will have an actual home-field advantage.
The Eagles are 21-15-1 when facing the Falcons and have won four of the last five matchups. The two teams haven't faced each other since Week 1 in 2021, when DeVonta Smith made his NFL debut in Jalen Hurts' first Week 1 start. These are two almost entirely new teams since that game, so it should be a closer contest than last time.
Game Info
Date: September 16th, 2024
Start Time: 8:15 PM ET
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Stadium: Lincoln Financial Field
TV Info: ESPN (Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on the call)
Eagles Uniform Info: Midnight green helmet, midnight green jersey, white pants, white socks
Falcons Statistical Rankings 2023
Points Per Game: 19 (26th)
Points Allowed Per Game: 21.9 (17th)
Offensive Yards Per Game: 334.3 (17th)
Passing/Rushing Yards Per Game: 207.3 (22nd) | 127 (9th)
Defensive Yards Allowed Per Game: 321.1 (9th)
Passing/Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 202.9 (8th) | 118.2 (20th)
Third Down Offensive/Defensive Conversion Rate: 40% (13th) | 47.1% (24th)
Red Zone Offensive/Defensive Conversion Rate: 46.8% (30th) | 45.3% (4th)
Penalties: 84 (5th)
Penalty Yardage: 743 (11th)
Players Already Ruled Out
Falcons: CB Antonio Hamilton Sr., LB Nate Landman, LB Milo Eifler, S DeMarcco Hellams, RB Robert Burns
Eagles: WR AJ Brown, CB James Bradberry IV, WR Jacob Harris, S Sydney Brown
Atlanta Falcons
Defense
The Falcons' defense was bent but didn't break in Week 1. They allowed only two red zone trips the entire game, and neither ended in the end zone. Of his six made field goals, Chris Boswell made three 50+ yard field goals, scoring all the team's points. The Falcons haven't allowed a TD yet this season, and while "this season" is one game so far, it sounds way better if I word it that way.
Aj Terrell is fortunate because AJ Brown isn't playing. What's unfortunate for him is that the Eagles have arguably the best WR2 in the league in DeVonta Smith. Last week, Terrell was matched up against George Pickens. He allowed four receptions on four targets and 65 yards. Assuming Smith will be targeted more than four times in this game, Terrell must clean up his play.
Dallas Goedert will likely be more of a factor this week due to AJ Brown's absence. Last week, the Falcons gave up six receptions for only 41 yards. In Week 1, Goedert had four receptions for 31 yards, so the Falcons could realistically contain Goedert. Another target to watch is Jahan Dotson, who will be upgraded to WR2 this week after getting no action in his Birds debut.
Offense
If the Falcons didn't even give up a TD, how did they lose? Because their offense is still stale. Drake London had two receptions for 15 yards, and Kyle Pitts had three for 26 but could also reel in a score. Bijan Robinson averaged 3.8 a carry and ran for 68 yards. He was also heavily involved in the passing game, leading the team in receptions with five for 43 yards.
In his Atlanta debut, Kirk Cousins struggled mightily. He was 16/26 passing for just 155 yards and one TD, alongside his two interceptions. Cousins was only sacked twice, but he was the head of an offense that found minimum success outside of one drive. That one drive ended in a TD that put the Falcons up 10-6 in the second quarter. Atlanta didn't score the rest of the game and lost 18-10.
Falcons slot receiver Ray-Ray McCloud led the team in receiving yards with 52. The Eagles were hurt most by Packers slot guy Jayden Reed last week. Ray-Ray could very well replicate or outdo his Week 1 performance. Bijan Robinson could also have himself a game against a run defense that allowed 163 yards on 21 attempts and a rushing TD.
Philadelphia Eagles
Defense
Philly gave up 29 points in Week 1 but didn't look terrible overall. The Eagles' offense wasn't helping the defense much, giving Green Bay three extra possessions. Their run defense will need to improve this week, especially with Bijan Robinson in the backfield. They allowed 7.8 yards per carry last week and a 33-yard rushing TD to Jayden Reed.
The Birds' secondary did well against Jordan Love and his group of pass catchers. They allowed only 50% of his passes to be completed, giving up 260 yards and 2 TDs, but on 34 attempts, that's not too shabby. They held everyone outside of Jayden Reed in check, but half of Reed's receiving yards did come in one play, so it's not like he was consistently killing them. They shouldn't have an issue with the Falcons' offensive talent, and their odds are still pretty nice against Kirk.
The Eagles pass rush also needs to pick up this week; they had only two sacks by Zack Baun last week. His second sack was on the final play of the game and the perfect exclamation mark to cap off the Birds' Week 1 win. None of the Eagles' big-name pass rushers got home. If they can get to the quarterback more, it'll also help the secondary and make the whole defense smoother. If the Eagles can get pressure on Kirk and contain the run game, it should be smooth sailing for this defense.
Offense
The Eagles' offense was adequate but not mistake-free in the season opener. Philly turned the ball over three times and still put up 34 points in the win. Saquon Barkley was primarily to thank for those 34 points, as he accounted for three scores. DeVonta Smith was Hurts' most reliable target, with AJ Browns being quiet outside of one HUGE play when he scored a 67-yard TD to start the second half.
AJ Brown, of course, won't play this week, but the Eagles offense shouldn't lose too much steam. DeVonta Smith is more of a WR1 B than a WR2. Jahan Dotson wasn't a factor in Week 1, seeing only one target and no receptions. Dallas Goedert wasn't super effective last week, and the Falcons defended the Pittsburgh tight ends effectively so that it might be another quiet week for him. Saquon will likely see another large workload. Hopefully, the Birds don't need to rely on him to score three times again, but nobody outside of Atlanta will complain if he does.
Jalen Hurts needs to protect the ball better in Week 2. Usually, the Eagles can overcome Hurts' mistakes, but if you want to be a Super Bowl-contending team, you must play as close to perfect as possible. Getting by is not a sustainable way of winning, and last week, it felt like that's exactly what the Eagles were doing again. Jalen Hurts doesn't need to be perfect, and he doesn't need to be flashy. He needs to be effective and consistent, and he needs to play smart. Everyone has seen him do t before; it's time to return to that.
Betting Info
Points Spread: PHI -5.5 (-112) | ATL +5.5 (-108)
Moneyline: PHI (-245) | ATL (+200)
Over/Under: O 46 (-108) | U 46 (-112)
Lines Via Draft Kings as of Sunday, September 15th
Prediction
The Eagles are home after a long break between games and a win, hosting the Falcons, who just lost to the Steelers in Atlanta. Even with AJ Brown not playing, the Eagles have plenty of players to take his share of targets, or Philly could rely on the run game and Saquon Barkley. The Eagles' defense won't be as strong as Pittsburgh's was last week, so the Falcons should get their offense moving smoothly. I think the Falcons COULD make it a game, but looking at how each team performed last week, it's not a hard decision to pick Philly to win this game. I think it'll be a 10+ point victory, and the Birds will start the season 2-0. If you're a betting person, I'd go ahead and put your money on the Eagles moneyline, spread, and over 46 points.
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