The NFL regular season is officially here, as the Philadelphia Eagles will face the Atlanta Falcons down in Georgia's capital. This article will compare both teams at every position and see which one has the advantage in this matchup.
QB: Advantage Falcons
Jalen Hurts is still a mystery which could be an advantage in itself, but Matt Ryan is a former MVP and is still considered in the top half of the league in QB play. Ryan gets the edge here.
RB: Advantage Eagles
The Falcons are relying on Mike Davis to replicate his breakout 2020 season, but they don't have much depth behind Davis. Miles Sanders has a good shot of being a top 10 RB this season, and behind him the Eagles have some good pass catches in the backfield in Boston Scott and rookie Kenneth Gainwell. The Eagles RBs get the edge here.
WR: Advantage Falcons
The Falcons did lose Julio Jones, but Calvin Ridley can certainly become the next Julio and be a reliable #1 option for Atlanta. There's a lot of hype for DeVonta Smith, but outside of Smith there is still a lot of mystery with Jalen Reagor, Quez Watkins, and Greg Ward. Falcons have the advantage here.
TE: Advantage Eagles
Kyle Pitts is set to become the next TE superstar in the league, but the Zach Ertz + Dallas Goedert combo is still a lethal force. Advantage Eagles.
OL: Advantage Eagles
As of now the Eagles o-line is fully healthy, and there is plenty of former All-Pros and Pro Bowlers across the line. They should have a clear advantage in this one.
Pash Rushers (DE/OLB): Advantage Eagles
The Eagles' backups on the d-line would all likely be starts down in Atlanta. The Eagles have a decided advantage at this position.
LBs: Push
The Eagles still don't really invest much in their linebackers, but the Falcons aren't revolutionizing the position either with their corps. There's no clear advantage at this position between the two teams.
DBs: Push
The Eagles starting DBs might actually be decent this year, but for Week 1 they'll be without Rodney McLeod which sets them back a notch. The Falcons aren't too shabby with their DBs, but I see it as a push between the two teams at this position.
STs: Advantage Falcons
Younghoe Koo was the best kicker in the NFC last season and earned a Pro Bowl selection. Not only has Jake Elliott has been shaky after his hearty contract extension, but now he has a new holder with Arryn Siposs and it could take some time to build some chemistry between them two and longsnapper Rick Lovato. There were no hiccups in the preseason, so that could be a good sign, but for now the Falcons have a clear advantage across their special teams.
Closing Comments
This game seems to be pretty even between the two different birds, but this game could come down to which team is better in the trenches, and if that's the case the Eagles will have a pretty good shot to come back to Philly 1-0.
