Eagles Emerge from Bye Week Stronger and Healthier, Ready to Face Packers on Monday Night
Before their bye week, the Philadelphia Eagles exacted revenge on the New York Giants, beating them 38-20.
Saquon Barkley left the game with a groin injury, though, which obviously concerned Eagles fans everywhere.
However, it seems that Barkley is making progress in his recovery and is trending towards being healthy in time for the Eagles’ Monday night clash with the Green Bay Packers.
Tank Bigsby is a decent backup running back, but there is a huge difference between relying on him in change-of-pace situations and relying on him to be the primary back.
Another offensive star should be back in action for the Eagles. That’s wide receiver AJ Brown. While he has had an up-and-down season, even being wrapped up in trade rumors, the Eagles are clearly more dangerous when he is on the field. They will hope to have Brown and Barkley back healthy against the Packers.
It would be especially good to have Saquon back, since the Packers have struggled mightily against the run this season. In Week 9, the Panthers beat the Packers thanks to 130 rushing yards and two touchdowns from Rico Dowdle.
In the Packers’ only other loss this season, Quinshon Judkins led the Browns with 94 rushing yards and the Browns’ only touchdown of the game.
Even in games that the Packers have won (or tied), the opposing running back has usually had a good day.
The other piece of the puzzle for beating the Packers is having a good defense.
The Eagles’ defense is already robust, but they have added two outstanding pieces in the last few days before the trade deadline.
First, cornerback Jaire Alexander is headed to Philly from the Baltimore Ravens. He will provide depth and be a solid starter if Adoree Jackson misses more time due to injury.
Then, outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips was acquired from the Miami Dolphins to help bolster the pass rush. He should be a starter and an immediate significant contributor.
The Eagles are the defending Super Bowl champions. And they just got indisputably stronger. That’s scary for the rest of the league.
Prediction
The Eagles had a week off. Their stars are getting healthy. Their defense got a talent boost. The Packers are coming off a demoralizing loss to a team they would have expected to beat. All signs point to an Eagles victory.
However, primetime games are usually closer and harder-fought than they may seem. The Packers are a good football team. They will be hungry to prove that to the whole league by attempting to take down the defending NFL champs on Monday night.
The Packers will put up a good fight, but there is no apparent weakness with this Eagles team right now. If everyone is healthy, this will be an Eagles win.
Eagles 31, Packers 27