Can the Falcons be stopped? That’s the question on everybody’s lips after Atlanta recorded yet another victory on Thursday, a 43-28 conquest of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. With the win, the Falcons improved to 6-3 as they opened up a 1.5-game lead atop the NFC South standings.
Leading the way for the Falcons in this victory was Matt Ryan. He completed 25 of 34 passes against the Bucs for 344 yards and four touchdowns. Ryan finished this matchup with an incredible passer rating of 144.7. Wide receiver Julio Jones was Ryan’s favorite target in this contest, catching eight passes for 111 yards and a score. Devonta Freeman also benefited from Ryan’s stellar play, racking up 105 yards of total offense.
The Falcons will look to sustain the momentum of that huge win when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles this coming Sunday. For Atlanta to extend its winning streak even further, it needs to continue its excellent play on the offensive end. The Falcons lead the league in scoring (33.9 PPG) and total offense (429.2 YPG) this season. They will have their work cut out for them, however, against a Philadelphia side that is seventh in the NFL in scoring defense, allowing just 18.1 points per game this campaign.
That being said, the Falcons will fancy their chances against the Eagles as they have fared extremely well against them of late. The Falcons have won each of their last three meetings with the Eagles. The Falcons have covered the spread in all three games as well. Atlanta defeated Philadelphia, 26-24, in their lone matchup last season. Jones starred for Atlanta in that ballgame, nabbing nine catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
The Falcons are 5-1 SU and 6-0 ATS in their last six road games.
Philadelphia’s losing woes show no sign of abating as the Eagles crashed to their second consecutive defeat with a stinging 28-23 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday. The Eagles simply had no answer for Giants quarterback Eli Manning who threw for 257 yards and four touchdowns. With the loss, the Eagles dropped to the bottom of the NFC East standings with an even 4-4 slate.
They will look to get their season back on track when they lock horns with the Falcons this coming Sunday. For the Eagles to record the bounce-back win, they will need to execute much better on the offensive end. They went just 3 for 15 on third downs and 1 for 4 on fourth downs against the Giants. Carson Wentz finally looked like a rookie in this contest, throwing interceptions in his first two drives. He was 4-of-11 with no touchdowns on red zone pass attempts Sunday, including four straight incompletions with under two minutes to go. Wentz had thrown a red zone TD in six of his first seven games.
The good news for the Eagles is that they’re back at home for this critical Week 10 clash. As much as they have struggled on the road this year (1-4), the Eagles have compensated for that by performing well at their own home field. Philadelphia is unbeaten through its first three games at Lincoln Financial Field this season.
