Patriots – Eagles Key Matchups, Who Has the Razor’s Edge?
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Eagles RBs vs NE Front Seven – Razor’s Edge New England
The Eagles signed free agent running backs DeMarco Murray from the Cowboys and Ryan Matthews from the Chargers this season while releasing Shady McCoy who wound up in Buffalo. It was a mistake. Murray isn’t a great fit in the Eagles’ offense where McCoy was consistently one of the more dangerous players in the NFL.
Matthews is a better fit and has been effective, but he’s suffering from groin and concussion issues. He didn’t practice on Tuesday and has to be questionable for this week. Their offensive line is banged up, they released Julian Vandervalde this week and signed Barrett Jones off the Bears practice squad.
The Patriots once again struggled against Gary Kubiak’s running scheme (similar to the divisional playoff game in 2014) in Denver last week. But they remain very stout against the run. The big key was the loss of Hightower, Jerod Mayo and Jonathan Freeny seemed to get washed up too often at the second level. But the good news is that they will probably get Jamie Collins back this week.
Eagles WRs vs NE Secondary- Razor’s Edge New England
Sam Bradford should return this week, he suffered a sprained AC joint in his left (non-throwing) shoulder as well as a concussion in the Miami game. Prior to that injury, he seemed to be finally getting comfortable in Kelly’s system and was playing his best football.
Jordan Matthews is the Philly deep threat and should see plenty of coverage from Malcolm Butler. Riley Cooper, Nelson Agholor will be looked to as well as TEs Zach Ertz and Brent Celek with running backs Murray and Darren Sproles out of the backfield.
The Patriots have been giving up some yards this season but the pass defense has been far from the struggling unit that many envisioned this season. Butler and Logan Ryan have played very well at the corners; but they’ll probably be without slot corner Justin Coleman again.
The pass rush has been solid this season, expect them to be very aggressive against Bradford and a banged up offensive line. The break-neck speed in which the Eagles operate can really wear down a defense. The key is to stop them quickly, force a three and out and keep Brady and the offense on the field.
Special Teams- Razor’s Edge New England
The Patriots have one of the best if not the best special teams units in the league with an outstanding pair of kickers in Stephen Gostkowski and Ryan Allen. Gostkowski remains the best kicker in the NFL, and his long field goal in the snowy conditions in Denver sent the game into overtime. Allen has put 23 of his 46 punts inside the 20-yard line this season and has a 41.1 yard net average. The Patriots have had very good coverage in their kicking game.
The Eagles counter with Caleb Sturgis and Donnie Jones who has a very respectable 41.7 net average on his punts. The Eagles coverage units have been very solid this season and have Sproles who had a return for a TD in Week 3 returning punts. But they’ve had two punts blocked and long snapper John Dorenbos has been shaky.
Next up, who wins and why…
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