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Hostile environment, windy conditions... it’s a tough ask.
It’s either get to .500 or fall into the abyss for a 3-4 Philadelphia Eagles’ team that can’t seem to go a week without a distraction. That’s bad enough, but they also have to “get right” on the road against a 5-1 Buffalo Bills.
On The Kist & Solak Show #137 we broke down how the match-up looks for the Eagles’ defense and on Saturday we flipped the script to focus on how the offense can find success.
I’ll save you a bunch of numbers and analytics that all say the Bills’ defense is a rock solid unit because the eye test will tell you the same. They play smart, fast, together, and you have to earn what you get against them. They also have a reputation for flummoxing quarterbacks, even veterans like Tom Brady, with their pre-snap disguises and post-snap shifts.
Carson Wentz will have to be incredibly sharp from a mental perspective if he’s going to avoid being baited by a team with one of the better coverage units in the league. Tre’Davious White is a stud at outside corner while safeties Jordan Poyer (remember him?) and Micah Hyde have been playing like one of the best and most versatile back-end combos in the league. The weak spot last week was Levi Wallace, who gave up 7 catches, 108 yards, and 1 touchdown, but he was solid for five games before that.
The Eagles will have to force three linebackers or a third safety to come on the field by utilizing 12 personnel and exploit match-up advantages against the Bills’ depth pieces. In a hostile environment and very windy conditions, it might come down to playing bully ball in the run game and incorporating a heavy under center play-action pass game.
One key to that being a success is the status of linebacker Matt Milano, who will test his hamstring Sunday as a game-time decision. I spoke with Bills’ analyst Joe Marino about the impact it could have if he’s out.
“It’s big, Mike. This is big. If you’re an Eagles’ fan you don’t want to see Matt Milano playing on Sunday. He’s a difference maker for this team and really the challenge is that his primary backup Corey Thompson is also hurt... so it’s not a good time when your primary backup at all three positions and your starter is out...
Yeah we get real nervous thinking about Dallas Goedert and Zach Ertz being one-on-one with anybody that’s not Matt Milano to be quite honest with you. So the Bills might have to be creative with how they deal with that.”
You can catch that entire chat with Marino via Eye On the Enemy by listening on the media player below (or click here).
We detailed the rest of the match-up between the Bills’ defense against the Eagles’ offense on The Kist & Solak Show #138, plus we also get into some Orlando Scandrick talk and give our final predictions. Listen to that on the media player below or click here if the player doesn’t load. New to podcasts?! Check out our guide on how to listen to BGN! FLY EAGLES FLY!
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