Eagles at Saints predictions for Week 3 of the NFL season

Eagles at Saints predictions for Week 3 of the NFL season originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Eagles (1-1) will travel to New Orleans to face the Saints (2-0) on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Caesars Superdome.

Let’s get to the predictions:

Reuben Frank (0-2)

Derek Carr has played 16 drives this year. The Saints have scored on 15 of them – 10 touchdowns and five field goals. And the one drive they didn’t score they were already up 41-19 on the Cowboys in the fourth quarter. With 47 points vs. the Panthers and 44 vs. the Cowboys, the Saints have scored the 4th-most points in NFL history through two games and 2nd-most since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. That’s what the Eagles are up against Sunday on the fast track at the Superdome, where they’re 1-5 the last 20 years, allowing 29 points per game. The Eagles rank in the bottom six in every significant defensive category, and unless they magically figure out how to stop the run, pressure the quarterback and make routine tackles it’s going to be impossible to slow down Carr, Alvin Kamara, Rashid Shaheed, Chris Olave and Company. Now, I don’t think the Saints will put up 40 on the Eagles. They have a lot more talent than the Panthers and they won’t give up like the Cowboys. But I don’t think – likely still without A.J. Brown – they’ll be able to put up enough points to get out of New Orleans with a win.

Saints 31, Eagles 24

Dave Zangaro (1-1)

If the Eagles were at full strength in this game, I’d probably pick them. The Saints have looked great through two weeks but I’m not just not ready to crown them. The sample size is too small. Despite the temptation to pick the Eagles, not having A.J. Brown and C.J. Gardner-Johnson has swayed me the other way. This is a tough game. The Saints’ offense has looked really good running the football and the Eagles just simply can’t stop the run right now and I don’t have a ton of confidence that they’re suddenly going to figure it out this week. Those outside zone runs gave the Eagles fits in Week 2 and the Saints are going to run them a ton in this game.

The Eagles might be able to put up some points on the Saints. This defense is really solid but doesn’t have a ton of blue-chip talent aside from a few key players. Demario Davis is excellent at the linebacker spot and he can change a game. But the Eagles should be able to keep pace. I just think there’s too much working against them in this game.

Saints 27, Eagles 24

Barrett Brooks (0-2)

All those who use these columns to bet, just keep scrolling past this. Once again, I’m going with my heart and intuition. Yes, the Birds’ defense looked horrible last week. Yes, they couldn’t stop the Falcons from scoring a TD to win the game and it only took 1:05. And even worse than that, the defense is giving up over 6.0 yards per carry on the ground. But my glass is still half full. I envision Vic Fangio letting everyone know it’s either put up or shut up! Only players that are playing well will get on the field from this point on. No favoritism for how long you have been on the team or what round you were drafted. The productive players will play no matter how much they are getting paid or how much experience in the league. I’m assuming now that the hungry dogs will get a chance to eat and turn this thing around.

Offensively, the Eagles will be fine. Jalen Hurts will continue to get better and the offense will also evolve as he takes on more of Kellen Moore’s plays in the game plan. It will be a big day for Dallas Goedert. And Saquon Barkley will be the bell cow back for this offense.

Eagles 28, Saints 24

Mike Mulhern (1-1)

The Saints have personified stuck in the middle in the post-Drew Brees era. They’ve hovered around .500 and never made the playoffs, yet continued to make win-now moves with a roster that didn’t seem ready to win now. It seems a switch may finally have flipped with Klint Kubiak taking over for long-time offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael. The Shanahan system fits Derek Carr like a glove, especially when they’re running the ball at this clip. That’s likely to continue Sunday against an Eagles run defense that has been gashed to the tune of 6.4 yards per carry. That’ll give Carr plenty of chances to take deep shots down the field off play action.  Plus, the quarterback is 6-2 with a 103.9 passer rating in 8 career matchups against Vic Fangio.

I expect the Eagles offense to have a better game plan Sunday without AJ. Brown than they did on Monday night. His hamstring injury late in the week made it more difficult to adjust on the fly against the Falcons. But with a full week knowing they’ll be without their star wideout, they can implement more usage of Dallas Goedert and heavy doses of both Saquon Barkley and designed Jalen Hurts runs. Everyone seems ready to anoint the Saints and bury the Eagles. The matchups favor New Orleans and they’re riding sky-high. The Eagles are coming off an epic collapse on a short week on the road in a hostile environment. There’s no reason to pick them, but the NFL is a week-to-week league. I’ll zig while everyone else zags.

Eagles 27, Saints 24

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