All-22: How The Eagles Can Beat The Patriots Part Two
Breaking down how the Philadelphia Eagles could upset the reigning Superbowl champions.
The Eagles are limping into this week’s contest versus the New England Patriots after getting blown off the field in back-to-back games to teams who won’t be competing for a playoff spot anytime soon. And now they are tasked with coming up with a way to salvage their season by beating a 10-1 Patriots team who could be 11-0 if it weren’t for some costly injuries.
Earlier in the week, I took at a look at what teams have had success doing against Bill Belichick’s squad and today I will show that the Eagles are capable of doing those things, if they show up to play on Sunday.
Related Read: Part one of how the Eagles can upset the Patriots
PRESSURE BRADY
Last week, Vinny Curry played just 15 snaps, but racked up two sacks in the process. Curry will likely sign elsewhere in free agency this off-season, but he has proven to be an invaluable pass rusher capable of lining up all over the formation.
His first sack was pretty straight-forward. He lined up over the right tackle and used his combination of speed and power to gain inside leverage and sack Matt Stafford. The Eagles rushed just four against the Lions six blockers and it looks like the right guard was supposed to double-team Curry, but he was too slow to aid his teammate.
As good as this was, Curry’s second sack shows how important he can be to Bill Davis‘s game-plan on Sunday:
Curry isn’t lined up on the line of scrimmage, instead him and Fletcher Cox start out in two-point stances over the guards and simultaneously beat the Lions guards, giving Stafford no chance to get the ball out.
On Tuesday, I noted you have to pressure Tom Brady and change up your looks, or else he will shift protection and pick apart the back end of your defense apart.
If Curry and Cox can line up around the formation and rush with the same success they had on Thanksgiving, it could be a long day for Mr. Brady, especially when he’s playing without his two favorite targets, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman.
SPREAD THE FIELD
Two years ago, this would have been a piece of cake for an offense with a offensive line good enough to keep Nick Foles clean as he threw 60-yard bombs to DeSean Jackson. However, as the Eagles receiving corps have struggled to get deep, thanks in part to teams refusing to let them get behind of them, Sam Bradford is going to have to take the underneath routes the Patriots bend-but-don’t-break defense gives him. That’s what he’s been doing all year, whether the situation dictated it or not.
On this play, the Eagles have Miles Austin follow Zach Ertz on a seam route before sitting down in the soft coverage and picking up seven yards. The Patriots fear giving up the big play more than anything, Belichick even praised Kelly’s scheme this week for it’s big-play potential, so you better believe the Patriots secondary is going to be extra careful.
This next play is another that has been a staple of the Eagles offense, for better or worse, this season:
The swing pass has been Bradford’s safety valve and Kelly has dialed up quite a few plays where it is his first option. Despite its lacking of success, this play does make sense on occasion as a way to get a running back the ball outside the tackles when the sweep runs aren’t working, which they haven’t been all season.
On this play, DeMarco Murray picks up seven thanks to the over-eager corner who gets blocked by Josh Huff, springing Murray to the outside. I would fully expect the Eagles to take advantage of a defense on its heels by having the receivers run further down the field, opening more space for Murray and Darren Sproles.
DON’T MAKE MISTAKES
I said it on Tuesday, but bears repeating: The Patriots are 86-6 when winning the turnover battle in the past ten years.
Which means Bradford can’t afford to do things like this:
In his last game-and-a-half before getting injured against the Dolphins, Bradford didn’t throw a pick and recorded a QB rating of 109.4, completing 72 percent of his passes and throwing two touchdowns. That can be a sign of him shaking off the rust and starting to look like a decent NFL quarterback, or he was just taking advantage of poor defenses.
The Eagles were running the ball much better in Bradford’s last few games which certainly took a lot of pressure of the QB and let him run play action and get out of the pocket where he seems to be more comfortable. The Patriots could be without both Dont’a Hightower and Jamie Collins which would be a huge hit to their front seven and give the Eagles a better chance of establishing the run.
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The fact is, the coaches can scheme all they want, but if the players do not play with a sense of desperation, there is a good chance they get steamrolled for the third week in a row, pushing Kelly closer to the unemployment line.