The Eagles are set to kick off their 2023 season on Sunday on the road against the Patriots.
While a trip to Foxborough to face Bill Belichick would have been an intimidating proposition in the past, the tables have turned in recent years. With Philadelphia coming off of a Super Bowl appearance and New England coming off an 8-9 season, it’s them who should be fearing us.
The Patriots may be better than last year, but they’re still no match for us. For a couple of reasons, we’re clearly the better team and are poised to blow the doors off them in Week 1, even if the oddsmakers don’t necessarily think so.
Here are three reasons why the Eagles are going to dominate this weekend.
3 Reasons Eagles Will Blow Out Patriots
1. New England’s Offense Can’t Keep Up
While both teams are strong defensively, there is a massive disparity on offense, especially in the passing game.
Led by MVP candidate Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia boasts one of the most potent aerial attacks in the NFL. With A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, the Eagles have no shortage of weapons and will be tough to slow down.
Philly’s formidable on the ground, too. Hurts is one of the best rushing QBs in the sport, plus he’ll have plenty of help from D’Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny.
Throw in their strong offensive line play, and Eagles should remain near the top of the league after ranking third in both yardage and points scored last year.
The Patriots, on the other hand, look like an average offensive team at best. Mac Jones seriously regressed in Year 2, and there’s no guarantee he’ll bounce back in Year 3, even with a new offensive coordinator in Bill O’Brien.
That’s because Jones still lacks the necessary playmakers to elevate his game. His best receiver is JuJu Smith-Schuster, who’s playing on a bum knee. New England failed to acquire DeAndre Hopkins and instead brought in Ezekiel Elliott, who’s been declining for years. The Patriots also have a rookie kicker who may leave points on the board with missed kicks.
New England ranked 17th in points and 26th in yards last year, and the offense hasn’t significantly improved. That will make it hard for the Pats to keep up with the high-flying Eagles, especially if they fall behind early and are forced to throw the ball.
2. The Patriots’ Offensive Line
Speaking of offense, have you guys seen New England’s offensive line lately? It’s, um, not great.
The Patriots added depth to their O-line throughout the preseason via trades and signings, but the unit is still loaded with question marks. There’s only one legit, proven tackle (Trent Brown), and he’s in decline. The group is also dealing with injuries to several key names in Week 1, which could leave them shorthanded come Sunday.
It’s also hard to have much faith in them after their ugly preseason performance. They consistently missed blocks and struggled with assignments in O’Brien’s new offense, often leaving Jones and the backfield to pay the price.
This is great news for our pass rush, which led the NFL in sacks last year, and which might be even better in 2023.
Haason Reddick is a legit Defensive Player of the Year candidate, and we’re crazy deep with edge rush talent around him. Losing Javon Hargrave doesn’t hurt all that much either, considering we’ve replaced him with Jalen Carter who already looks like a real threat to win Defensive Rookie of the Year. There aren’t many offensive lines in the entire NFL that have a chance at slowing down this group, and the Patriots’ certainly isn’t one of them.
Our defenders should have no problem getting through New England’s porous line and wreaking havoc in the pocket.
We’re going to have a field day against Jones and keep him running for his life. That will make it very hard for the Patriots to sustain drives, making it even more difficult for their already-limited offense to keep pace.
3. The Tom Brady Effect
As you may have heard, the Patriots are going to honor Tom Brady with a halftime ceremony on Sunday.
Even if New England doesn’t want to admit it, Brady’s return is a major distraction for the organization. It’s all anyone can talk about and is drawing major media attention.
Accordingly, don’t expect the Patriots to be 100% focused on this game. Belichick, O’Brien and his former teammates will all have Brady on their mind to some degree and have been answering questions about him all week.
Brady’s presence could also cause the home crowd to turn on the Pats given how little success they’ve had without him. If Jones struggles, expect fans to let him hear it with “We want Brady” chants.
Belichick has usually done a good job of shielding his players from distractions in the past, but this one is inescapable. Having Brady in the building is a huge deal, and it should work in our favor.
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