NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
The Philadelphia Eagles will take on the Cleveland Browns this Sunday in a matchup of teams looking to find their identity. The Browns are coming off another defeat, this time at the hands of the Washington Commanders. Deshaun Watson has to hear the whispers regarding his play and possible benching. This is where the Eagles need to attack in all phases.
The Eagles are coming off a Bye Week where they got healthy. AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith have been full participants at practice this week. With their return to the lineup, that should ease some of the pressure off Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley. Now, which version of the Eagles defense will show up? Will it be the version that held the New Orleans Saints to 12 points or the one that surrendered 33 points to the Buccaneers?
Here are 3 keys to victory for the Philadelphia Eagles against the Cleveland Browns.
Block Out The Noise
The Philadelphia Eagles must find a way to focus on the Cleveland Browns and not anything else. Dating back to last season, there have been whispers regarding their head coach and his job security. This season, with the Eagles sputtering and then adding in the New York Jets firing their head coach this week, many are looking at the Eagles as the next team with a possible coaching vacancy.
It’s time to focus on the game at hand. Coming off their Bye Week, there shouldn’t be a reason why the Eagles shouldn’t have the Browns number here. With their struggles on both ends of the ball, and the Eagles coming in healthy, this should be their best game of the season.
Spread The Ball Around
The Eagles offense will be at full strength this week for the first time since the season opener against the Green Bay Packers. AJ Brown is back since Week 1 coupled with the return of Lane Johnson and DeVonta Smith. The Eagles’ offense has struggled but now it’s time for Kellen Moore to open up the playbook and let it ride. If there was ever a game to make an offensive statement, it should come against the 1-4 Browns.
Barkley has held things down and while he still should carry the ball at least 20-25 times, Brown, and Smith should see at least 10 targets each. Dallas Goedert is another weapon. Hurts has to be on his game here and keep the ball in the hands of the offense. Spread the ball around.
Foot On The Gas
As mentioned earlier in this piece, the Eagles must block out all the outside noise this game and for the rest of the season. However, although the Browns are sitting at 1-4, the Eagles cannot afford to look past them and just circle this game as a victory. The Browns still are playing for pride. They have their own issues to deal with and no team in the league wants to be the ones to give the Browns their 2nd win of the season, the Eagles included.
Despite the struggles of Watson, Vic Fangio must not take it easy or let his foot off the gas on the defensive end. The Eagles are struggling to get to the QB and with the OL woes of the Browns, this could be the game where Fangio let his players loose. This is a much-needed game for the Eagles in terms of finding their footing for the rest of the season.
