Eagles-Carolina: Five on the Panthers
PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles will try to halt a three-game losing streak on the road against a Carolina Panthers team that has been one of the early surprises in the NFC.
Away from the reach of Adam Gase, Sam Darnold has started to look like a No. 3 overall pick, and the Carolina defense under Matt Rhule and Phil Snow, who once called North Broad Street home at Temple, has been one of the stingiest in the league, ranking No. 3 overall and putting together top 10 performances in run defense (10), pass defense (2), points allowed (3) and third-down defense (No. 1 overall).
The context of that makes the Panthers seem a little more manageable, however.
Two of Carolina's early-season wins have come against league afterthoughts in the New York Jets and Houston and the other against New Orleans, which certainly isn't the marquee win it once was with Drew Brees the quarterback.
When the uptick in competition came against Dallas last week, the Pathers much like the Eagles, were run out of AT&T Stadium before some garbage-time offense made the final result (36-28) look better on paper.
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Carolina is also dealing with some significant injuries starting with star running back Christian McCaffrey. Earlier in the week it looked like CMac would return to the lineup but the former All-Pro was listed as doubtful and it certainly seems like Rhule will be playing it cautious with his best overall player.
Rookie Chuba Hubbard, a fourth-round pick out of Oklahoma State, is expected to be the lead back in McCaffrey's absence and that's good news for a Philadelphia defense that's been gouged in the running game.
The Panthers have also ruled out starting left tackle Cameron Erving (neck) and their top linebacker Shaq Thompson (foot) while edge rusher Yetur Gross-Matos is questionable with an ankle injury.
The Eagles will again be missing Lane Johnson due to a personal matter but Jordan Mailata will be returning after missing two games with a sprained right knee.
In an effort to get what they feel is the best five available OLinemen on the field expect the Philadelphia OL to be Andre Dillard, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Jack Driscoll, and Mailata from left to right.
THE PANTHERS' PASS RUSH
The Eagles have gotten a bit of a break when it comes to the pass-rushers they have been facing recently with Dallas down DeMarcus Lawrence and Kansas City without Frank Clark. That ends this week with the Panthers' Brian Burns and Haasan Reddick, two very athletic and speedy players.
That's probably good news for Dillard, who is better with finesse than power. When Mailata is beaten, which wasn't often in the first two games, it's usually with speed but he's also got the size and power to manhandle smaller ends in the running game.
"Speed. Fast. They can run around and make plays. They're fast off the edge," Nick Sirianni said when asked by SI.com's EagleMaven what stands out about the Carolina defense.
Burns, a 2019 first-round pick, has 19.5 sacks in 35 NFL games while Reddick, a former Temple star and former first-round pick, has been a forced-fumble machine, generating seven in his last eight games dating back to last season when he was with Arizona.
BUBBLE SCREEN, BUBBLE SCREEN, BUBBLE SCREEN
Yeah, the Panthers just traded for former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Stefon Gilmore but he's not eligible to play until Week 7 after starting the season on the PUP list with New England, meaning the Eagles will not have to worry about him.
Furthermore, Panthers' 2021 first-round pick at No. 8 overall Jaycee Horn, a player the Eagles had significant interest in back in April, is on IR with a broken foot.
Even before the Gilmore deal, Carolina traded for former Jaguars CB C.J. Henderson so the organization obviously wanted to bolster the position.
Donte Jackson is the one constant and Henderson's playing time should ramp up quickly with veteran Rashaan Melvin perhaps being the nickel option which could mean another 100-yard day for DeVonta Smith and a steady diet of bubble screens to get Jalen Reagor and Quez Watkins involved.
"Every week I just embrace the role the coaches give me," Reagor said. "That’s what I’m looking forward to every game throughout the whole season, and whatever the role they give me, I’ll be sure to do it to the best of my ability."
MORE MILES
What some are missing over the past two weeks when it comes to Miles Sanders' traffic is that the Eagles were facing two of the most explosive offenses in the NFL and got behind by multiple scores in both games, meaning the receiving back, rookie Kenny Gainwell, was of a bigger import.
Things should return to a more normal approach against an offense that isn't nearly as daunting in Carolina.
The personality of this game will likely point to more Sanders.
"We have the ultimate confidence in Miles," said Sirianni. "... Again, it's nothing that he's doing. It’s just, the reads are taking the quarterback other places with the ball. But we look forward to getting him going in our offense more."
GETTING THE DEFENSIVE LINE RIGHT
Other than Javon Hargrave, the Eagles' defensive line has underachieved so far this season and the Panthers might be an opportunity to change that narrative. Once you get past right tackle Taylor Moten, the Panthers' O-Line as a whole has been a team weakness. Now Erving is out and right guard John Miller is dealing with a shoulder injury.
It's time for DC Jonathan Gannon to help his players, particularly Fletcher Cox and Sweat, and get things done.
PREDICTION:
JOHN MCMULLEN (3-1, 3-1 vs. the spread): Eagles, 23, Panthers 22 - After four weeks of the season we probably still don't know who the Eagles and the Panthers are.
We do know what Carolina thinks it is and that's a playoff contender after a 3-1 start with a somewhat soft schedule featuring wins over the New York Jets and Houston. Any doubt over that was lifted earlier this week when the Panthers traded for Gilmore.
There's thought around the league that handling "success" is even more difficult at times than dealing with adversity. Call in a hunch but the Panthers seem to think they are a little better than they really are and are ripe for the upset.
ED KRACZ: (2-2, 2-2 vs. the spread) Eagles 24, Panthers 20 - The Panthers seems awfully banged up at key positions, so this could be an opportunity for Philly to find the win column four days before playing the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
