TNF: Philadelphia Eagles (7-0) At Houston Texans Dynamic Preview
The Philadelphia Eagles are the NFL’s lone undefeated team and are sporting a +78-point differential. They rank among the top three in the league in total offense and defense and are exceptionally healthy right now.
Eagles at Texans Matchup
On offense, the Eagles are averaging 28 points per game, which is third-best in the league, and they rank third in the offensive. They’re also tremendous at taking care of the ball, with just two turnovers all season. They run an incredibly balanced attack, throwing for 245.9 yards and rushing for 149.6 yards per game.
A key to their success has obviously been the development of Jalen Hurts. While he only has ten touchdown passes on the season, he’s completed 67% of his passes and has been tremendous at limiting mistakes. Only Tom Brady has fewer than Hurts’ two interceptions among starting quarterbacks. Plus, we know the value he adds with his legs, rushing for 303 yards on the season, fourth among quarterbacks behind Lamar Jackson, Daniel Jones, and Josh Allen.
The Houston Texans have played well defensively, giving up 22 points per game, but part of that has to do with teams not feeling pressure to put up big point totals to beat a team with little offensive punch. The Texans ranked 30th in the defensive and could have a problem against this deep Philly offense.
The biggest name to watch out for is Eagle’s key offseason acquisition, wide receiver A.J. Brown. Brown erupted last week against the Steelers for 156 yards and a career-best three touchdowns and now has 659 yards and five touchdowns on the year. DeVonta Smith (420 yards and two touchdowns) and Dallas Goedert (421 yards and one touchdown) round out a trio of talented pass-catchers.
Yet, the Eagles also boast a strong running game that ranks 6th in the NFL. Miles Sanders has played in all seven games and has 563 rushing yards and five touchdowns. The Eagles also have two strong rotational backs in Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott, and considering Derrick Henry ran all over the Texans last week, we could see many of these backs on Thursday.
The Philadelphia Eagles are giving up 16.9 points per game and are among the best in the NFL in sacks and pressure rate. Plus, they lead the league with 16 takeaways, including ten interceptions. Scoring on them is going to be a tall order for a Houston team averaging 16.6 points per game.
The Texans and second-year quarterback Davis Mills are throwing for 196.3 yards per game, while Philadelphia allows just 183.4 yards per game through the air and less than 4.8 yards per play. Mills has also thrown six interceptions and taken 16 sacks, so he could be in for a long night on Thursday.
It doesn’t help that his top receiver, Brandin Cooks, is openly blasting his team for not trading him at the deadline and seems to have no interest in helping the organization. Furthermore, the Texans’ number two receiver, Nico Collins, has a groin injury and is unlikely to play.
That means the Houston Texans will likely rely heavily on rookie running back Dameon Pierce, who has been their best player. The Texans are rushing for 92.4 yards per game, and Pierce has 539 rushing yards in seven games. He’s just going to find the sledding much harder against this Eagles’ defense.
Key Defensive Player For Philadelphia LIsted as Doubtful
The Eagles won’t have rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis, who has a high-ankle sprain. While he rehabs, the Eagles will rely on its depth at a position that doesn’t have a lot when you look around the league. Fortunately, Philadelphia is well-stocked at defensive tackle, and Davis’ absence means that second-year man Marlon Tuipulotu could play a larger role. He’s already been a big part of the tackle rotation, taking in 169 defensive snaps (36 percent of the team’s defensive snaps), and he is playing very well with ten total tackles and a quarterback sack.
“He has a really good anchor,” Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon said. “He was one of the guys way back when they leave here for the summer, we kind of give them a plan, this is what you need to improve. I thought that he’s improved what we wanted him to improve at a pretty high clip. So, feel really good about Marlon. He gives you anchor, he gives you versatility along the lines in the three- and four-down stuff. You saw he’s rushing better this year. Feel really good about him.” D.C. Jonathan Gannon
The Series History
The series history between these teams tilts completely in the favor of the Eagles, who are 5-0 against Houston. The last time the teams played was in 2018 at Lincoln Financial Field, with the Eagles winning 32-30 in a wild one. The last time in Houston: November 2, 2014 (weird, right?), and the Eagles captured that one 31-21 as Mark Sanchez replaced Nick Foles at quarterback and threw for 202 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Philadelphia Eagles are the NFL’s lone undefeated team. Will they walk away from week nine undefeated? Their chances look promising. Betting Stats: Philadelphia as a 13-point road favorite over Houston. Regardless, they will continue to hold their number-one ranking within the NFC East Division heading into week ten. And that’s…”The Lex Of It”