Eagles (1-3) vs. Saints (1-3)
1 p.m. on FOX
Eagles favored by 6
With a 1-3 record, the Eagles are down, but not out thanks to a weakened NFC East. A win in Week 5 puts this team right back in the playoff picture. First, the Eagles will have to go through the New Orleans Saints, also desperate for a victory at 1-3. Here are five things to look for at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday:
1. Same Brees?
You have to respect Drew Brees, a Super Bowl champion and surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer who just became the third quarterback in NFL history to reach 400 touchdown passes. As Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis observed, Brees is extremely accurate and has the entire playbook at his disposal when he walks to the line of scrimmage.
That being said, there’s no denying Brees is in decline. He’s 36 years old. He’s passed for fewer and fewer touchdowns every season since 2011. And now, although Brees’ name is no longer on the injury report, it seems apparent he’s still dealing with the compromised throwing shoulder that caused him to miss a game two weeks ago.
Brees proved during last Sunday’s overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys that he’s more than capable of dissecting a defense, completing 33 of 41 attempts for 359 yards and two touchdowns. However, he was heavily reliant on short and intermediate passes, while his ball simply doesn’t have the same zip it once did.
2. Same Saints?
Brees isn’t the only thing in decline in New Orleans. This is not the same Saints team that knocked the Eagles out of the playoffs in 2013. The roster has undergone a dramatic overhaul over the past two offseasons, as New Orleans has parted ways with a lot of good players in the process.
As we know, the Eagles benefitted from the purge, annexing running back Darren Sproles and safety Malcolm Jenkins following the postseason loss. This year, Brees could only watch as two of his biggest vertical threats in tight end Jimmy Graham and wide receiver Kenny Stills were traded away, as well as offensive guard Ben Grubbs. The defense lost some of its punch, too, when the Saints released linebacker Junior Galette ahead of training camp because of off-field issues.
This wasn’t all so the Saints could get better, either. Many of these moves were financially motivated. The organization is up against the salary cap, and knows the day is coming when it will have to answer for mortgaging the future. Right now, the Saints are just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic in hopes of squeezing one last run out of Brees before the ship sinks.
3. Slow starts
The Eagles have failed to score a single first-quarter touchdown in 2015. In fact, beyond a 24-point eruption in the first half of a win over the New York Jets, the Eagles have only three points in the first and second quarters of their other three games this season.
There are a myriad of reasons for why these slow offensive starts are happening, but until the Eagles figure out how to fix it, every mistake is going to be magnified. Every dropped pass, every missed kick, every drive the defense allows is that much bigger because the margin for error is so much smaller.
Because they’re constantly playing from behind, the Eagles always have their backs against the wall. Because they are never ahead, they can never relax and force opponents to become desperate and one-dimensional.
If the Eagles can get out to an early lead, not only will that alleviate some of the pressure on the sidelines, it’s going to force Brees to do all of the heavy lifting for the Saints. As amazing as Brees is, he will take sacks, and he will throw interceptions. It’s when he’s in a situation where he can lean on the running game and dinking and dunking the ball downfield that he’s dangerous.
4. Home-field advantage?
The good news is the Eagles will be inside the friendly confines of Lincoln Financial Field as they go for their second win in 2015 and attempt to get this season back on track. The bad news is home hasn’t treated the Eagles so well as of late.
The Eagles have dropped the last three contests at the Linc, prompting memories of their recent 10-game losing streak that lasted over a full calendar year between 2012 and ’13. Needless to say, it often hasn’t felt like much of an advantage.
Then again, the Eagles are actually coming off of a 10-game home winning streak — minus the playoff loss to the Saints — which just goes to show how random these things can be. And if you look at the opponents they fell to during the current slump, both the Cowboys (twice) and Seattle Seahawks went to the playoffs last season.
In theory at least, the 1-3 Saints should present a golden opportunity for the Eagles to turn home-field advantage back in their favor.
5. Chip-watch
The reality of any successful college head coach who makes the jump to the NFL is they will always be linked back to major programs. That goes double when they’re struggling, as Chip Kelly has through the first four games of this season.
Kelly has never given anybody reason to believe he’s pining to go back to college football. The fact that he just seized full control of the Eagles' front office certainly doesn’t lend to the appearance he’s trying to leave. And unless this team absolutely bottoms out and finishes with one of the worst records in the league, there’s no reason to think Kelly would be fired, either.
That hasn’t stopped not one, but two outlets from speculating that Kelly could have interest in the USC job should it open. Adding fuel to the fire are reports — however credible or not — that he might be in danger of losing the Eagles' locker room, and it’s certainly going to be a topic of conversation.
Kelly and the Eagles can put that talk to rest with a win on Sunday, for the time being at least. With a loss to the Saints and a 1-4 record, there’s little question he’ll have some tough questions to face about his future this week.