Falcons vs. Eagles: Atlanta stays unbeaten

JasonB of SB Nation’s Eagles blog Bleeding Green Nation did not mince words:

Many prominent Eagles used the word embarrassing to describe their performance, and it’s hard to argue with them. The Eagles fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter and were never really in the game. For a team as talented as the Eagles, that should never really happen.

Unlike the past two weeks, the Falcons didn’t struggle or need to be bailed out late in the game against inferior opponents, instead cruising by the talented, but struggling Eagles.

It was a total team effort for Atlanta, scoring 30 points in less than ideal weather conditions while preventing big plays against the Eagles on defense and holding them to just 17 points on the day. However, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan starred once again, throwing for three touchdowns and completing 22 of 29 passes for 262 yards on the day.

Fantasy Impact: Turner seemed disgruntled about his workload before the bye, so it appears the Falcons were doing all they could to keep him happy this time around. It didn’t make much of a difference, though, as the Eagles run defense keep him in check.

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Philadelphia still isn’t getting him as involved as they should, but McCoy continues to make the most of the workload he sees.

Fantasy Impact: McCoy managed to score in the fourth quarter on a 7-yard dump-off pass from Vick, which seems to be a recurring theme. The Eagles were stifled on the ground by a team that has given up big yardage to running backs so far in 2012. McCoy couldn’t quite get things rolling on Sunday.

Atlanta faces Dallas next week, which will be a tougher test for Ryan. You should still continue starting him regardless of his matchup.

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It’s every coaches dream to get to bench Vick at least once in his career, and then when he hits the job market after the season Reid can tell general managers that he once benched Michael Vick. Rookie backup Nick Foles has not thrown a pass yet in his NFL career, but he’ll definitely be the one to turn around their season if called upon.

Definitely.

Atlanta stayed perfect, improving to 7-0 this season. The Eagles dropped to 3-4.

McCoy also had a rushing touchdown. He finished the day with 16 carries for 45 yards and a second-quarter touchdown run.

Throwing flags, change, phone numbers collected in the hotel bar ... those take it to a new level, a new level that we absolutely love.

Ryan and the Falcons offense got one more shot in the final two minutes, and he worked the two-miunte drill to add three more before the half.

Both teams have released their inactive lists, which can be found on the Falcons‘ and Eagles’ Twitter accounts:

Douglas will be missed in the slot for the Falcons, while the depth on the offensive line has also taken a pretty tough blow for Sunday. The defensive line is a tad thin, but nothing that should be of great concern barring a flurry of injuries.

Under head coach Andy Reid, Philadelphia is 13-0 in games immediately following a bye week. However, Sunday’s game will be a bit different as the Eagles will be trying to work in a new defensive coordinator, Todd Bowles.

The Eagles defense will try to stop a solid Falcons’ offense led by quarterback Matt Ryan, who ranks sixth in passing yards per game (292.7).

This will be Philadelphia’s first game with new defensive coordinator Todd Bowles at the helm, as Andy Reid dismissed Juan Castillo at the start of Philadelphia’s bye week. The move was largely portrayed as a scapegoating, with the Eagles offensive struggles prompting more questions through the first six weeks of the season. After suffering two straight losses and dropping to .500, it’s a crucial home game for Reid against the NFC elite.

Reid hopes the extra week off will right the ship for the second half of the season. In his lengthy 14-year tenure with the Eagles, he has never lost coming off a bye. Beyond an improved defense under Bowles, he’ll need the offense to start living up to its explosive potential.