FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons’ defense, after a highly respectable showing in the season opener, are about to step up in weight-class when they face the Eagles at 8:15 p.m. Monday at Lincoln Financial Field on “Monday Night Football.”
“They do a really good job,” Falcons safety Jessie Bates III said Thursday. “Every week is going to present its own challenge.”
The Falcons kept the Steelers, who were playing with backup quarterback Justin Fields, out of the end zone in the 18-10 loss.
The Eagles have assembled an array of offensive weapons, which now includes running back Saquon Barkley, who scored three touchdowns Friday in the 34-29 win over the Packers in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The Eagles also have quarterback Jalen Hurts, wide receivers A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith and tight end Dallas Goedert.
“I like Philly ... offensively, looking at all of their weapons, (they’re) elite,” said former Falcons great Tony Gonzalez, who’s now an analyst for “Thursday Night Football” on Prime. “One of the top three in the league. They’ve got a great tight end. Saquon is going to give them that dimension of who do you want? Pick your poison.”
Barkley rushed 24 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers. He also caught two passes for 23 yards and an 18-yard touchdown.
“He is very difficult to defend,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “Saquon has always been a problem. … He was a great athlete coming out of college. Playing against him (when he was with) the Giants, he was always a focal point, somebody you have to stop. He’s very difficult to tackle.”
Brown got open for a 67-yard touchdown bomb and when Hurts needs yardage on third down, he looks for Smith, who caught 7 of 8 targets for 84 yards and picked up five first downs.
On top of that, Goedert caught 4 of 5 targets for 78 yards.
“They are going to be tough to stop,” Gonzalez said. “I had them next to the 49ers as the second-best team in the NFC. I think they are going to get back to that elite status before the season is over. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are playing in that NFC Championship game, maybe even the Super Bowl. They are that loaded.”
The Eagles’ biggest concern is replacing longtime center Jason Kelce, who retired over the offseason.
“He was such a big part of that attack,” said Prime analyst Ryan Fitzpatrick, a former quarterback. “That is going to continue to be a growing process for them throughout the season.”
The Eagles also added Kellen Moore, formerly of Dallas, as the offensive coordinator. Last season, the Eagles imploded late when Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni were at odds. Moore is the buffer.
“I think Kellen Moore is going to be great for him,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think he’s going to challenge him in different ways that he hasn’t been challenged the last few years. They are going to put a lot more on Jalen’s plate and see if he can handle it. Skill-wise, they’ve got elite skill.”
Former offensive coordinator Brian Johnson was fired after the late-season collapse and a loss to the Bucs in the playoffs.
“There is going to be a lot on Jalen to make this thing right,” Fitzpatrick said. “Just spraying the ball around and getting these guys the ball. I’m really excited to see it. It seemed like last year, obviously they fell off a cliff in terms of their record and then losing all those games at the end of the year. There was a lot of strange tension in that building.”
The Eagles are striving for the offensive harmony that helped them reach the Super Bowl after the 2022 season.
“As this season progresses, can we get rid of all those strange tensions,” Fitzpatrick said. “Can Jalen really make this his football team? Kellen is going to have a huge hand in that because he’s going to be the guy who works with him every day. A different voice that he hasn’t had in the past.”
The Falcons, under first-year coordinator Jimmy Lake, will try to build on their showing against the Steelers.
“ I see a bright future with this defense,” cornerback Mike Hughes said. “I think we’ve got a lot of guys. We can turn this thing around.”
Third downs will be key. The Steelers converted on 8 of 17 (47%). The Eagles converted 4 of 14 (28.6%) against the Packers. The Eagles were 1-of-1 on fourth-down quarterback sneaks.
“ The (Steelers) had 18 points, and then you realize those were all field goals,” Hughes said. “There are a lot of things we can clean up, but we’ll be all right.”
Hurts is the trigger man for the Eagles.
“With a running quarterback who can run it a little bit,” Bates said. “Zone-read it and then you’ve got two really good receivers that he could throw it up to. I think they do a really good job of getting their players the ball in space.”
The Falcons’ open-field tackling must be on point. Missed tackles could lead to big plays.
“We have to tackle very well,” Bates said. “I thought we did a really good job last week of tackling. Swarming to the football. That will be the same thing this week.”
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