Hanging By a Thread: Philadelphia Eagles' Season on the Line in Baltimore

Here it is Eagles fans, here is your season. Two months ago, who would have thought that our Philadelphia Eagles would be fighting for their playoff lives and sitting in the cellar of the NFC East at 5-4-1?

Philly travels to Baltimore to battle the 6-4 Ravens this Sunday in what could determine whether they play in January or start working on the ol' golf swing.

Baltimore is coming off an ugly 30-10 defeat at the hands of the powerful New York Giants, in which the defending champs made what was one of the league's stingiest run defenses look like deer in the headlights—to the tune of over 200 yards.

The Eagles, on the other hand, are coming off of a game where they were outplayed offensively, turned the ball over four times, but still managed to limp out of Cincinnati with an ugly 13-13 tie.

I won't get into the Eagles-Bengals debacle on Sunday, it's time to move on. For both the Eagles and Ravens, this will be a hard-hitting, smash-mouth NFC East-type game.

I'll start this one off with the Ravens.

The Ravens are one of the AFC's surprise contenders right now at 6-4 and second in the North. Rookie head coach Jon Harbaugh has done a great job of leading this tough team in his first year at the helm.

The Baltimore offense is led by its dominant ground game, which is ranked third in the NFL averaging 147 yards per game. Willis McGahee and rookie Ray Rice have provided the one-two punch the Ravens have lacked since the days of Jamal Lewis and Priest Holmes.

They will be up against one of the league's tougher—yet inconsistent—rush defenses in Philadelphia, but we'll get into that later. 

First-round draft pick Joe Flacco has continued his progress through the season, and will need to stand tall against the pass rush of the Eagles, which is tied for the NFL's lead in sacks with 36.

Flacco will need to be sharp if he's to have success against the Eagles' secondary, which has been improved since its early-season struggles.

Flacco's offensive line has been an inconsistent bunch this year, as the rookie QB has been sacked 18 total times. That's not an alarming number, but the last time the Ravens faced an elite pass rush, they allowed five sacks to the Steelers.

Here are the Ravens' offensive keys to success:

1) Open holes for McGahee and Rice on the ground.

2) Protect Flacco.

3) Take advantage of the aggressive Eagles defense which has had a problem with over-pursuing.

4) The receivers must find ways to get open against the stingy Eagles secondary.

5) Can't let the Eagles defense make them one-dimensional.

On defense, the Ravens will look to rebound after a lackluster showing in the Meadowlands a week ago, allowing 385 total yards of offense.

The Ravens execute the 3-4 scheme implemented by Rex Ryan to near perfection. They are a very fundamentally sound defense and don't make many mental errors.

Baltimore's rush defense had its worst game of the season a week ago, but shouldn't see much from the Eagles. When you give up over 200 yards on the ground one week and it only drops you to third in the league, you know you're a strong group.

The Ravens' secondary will need to be on top of its game. They should be expecting lots of passing from Donovan McNabb. There is no doubt that the Eagles will try and take advantage of the recent injuries to Chris McAlister and Dawan Landry, both of whom have been put on injured reserve in the past two weeks.

Here are the Ravens' defensive keys to success on Sunday:

1) When the Eagles make an attempt to run the ball, don't let Westbrook run wild.

2) Shut down the Eagles screen game, which is very important in getting Brian Westbrook involved.

3) Put pressure on McNabb and don't let him go.

4) Shut down DeSean Jackson. When Jackson gets involved early, it opens up possibilities all over the field.

5) Make Westbrook a non-factor. Even with the struggles this year, he is still a game-changer when he gets hot.

For the Eagles, this game could mean the end of their season or they will live to play another day.

On offense, the Eagles have struggled for the past two weeks, getting off to slow starts each time, both leading to losses. The offensive strategy has gotten increasingly predictable from week to week.

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