Philadelphia vs. Jacksonville: Eagles' Week 1 Game Preview

The Philadelphia Eagles kick off their 2014 season this Sunday, playing host to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Expectations are high for Chip Kelly’s Birds this year, with the general consensus being that the Eagles should win the NFC East with ease. In fact, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King believes Philly may earn home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

There’s plenty of reason to think the Eagles will once again be explosive. They set a franchise record with 442 points in ’13, and nearly the entire offense is intact. The defense was a bend-but-don’t-break unit in the first season with a new scheme (3-4) and coordinator (Billy Davis), although the Eagles quietly put together a stretch of nine consecutive games allowing 21 or fewer points.

Winning in Week 1 against Jacksonville should be no problem for the Eagles.

They ended last year with seven wins in their final eight regular-season contests. The Jaguars could be a sleeper team for ’14, but they shouldn’t be able to keep up with Kelly’s high-powered offense. The defense rated 30th in Cold Hard Football Facts’ Defensive Hog Index and 29th in defensive passer rating allowed. Head coach Gus Bradley should greatly improve these numbers this upcoming season, but he doesn’t yet have the players to pose a serious threat to slowing Philly’s attack.

Nick Foles turned in a historic season passing the football, yet the offense moved the chains more due to LeSean McCoy and the ground game. The Eagles rated first in the NFL in both rushing yards (2,566) and yards per attempt (5.1), and they return four-fifths of arguably the finest offensive line in the league (with 2013 first-rounder Lane Johnson set to return in Week 5 from a four-game PED suspension).

It’s a system offense in that it is essentially plug-and-play, but when the running back is as good as McCoy, that’s nightmarish for opposing defenses.

Barring a shocking upset by Jacksonville, Philadelphia should be 1-0 after this matchup. Here’s a look at what we can expect from both the Eagles and the Jaguars in Week 1, beginning with a recap of what we saw from the Eagles in the preseason.

Preseason Week 4 Recap

Chris Szagola/Associated Press

The Philadelphia Eagles finished their preseason with a 37-7 trumping of the New York Jets. Nearly all of the Eagles’ starters (and backup quarterback Mark Sanchez) sat, but the second-team and third-team played well on all sides of the ball.

Matt Barkley was effective at the quarterback position, throwing for 292 yards. The running backs combined for 276 yards, giving the Eagles a ridiculous 568 for the day. Defensively, the only touchdown the team let up was when rookie safety Ed Reynolds missed an interception and the ball was caught for a touchdown.

It was a fine way to end the preseason, even if it was the backups playing other backups.

News and Notes

Michael Perez/Associated Press

Heading into the opening game, the Philadelphia Eagles have no excuses for losing. They’re fresh off a 10-6 season and division title and playing a 4-12 Jacksonville Jaguars team with mostly a set of rookie wide receivers suiting up.

Each team is relatively healthy, and there are no major storylines leading up to the contest, but here are a few things to follow.

Can First-Round OLB Marcus Smith Make an Impact? Will He Even Dress?

The Philadelphia Eagles knew they had a project in first-round outside linebacker Marcus Smith, a player more suited to go in the third round than the 26th overall pick. Chip Kelly has been critical of Smith so far, and it’s looking less and less like Smith will make much of an impact this season.

Smith will begin as a backup to Trent Cole and Connor Barwin, but 2010 first-round pick Brandon Graham will definitely get more pass-rushing snaps than Smith. In fact, Smith could be a healthy scratch for the Week 1 matchup, which is not a great start to his NFL career.

Cody Parkey Gets the Kicking Job Over Alex Henery

The Philadelphia Eagles made a fairly bold move in the offseason, cutting ties with fourth-year veteran kicker Alex Henery and keeping undrafted rookie Cody Parkey on the active roster.

Parkey turned in a phenomenal performance in the final preseason contest, converting both a 54- and 53-yard field goal with ease.

"

Alex Henery's longest career FG is 51 yards. Cody Parkey just nailed a 54-yarder. Woulda been good from maybe 60. #Eagles

— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) August 29, 2014"

It’s a lot different to kick in an actual NFL regular-season game than just a meaningless preseason contest, and Parkey will have his first test against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hopefully, the Eagles will be ahead enough by double-digit points that Parkey’s kick won’t make the difference, but the Week 2 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football could be crucial.

Eagles Finalize Practice Squad

The Eagles selected nine players for their practice squad. Quarterback G.J. Kinne got the nod, as did wide receivers Will Murphy and Quron Pratt. Running back Matthew Tucker, who spent part of 2013 on the active roster, will be on the practice squad but will see action if Chris Polk’s injury turns out to be more serious than initially thought.

Other practice squad members are offensive tackle Kevin Graf, guard Josh Andrews, defensive lineman Wade Keliikipi, linebacker Emmanuel Acho and fifth-round rookie safety Ed Reynolds.

Injury Report

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Here is the latest injury report, per Sheil Kapadia of Birds 24/7.

Player	Position	Injury
Chris Polk	RB	Hamstring
Josh Huff	WR	Shoulder
Jaylen Watkins	CB	Hamstring
Nolan Carroll	CB	Groin
Matt Tobin	OT/G	Ankle
Riley Cooper	WR	Ankle
Brad Smith	WR	Groin

The Eagles are relatively healthy heading into their Week 1 matchup. None of the aforementioned players has been officially ruled out for Sunday, and there’s a good chance they will all play.

If Josh Huff can’t go, Nolan Carroll will return kicks. Riley Cooper and Brad Smith’s injuries don’t seem to be serious at all. Jaylen Watkins will likely be a healthy scratch.

Matchups to Watch

Michael Perez/Associated Press

The Jacksonville Jaguars are an up-and-coming team, but they don’t appear to pose any serious threat to the Philadelphia Eagles.

But there are still a few matchups worth keeping an eye on, particularly these three.

RDE Fletcher Cox vs. LT Luke Joeckel/LG Zane Beadles

He flies under the radar, but Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive end Fletcher Cox played extremely well in a new position under a new coordinator in 2013. He actually registered more quarterback hurries (39) than J.J. Watt (38).

Cox is probably best suited as a 3-technique defensive tackle, and the Eagles expect him to play a two-gap system at the 5-technique spot. That will put Cox against 2013 second overall pick Luke Joeckel and free-agent acquisition Zane Beadles.

Joeckel had a difficult rookie season, playing sparingly and rating poorly when he did play. But offensive tackles often take a year or two to break out, and there’s still reason to believe Joeckel will be a fine player in this league.

If Cox can get past Joeckel and/or Beadles and put pressure on Chad Henne, it will give the Eagles an edge defensively. Henne will already be throwing to rookie wide receivers Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns, especially if Cecil Shorts can’t play. Henne’s job will be even more difficult if Cox plays up to his potential.

TE Zach Ertz vs. Jaguars’ Back Seven

The Philadelphia Eagles let wide receiver DeSean Jackson go in the offseason, which means Nick Foles will need to rely on a handful of receivers, tight ends and backs in underneath routes to keep the offense moving.

Zach Ertz and Brent Celek are a tremendous tight end duo, and Ertz appears to be on the radar as a breakout candidate. Ertz has the size and speed to be a mismatch nightmare for opposing defenses, and he played very well in the preseason.

Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur will find ways to exploit Ertz in one-on-one matchups against outside linebackers Geno Hayes and LaRoy Reynolds or safeties Winston Guy and Johnathan Cyprien. Last year, the Jaguars allowed 82 receptions for 1,035 yards and nine touchdowns, which rates as the third-worst fantasy point total against opposing tight ends. That bodes extremely well for Ertz.

RT Allen Barbre vs. LDE Red Bryant

With 2013 first-round pick Lane Johnson suspended for four games for performance-enhancing drugs, backup Allen Barbre will be thrust into action as the starter at right tackle.

Barbre is an athletic backup who is a good fit for Chip Kelly’s offense. He ran a 4.84 at the NFL Scouting Combine, which still stands as one of the fastest times ever for an offensive lineman. Barbre filled in for Jason Peters on numerous occasions a year ago, seeing 89 snaps over seven games.

Barbre was remarkably effective; in fact, he didn’t allow a single quarterback hurry or sack. He’s also a talented run-blocker, which means the Philadelphia Eagles won’t see a huge decline when he’s in the game for Johnson.

Barbre will face Red Bryant, formerly of the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. Bryant is probably best suited as a 5-technique defensive end given his massive 6'4", 323-pound size, and he’s more of a player in stopping the run than rushing the quarterback.

Barbre’s main assignment will be simply keeping Bryant away from LeSean McCoy; hopefully, Barbre plays well enough that the Eagles don’t need to keep veteran tight end Brent Celek in to block.

Prediction

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There’s no logical reason to think the Philadelphia Eagles can lose this game.

In fact, they should win by double-digit points. Nick Foles is a Pro Bowl quarterback who ran Chip Kelly’s offense to near-perfection a year ago, and the ground game—led by All-Pro running back LeSean McCoy—should be too difficult for the Jacksonville Jaguars to contain. 

There are a multitude of weapons to replace DeSean Jackson, with second-year tight end Zach Ertz being the likely breakout candidate this season. The Eagles defense was better than people realized a year ago, finishing near the middle of the pack in points allowed.

Coordinator Billy Davis’ specialty is scheming to bring out the strengths of his players, and he will rely on a 3-4/4-3 mix that will benefit pass-rushers Trent Cole, Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry.

That will spell trouble for Chad Henne, an immobile quarterback who will be throwing largely to rookie wide receivers (Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson and camp stud Allen Hurns).

Prediction: Eagles 30, Jaguars 17