Falcons-Eagles: Durty Birds Travel To The Linc to Battle Philadelphia

Before we get to the breakdown of Sunday's game, who would've thought, that we would be in late October heading into November and the Eagles would be playing second fiddle to the Phillies in the city of Philadelphia.

But lets get down to business shall we? So Matt Ryan leads the Atlanta Falcons into Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday for a very crucial NFC battle. Both teams are coming off byes and each went into their bye with very intense, hard fought victories.

The Falcons pulled off the near impossible two weeks ago, following a 20-yard touchdown pass from Bears QB Kyle Orton to Rasheed Davis with only 11-seconds left, all hope was about lost for Matt Ryan and company.

But with six-seconds left, Ryan took advantage of the soft Bears coverage and fired a strike to Michael Jenkins, who was pushed out of bounds with only one-second left and in field goal range. Jason Elam proceeded to nail a 49-yard field goal as time expired, shocking the Bears and improving the Falcons record to 4-2.

As for the Eagles, their win was slightly more frustrating. Philadelphia played lifeless football for three quarters as San Fransisco held a 26-17 lead heading into the final frame.

All of a sudden, there was life, the offense moved with urgency and moved the ball with ease, the defense swarmed the football and forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter. In the end the Eagles scored 23 points in the final quarter to stun the 49ers who had played so well for three quarters.

This Sunday's game presents a huge opportunity for both teams in terms of division standing. The Eagles have been lucky enough that the NFC East has struggled these past two weeks as losses by all three teams in week six and Dallas getting embarrassed in week seven has allowed the Eagles to hang around as there is still a sliver of hope that the Eagles could win another division championship, but that road is long and hard, and it all begins this Sunday with the surprise team of the year in Atlanta.

With a win, Atlanta could move closer to their division foes in the very competitive NFC South.

This game against Philadelphia is just another obstacle for impressive rookie quarterback Matt Ryan. Ryan has shown great poise and leadership in his first year but faces an Eagles pass rush that just loves facing rookie quarterbacks, you can be sure that Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson will turn up the heat on the young stud.

First year head coach Mike Smith has done a great job handling his franchise Quarterback thus far, not putting too much of the load on the rookie's shoulders and making sure he has the tools around him to have success.

One of those weapons, receiver Roddy White, will need to be a factor in the passing game for Atlanta to have success. Ryan's targets are pretty limited in depth, so White will need a big day against Asante Samuel.

Workhorse Michael " The Burner" Turner will most likely carry the load for Mike Smith's troops on Sunday. Philadelphia's run defense has struggled for the past two games against elite backs which is music to Turners ears right now.

The offensive line of the Falcons sure has its work cut out for them as they will be going head-to-head with one of the fiercest pass rushes in the entire league. They will need out-smar Jim Johnson as he likes to disguise his blitz packages and sometimes will bring everything including the kitchen sink. If the Offensive line does its job on Sunday, it could be a long day in Philadelphia.

The Atlanta defense also has a tough test on Sunday. The Eagles offense is finally healthy and gets back its leading receiver from a year ago in Kevin Curtis, plus Brian Westbrook is sure to be playing at a high level.

Defensive end John Abraham will have one helluva match-up as he will be going head-to-head with all-pro tackle William Thomas. Abraham will need to the the driving force for the defensive line, if he struggles, it could be a very long day as Donovan McNabb has had loads of time in the pocket to throw this season.

The Falcon linebackers are in for a day adventure as just about everyone's eyes will be glued to the jersey of Westbrook. They will need to contain him and force McNabb to utilize more of DeSean Jackson and Kevin Curtis.

If the defensive line fails to pressure McNabb, the secondary will need to step its game up a couple notches. We all know that cornerbacks can't cover forever and it has proven costly for many teams this year as McNabb has had so much time in the pocket that it allows his receivers the time to get open down field.

Now for the Eagles.

I'll keep it brief as I pretty much already spelled out what they need to do offensively and defensively.

On defense, pressure on Matt Ryan is key. If Philadelphia can put consistent pressure on Ryan, they can make Atlanta one dimensional, which plays right into the Eagles hands.

When Michael Turner gets the football, the Eagle defense will NEED to step up. Through the first four weeks of the season, Philadelphia's rush defense was the leagues best, they stopped elite backs like Steven Jackson, Marion Barber and Willie Parker. But for the past two games they have been heavily gashed by Frank Gore and Clinton Portis.

The Eagles secondary needs to improve as well. Tight Ends have taken advantage of the young and talented Eagles linebackers, while they are talented, they are still very raw. Receivers have not been that troublesome for Asante Samuel, Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard thus far, all three corners have performed very well and will need to continue their solid play.

On offense, balance will be the Eagles key to success. In Philadelphia's last win, they had a very balanced attack in the fourth quarter, which led to success. In their past two losses, the play-calling has been very skeptical and one-dimensional. When Andy Reid refrains from throwing the football 40+ times, the offense has more success, but that doesn't happen that often.

Donovan McNabb has to be happy going into this week, he has his top targets back in Kevin Curtis and Brian Westbrook and he has the luxury of having a DeSean Jackson who can break a big play whenever he gets his hands on the ball. He will need to utilize all of these weapons on Sunday as they whenever he gets the chance.

The Eagles offensive line has been very good protecting McNabb this year, but they've had some big struggles creating running lanes. that may be because they are without  all-pro guard Shawn Andrews, who will undergo back surgery which will keep him out anywhere from 6 weeks to three months. Max Jean-Gilles has filled in affably, but come on, he's no Shawn Andrews.

Brian Westbrook will need to be clicking on all cylinders on Sunday, he is they key to this offense, he is what makes it go. When he's in the game, he creates so many mismatches and creates a lot of confusion in the secondary when split wide.

This should be the game to watch this weekend in my opinion. I'm not being biased, you have a star in the making matching wits with one of the best defensive minds in the game. You have two teams who will be fighting for their playoff lives. It all makes for a tremendous game.

MY PREDICTION: EAGLES WIN BY THREE.