Eagles vs. Saints 2015: Game Predictions

The Eagles return to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia today to play the New Orleans Saints. It's a battle between two 1-3 teams looking to salvage their season.

The bad news for the Eagles is that they are a bad football team. They are not good. I can't stress this enough. Their offense is terrible. They've struggled to do anything real well on that side of the ball. The run game, which is the backbone of this Eagles offense, is terrible. The offensive line is banged up and it wasn't playing well when it was healthy. Wide receivers can't catch the ball. Sam Bradford hasn't looked super inspiring as a passer, though in fairness he's coming off the best game so far this season.

If the Eagles are going to have a chance at winning this game, it's going to be up to Bradford to deliver the win. The Eagles starting quarterback needs to build off his success in Week 4 and exploit a Saints defense that ranks dead last in the NFL by Football Outsiders. New Orleans struggles to defend the pass; the Saints are allowing 9.4 yards per pass attempt. That's the worst rate in the NFL. For additional perspective, consider that's nearly one more yard allowed per attempt than the next worst team.

If Bradford can take advantage of the Saints defense, this is a very winnable game for the Eagles. Of course, things are never as easy as they seem, especially with this team. Philadelphia could really struggle to give Bradford time to throw considering how starting tackles Jason Peters (who is questionable, but said he's going to play) and Lane Johnson are both playing through injuries. Elsewhere, backup offensive lineman Matt Tobin is starting at right guard and both left guard Allen Barbre and center Jason Kelce are struggling.

On the other side of the ball, the Eagles defense will have their hands full with Drew Brees. Brees hasn't looked so hot this season. He only ranks 19th in passer rating. But like Bradford, Brees is also coming off his best game of the season. The veteran quarterback will be looking to take advantage of an Eagles secondary that will be starting an injured Byron Maxwell.

This is a winnable game for the Eagles. I wouldn't rule out the possibility that they could surprise everyone with a big win. I don't really think much of this Saints team, especially when they play on the road. With that said, I have almost no confidence in this Eagles team right now. They can't run the ball at all and the whole team suffers as a result. Philadelphia's defense is good enough to keep the games within reach, but at some point Chip Kelly's offense needs to carry their weight and so far they really haven't. I can't pick the Eagles to win until this offense shows some more promise.

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My predictions:

Score prediction: 27-24, Eagles lose.
Bold prediction: The Eagles don't drop a single pass.

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