Eagles fan confidence is low heading into Week 2 but there are still reasons for optimism

To no one’s surprise, Philadelphia Eagles fan confidence took a huge hit following the team’s embarrassing Week 1 loss. SB Nation Reacts data measured a drop from 80% to 24%:

For context, only the following four teams rank lower than the Birds:

• Detroit Lions - 20% (blew a lead to Mitchell Trubisky)
• New York Jets - 16% (are the Jets)
• Atlanta Falcons - 15% (coaching staff should’ve been fired by now)
• Houston Texans - 15% (Bill O’Brien)

Not the best company to be in!

But I actually think there are a number of reasons for optimism as it relates to this weekend’s Eagles versus Los Angeles Rams game.

• Doug Pederson’s teams have a knack for bouncing back.
• It would be hard for Carson Wentz to play worse or as poorly as he did against the Washington Football Team. He’s better than that.
• The offensive line isn’t in amazing shape but they still gave Wentz enough clean pockets to throw from. Getting Lane Johnson back will be big for that unit.
• The return of Miles Sanders also helps when it comes to pass protection. Oh, and he’s a pretty legitimate weapon as both a runner and a receiver.
• Dallas Goedert is a beast.
• The pass rush did some nice things against Washington. Malik Jackson had a big pressure early on. Josh Sweat actually graded out as Pro Football Focus’s second best edge rusher from Week 1.
• Darius Slay is still good. He limited Terry McLaurin to two receptions for 26 yards. He could be able to take Robert Woods out of the game.
• Jared Goff is a milquetoast quarterback with a 83.4 passer rating through his last 25 games played. He’s not exactly someone that should have the Eagles’ defense trembling.
• Pederson and Jim Schwartz have outcoached the mighty Sean McVay twice before. They can do it a third time.

All of this isn’t to suggest the Eagles aren’t without concerns in the big picture. But when it specifically comes to Sunday’s game, I feel pretty good about their chances to win. I couldn’t say the same last week when I felt real uneasy after seeing that Sanders and Johnson wouldn’t play.

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Meanwhile, Rams fan confidence is riding high following a Sunday Night Football victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Turf Show Times saw an increase from 84% to 97%:

Despite Eagles fans and Rams fans being on opposite ends of the confidence spectrum, SB Nation Reacts national survey data indicates this game is one of the best matchups on the schedule. I’m sure the Wentz versus Goff matchup might have something to do with that.

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Elsewhere in the NFC East, the Football Team is in first place in both the division and the confidence ratings.

I’m taking the Arizona Cardinals to beat them but I don’t think it’s a lock. It would be very 2020 for Washington to start out 2-0.

The New York Giants’ confidence rating doesn’t fully reflect their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers since some of the polling data was taken before the Monday Night Football game. If they lose to the Chicago Bears and drop to 0-2, we’ll obviously see a big decrease.

Cowboys fan confidence only dropped from 70% to 64% after losing to the Rams. It’ll likely rebound this week since they get to host the Falcons.

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