Eagles-Saints game preview: 5 questions and answers with the Week 17 enemy

The Philadelphia Eagles are hosting the New Orleans Saints at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon. In order to preview this Week 17 matchup where the Birds can officially clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoff picture with a win, I reached out to our enemies over at Canal Street Chronicles. The tremendous Tina Howell took the time to answer my questions about this upcoming battle. Let’s take a look at the answers. [For my answers to Tina’s questions about the Eagles, check out CSC.]

Our friends at DraftKings Sportsbook have all of the odds for this week’s games.

1 - To what extent do you think the Saints regret trading their 2023 first-round pick to the Eagles?

At the time, no one thought it would be a high pick but flash forward and here we are. So, depending on the outcome of the next two games, it could be a top 10 pick. I am sure there is some regret but that is what happens when you gamble, you win some and you lose some. Now, Chris Olave has been an absolutely shining star in a dark season but is he worth that future player we could have gotten next April? That remains to be seen.

2 - The Eagles also own New Orleans’ 2024 second-round pick. Thus, Philly fans will be paying attention to the Saints’ outlook this offseason. Any guesses on what they might do at head coach and quarterback?

Some tough decisions need to be made in a few weeks. We can point a lot of fingers as to why the Saints has struggled so much this season, but the bottom line is Dennis Allen was not the right hire to replace Sean Payton. If they are smart, they let him go and quickly. There will be a lot of coaching changes this season and they must get the right guy this time. There is just too much team on this talent on this team to waste a season again. As far as the QB situation, that is the bigger question. What happened with Jameis Winston is just perplexing and simply wrong. But he is under contact for next season and fans would love to see what he can do here when healthy for a full season.

3 - What are the Saints’ biggest strengths? How should they be attacking the Eagles?

They must utilize Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill more. Hill is the only player in NFL history to have 10 touchdown passes as well as 10 receiving and 10 rushing touchdowns in the regular season and the playoffs. His versatility is what makes him so unique because teams can’t plan for him. You never know where he is going to line up but when he does, he is a game changer.

4 - What are the Saints’ biggest weaknesses? How should the Eagles be attacking them?

Injuries to our wide receivers have really hurt us this season. We placed Mike Thomas on IR earlier this year, most recently Jarvis Landry and now, Chris Olave is battling a hamstring injury which means placing even more emphasis on running the ball efficiently.

5 - Who wins this game and why? With DraftKings Sportsbook listing the Saints as 6.5-point underdogs, what’s your score prediction?

It all depends on the injury reports. The Saints and Eagles are both missing a few key players and for the Eagles, no one bigger than Hurts. If he plays, I still want to be optimistic and say the Saints can win but realistically, I know what we are facing on Sunday. So, I’ll just say 20-24, and that can go either way.

BONUS PODCAST

John Stolnis interviewed Carson Caulfield from CSC for this week’s Eye On The Enemy episode on BGN Radio.