Eagles vs. Patriots Week 1 game preview and predictions

Have you heard? The Philadelphia Eagles are playing a football game today!

The road to get back to the Super Bowl and actually win it this time begins with a Week 1 road game against the New England Patriots.

On paper, there’s no great reason for the Birds to start the season with a loss.

Which team has the better quarterback? The Eagles.

No one is taking Mac Jones over Jalen Hurts.

Which team has the better roster? The Eagles.

Which Patriots players truly terrify you? Matt Judon is a great pass rusher. Rhamondre Stevenson, who is dealing with a stomach bug, could test the Eagles’ run defense. Who else truly stands out?

Which team has the biggest mismatch working in their favor? The Eagles.

With the Patriots’ offensive line in disarray, Philadelphia’s defensive line should be able to wreak havoc on the quarterback. Bill O’Brien’s best hope could be to play ball control offense, which is easier said than done.

Which team has the coaching edge? The Eagles.

Wait. Nick Sirianni over Bill Belichick? If you account for the totality of their careers, the cheater is obviously much more accomplished. But the post-Tom Brady Belichick is entirely mortal. And Sirianni deserves credit for his role in leading the Eagles to the most wins in franchise history last year.

Of course, there are questions about the Eagles’ new coordinators, who are largely unproven. It’s fair to wonder how they’ll fare.

The Patriots do have an X-factor working in their favor. The crowd at Gillette Stadium should be extra juiced with Super Bowl LII-losing quarterback Tom Brady being honored at halftime. The fans might already be deflated by then if the Eagles can jump out to a big lead.

The feeling here is that this game will not be a blowout. The Patriots aren’t especially good but they’re also not especially bad. They’re pretty mid, if you will. Things will be close for a bit before the Eagles ultimately close it out.

For more, check out BGN’s weekly NFL game predictions and NFL picks against the spread.

Suggested format:

Score prediction:

Bold prediction:

My predictions:

Score prediction: 27 to 20, Eagles win.

Bold prediction: JuJu Smith-Schuster has zero catches against James Bradberry.

Your predictions:

Leave your own score predictions in the comments.