Some think the Falcons (0-1) have the dreaded early-season “must-win” game when the face the Eagles (1-0) at 8:20 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“This ends up being an early must win for the Falcons,” said Charlie Weis on Sirius XM NFL Radio on Friday morning. “I think there’s a lot of pressure on them to win this game.”
The Falcons, who Weis has predicted would be one of the league’s resurgent teams all offseason, were pummeled 28-12 by the Vikings in a listless performance in the season opener on Sept. 8.
He’s not expecting the Falcons to get much help from the fans.
“One thing about playing in Atlanta, it’s not real loud in Atlanta,” Weis said. “Even though it’s a dome, usually domes are really loud. It’s not really loud there, so it’s not as bad as some of the places you can play.
“Everyone is telling me the Eagles are one of the teams to beat. I think this is the must win for the Falcons, so I’m picking the Falcons.”
Weis co-host Bob Papa also picked the Falcons.
“I like the Falcons to win this game,” Papa said. “They’ll be better offensively. They’ve got some offensive line issues. But I think the Falcons will win this game and kind of stabilize this season as well.”
Also, Boomer Esiason of CBS Sports, which airs on 92.9 The Game, picked the Falcons to beat the Eagles.
The Falcons don’t want to fall into the dreaded 0-2 hole. Last season, Seattle and Houston started 0-2 and made the playoffs.
Since 1990, 87% of 0-2 teams have not made the playoffs.
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