It’s not just odds makers who are leaning towards the Atlanta Falcons for Saturday’s NFC Divisional Round. NFL Network’s “The Aftermath” crew discussed on Monday how the Falcons could match up with the Philadelphia Eagles and ultimately beat the No. 1 seed.
All three analysts on the show --Maurice Jones-Drew, Michael Silver and Steve Wyche -- think the Falcons have a good chance to upset the Eagles.
“I am proud of the Falcons,” Silver said. “They had a devastating Super Bowl loss. Then they lost Kyle Shanahan, who along with Matt Ryan, was what made them special last year. And they didn’t have an easy season. They did it the hard way, but they found that grit, that inner toughness. They reflect their head coach’s jersey-tough personality and I am not betting against them winning this game or even the next one.”
Wyche said he has been impressed by the Falcons defense over the last half of the season.
“Open-field tackling of the Atlanta Falcons,” Wyche said, “I mean they are fast, they are not going to allow the explosive plays. That is something they don’t do. So, any yards Philadelphia gets are going to be hard earned yards.”
The Eagles will be without quarterback Carson Wentz, whose season ended due to a torn ACL last month. Jones-Drew said he expects backup quarterback Nick Foles to struggle against a Falcons’ defense that has “flown around” the last half of the season.
All three also agreed that the Falcons playoff experience will be an advantage for this weekend’s game.
Credit: ccompton@ajc.com
Credit: ccompton@ajc.com
