The (10-2) New Orleans Saints will travel to the East Coast this Sunday evening, to face their fellow conference rivals the (3-8-1) Philadelphia Eagles, at Lincoln Financial Field in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The contest will be aired regionally by FOX, and will be shown locally in New Orleans on WVUE Fox Channel 8. Kickoff is set for 3:25 p.m. noon Central Standard time.
The Saints will be seeking their 10th straight victory in a row, as well as looking to clinch their 4th consecutive NFC South Division Championship while additionally attempting to maintain the #1 overall Playoff seed within the NFC.
With that in mind, here are Big Easy Magazine’s 5 “Bold” Predictions for this highly-anticipated match-up. And as always: we’ll count them down first beginning with #5 and then work our way down to #1.
The last Saints-Eagles game ?
NFC Divisional Playoff Game:
Trailing 14-0 and the Eagles driving:
“INTERCEPTED! Lattimore went up and got it!”
Up 20-14 with under 2 mins left in the game and the Eagles driving:
“IT’S LATTIMORE!” ?#NOvsPHI on Sunday (FOX – 3:25 pm CT) pic.twitter.com/Jh9IOUYbUg
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 8, 2020
Starting first with….
#5. EAGLES ROOKIE QUARTERBACK JALEN HURTS HAS A ROUGH DEBUT IN HIS FIRST-EVER NFL START
Breaking: Doug Pederson is naming Jalen Hurts the Eagles starting QB against the Saints this week with Carson Wentz as the backup, per @AdamSchefter and @mortreport. pic.twitter.com/QMB1oGtAgM
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 8, 2020
Obviously the main storyline / narrative surrounding this Sunday Evening’s contest is that Eagles starting “franchise QB” Carson Wentz has been benched by Philly head coach Doug Pederson in favor of 2020 2nd Round draft choice and former University of Alabama QB Jalen Hurts.
The rookie Hurts replaced Wentz last week after Wentz has compiled the NFL’s worst completion percentage (57.4%) among all starting QB’s in the League in 12 total starts, along with throwing a League-high 15 interceptions and being sacked a whopping NFL-high 50 times.
This Sunday won’t be any easier for Hurts either, as the top-ranked Saints defense limits the rookie to 11-of-25 passing for 133 yards passing with 1 TD pass, 1 interception, along with 13 carries for 56 yards on the ground.
#4. SAINTS ROOKIE TIGHT END ADAM TRAUTMAN HAS A “BREAK-OUT” PERFORMANCE
In recent weeks, Saints rookie tight end Adam Trautman has been getting plenty of additional snaps and appears to have developed a bit of a “connection” with back-up QB Taysom Hill.
The Saints #2 QB has been targeting the rookie more frequently in the team’s passing game; and Trautman has clearly shown that he definitely possesses the potential to be the Saints starting TE of the future.
Sunday Hill and Trautman’s connection will blossom even further; as the rookie hauls in 7 receptions (on 8 targets) for 87 receiving yards and a TD, in what most observers will view as his true first “break-out” performance on the way towards a successful NFL career.
#3. EAGLES WIDE RECEIVER JALEN REAGOR HELPS PHILADELPHIA KEEP THE SCORE CLOSE
Jalen Hurts to Jalen Reagor 34 yard pass was longest for Eagles WR over last 6 games since win over the Giants
pic.twitter.com/rbtax4ybBT— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) December 7, 2020
Part of the reason for the Eagles’ regression from one of the NFC’s most dangerous offensive teams to now one of the worst, is the severe lack of talent at their skill positions; although rookie WR Jalen Reagor — the team’s 1st Round draft pick and All-American pass-catcher extraordinaire from TCU (Texas Christian University in suburban Dallas).
Reagor battled injuries for a majority of the Eagles’ first half of the season, but since returning from injured reserve has become one of the few “weapons” that Philly has been truly able to rely on.
That trend will continue Sunday, as the Eagles rookie scores twice — one o a pass from Hurts and another on an end-around / trick play inside the Saints red-zone that he scores on with a 18-yard run — as his efforts help Philadelphia keep the score close, at least during the 1st Half.
#2. THE SAINTS DEFENSIVE FRONT 7 HAS YET ANOTHER OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
As it’s been well-documented: the Saints defense has been literally “ON FIRE” during the majority of their current 9-game winning streak.
Their sudden rise from one of the worst defensive units earlier in the season to now being one of the very best, is especially due to the stellar efforts of the defensive Front 7 that now is ranked #1 overall in total yards allowed per game and 3rd overall in QB sacks with (36).
That upward trend in getting to the opposing QB will continue this Sunday Evening; as the unit tallies 6 QB ‘pressures’, 4 QB ‘hits’, and another 4 sacks as they maintain their recent defensive dominance of the past several weeks.
#1. IN SPITE OF PHILADELPHIA’S BEST EFFORTS, THE SAINTS WIN THIS ONE GOING AWAY….
If you’re a regular reader of our Weekly Prediction articles, then you already know that often times this season that we’ve predicted the Black and Gold to win more than one “nail-biter” or crazy finishes to the games and normally have them coming down to that particular game’s final play or in overtime.
Unfortunately for the Eagles this Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, they won’t be able to keep up with this red-hot Saints team, who currently might be the best team overall in the entire NFL right now.
New Orleans will score first to open the 3rd Quarter, and from there they will turn things up even another notch for the remainder of the contest — as the Black and Gold wins their 10th consecutive victory, their 4th consecutive NFC South Division Championship, and are able to maintain the #1 overall playoff seed in the conference….
FINAL SCORE: SAINTS 34, EAGLES 17
Barry Hirstius is a semi-retired journalist, who has worked previously as a sports editor and columnist. Barry is a New Orleans native who grew up as a fan of the Saints while attending their games as a young boy during the early 1970’s, uptown at the old Tulane Stadium. He is also the proud Grandfather of two beautiful young girls, Jasmine and Serenity. Follow him on Twitter: @BarryHirstius
