The Atlanta Falcons are the only remaining undefeated team in the NFL at 6-0, and come off of their Bye week in Week 7. They go on the road to Philadelphia to take on former quarterback Michael Vick and the Eagles, who also happen to be coming off of a bye.
The feelings for both teams going into their bye weeks are as different of night and day.
For Atlanta, not much has gone wrong this year. For the Eagles, that’s not exactly true. In fact, Philadelphia comes out of the bye with a new defensive coordinator. The good news for Philadelphia is that they have never lost a game coming off of a bye under head coach Andy Reid.
Another thing that the Eagles have going for them is that they need this one more than Atlanta. The Eagles sit at just 3-3 on the season, and can’t afford to fall too far behind the Giants in the division, especially with New York appearing to be playing very well.
Atlanta is currently four games up in their division, with Tampa Bay and New Orleans both sitting at 2-4 on the year.
It will be interesting to see the fire in the Falcons coming out on the road to face the Eagles.
Quarterback Matt Ryan is having his best season so far through six games, throwing on the outside to Roddy White, Julio jones, and the ageless Tony Gonzalez. We knew the offense would be solid, but what’s been the pleasant surprise has been the Atlanta defense.
In fact, the defense is the reason that Atlanta is still unbeaten, coming up with huge plays in their last game two weeks ago against Oakland at home.
For the Eagles, the story has been turnovers, specifically with Michael Vick. Vick just can’t seem to hold onto the ball, and has been good for at least two or three turnovers per game. Philadelphia has simply been beating themselves.
We will see how they come out and play, having a week off to regroup and try to refocus on both sides of the ball.
This should be one of the more interesting games of the NFL Week 8 schedule.