The Eagles (9-1) return home Sunday afternoon to take on the Bills (6-5) at Lincoln Financial Field.
Here are some key matchups to keep an eye on.
Eagles defense vs. turnover-prone Josh Allen
If Allen plays, he’ll be one of the best quarterbacks in football. He is a physically gifted player, a two-time Pro Bowler, and has thrown for over 4,200 yards and 35 touchdowns in consecutive seasons.
But he turns the football around.
Through 11 games, Allen is tied for the league lead in interceptions with 12 and has forced four fumbles. And this isn’t just a one-year thing. Since entering the NFL in 2018, Allen leads the league in interceptions with 72 and fumbles with 56. There are clearly some opportunities to force Allen into mistakes in this game.
Take-home luck definitely exists, and sometimes it comes in waves. The Eagles had eight takeaways in the first three games, then none in the next three games, then just one in three consecutive games. Then there were two big games against the Chiefs coming back from their bye week. Takeout seems to arrive in bulk from time to time, and the Eagles will definitely be able to get their hands on one Sunday afternoon. When you get an opportunity, you have to take advantage of it.
Eagles run defense vs. James Cook
The Eagles still boast the No. 1 run defense in the NFL, but they struggled in the first half against the Chiefs last week. The Eagles haven’t given up more than 107 yards in a game this season, but against the Eagles in Week 11, the Chiefs rushed for 121 yards in the first half. However, the run defense stepped up in the second half, allowing just 47 yards. The second half of the game against the Chiefs was similar to what we expected from the Eagles.
The Bills have the No. 11 rushing offense in the NFL, led by James Cook, who has gained 688 yards (5.0) this season. Cook ranks fourth in the NFL in rushing, just two yards behind D’Andre Swift.
Darius Slay, Bradley Roby vs. Stefon Diggs
Diggs has led the Bills in receptions the past three years and will look to do it again in 2023. Through 11 games, the Pro Bowler has 77 catches for 895 yards and seven touchdowns. Gabriel Davis is a solid No. 2 and rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid is also having a good season, but Diggs is clearly the guy to stop. And it takes a bit of a group effort.
This could be a game where Slay moves alongside Diggs, which could mean the Bills work to slot Diggs away from the Eagles’ CB1. Diggs mostly takes snaps outside, but he also plays quite a bit in the slot. Here are the snaps by position this season, according to PFF:
Wide: 415 (66.6%)
Slots: 199 (31.9%)
Rearguard: 9 (1.4%)
The Eagles brought in veteran Bradley Roby against the Chiefs, and Roby played most of the snaps as the Eagles’ nickel cornerback. But I also saw the Eagles use Sidney Brown and Eli Ricks a little bit there.
Eagles Tackle vs. Leonard Floyd
The Bills have 39 sacks, second in the NFL this season. The Ravens (44) alone could accomplish even more in 2023. It’s going to take a bit of a team effort, but Floyd is leading the way. Let’s take a look at four Bills with at least four sacks this season.
Leonard Floyd: 9.5
AJ Epenesa: 6.5
Ed Oliver: 6.0
Gregory Rousseau: 4.0
Floyd, 31, is having the most productive season of his career. He has only had one double-digit sack season in his career, and already has 9.5 sacks in 11 games in 2023, his first year with the Bills. Typically, Floyd lines up on both sides of the line, so in this game he’ll be like Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata. It should be a fun battle.
D’Andre Swift vs. Bills run defense
It’s surprising that Swift ranks third in the NFL in rushing considering he had a bit of a lull before the bye week. However, against the Chiefs, Swift had his best game since Week 3, gaining 76 yards rushing and 31 yards through the air.
And they have a chance to play against the Bills in this game. The Bills were 16th in the NFL in run defense, allowing 110.5 yards per game. However, the Bills also rank him 29th in yards allowed per attempt at 4.5. But the Bills have been better against giving up runs lately. They allowed at least 100 yards per game in five of their first six games, but have allowed 100 yards only once in their last five games.
I’ll be interested to see how things shake out in this part of Sunday’s game.
Eagles receivers vs. Bills getting banged up in the secondary.
The Eagles enter almost every game feeling like AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith have an advantage against opposing cornerbacks. That’s especially true Sunday when the Eagles face a group of corners plagued by injuries.
Bills’ top cornerback Tre’Davious White is out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon. Taron Johnson, the other starter, and top backup Dane Jackson suffered concussions in Week 11. And even safety Taylor Rapp is at risk of missing this week after sustaining a neck injury in the previous game. S Micah Hyde (neck) and DB Cam Lewis (shoulder) also started the week with limited participation.
This team is short on defensive back talent and will have to rely on several former Eagles on Sunday. Former Eagles seventh-round pick Jordan Poyer turned Pro Bowl safety with the Bills and is still going strong at age 32. And 2017 draft pick Rasul Douglas will likely start at cornerback. Douglas was a great addition for the Bills, who acquired him at the trade deadline.
However, the Eagles clearly have the advantage in this matchup. And even if the Bills make a move to take Brown, we might see another great performance from Smith like we saw last week against the Chiefs.
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