Domowitch's Eagles-Falcons scouting report

Recent history: The Falcons defeated the visiting Eagles in the 2016 opener, 26-24. The Eagles lead the series, 17-14-1. The first game was played in 1966 at Franklin Field.

WHEN EAGLES RUN THE BALL

Darren Sproles has been a pass-catching back for most of his career. The 5-6, 185-pounder has more receiving yards (4,397) than rushing yards (3,152). He's never had more than 93 rushing attempts in a season. But he already has 59 in the first eight games, 28 in the last two games. He's averaging 4.8 yards per carry and leads the team in rushing first downs (16) and double-digit-yard runs (10). The question, though, is how long can he handle that kind of workload. Ryan Mathews was supposed to be the team's primary ballcarrier. He had 22 carries in the season opener, but only 54 since. The last two weeks, he's had a total of nine carries for 25 yards. The Falcons have given up the seventh fewest rushing yards (91.6 per game), but that's mainly because teams are averaging the fourth fewest rushing attempts (22.9) against them.

EDGE: Even

WHEN THE EAGLES PASS THE BALL

Carson Wentz got off to a terrific start. Threw seven TDs and just one interception and had a 67.4 completion percentage in his first four starts. But he's had his ups and downs in his last four starts. He's thrown two TD passes and four interceptions and his completion percentage has dropped (61.4 over the last 4 games). Wentz had been mostly dinking and dunking, attempting just 24 passes of 20 yards or more in the first seven games. But Wentz aired it out a lot more vs. the Giants, throwing a season-high 12 passes of 20-plus yards (completing four). Wentz finally started to look for his tight ends. Zach Ertz and Trey Burton combined for 11 catches and 152 yards. The Falcons' are 31st in opponent completion percentage (68.1) and have given up an NFL-high 23 touchdown passes. They have a formidable pass-rush combination in Vic Beasley and Adrian Clayborn (12 sacks total).

EDGE: Eagles

WHEN THE FALCONS RUN THE BALL

Because Matt Ryan has thrown a league-high 23 touchdown passes, the perception of the Falcons' offense is that it is all about the pass. But they are 10th in the league in run-play percentage (41.3). Devonta Freeman is a versatile running back who is third in the NFL in rushing and is averaging 4.7 yards per carry. The 5-8, 206-pound Freeman has 19 runs of 10-plus yards, which is the fifth most in the league. His 36 rushing first downs are the fourth most in the league. That's pretty impressive when you consider he's averaging just 14.8 carries per game and has had more than 17 carries in a game once. The Eagles are 25th in opponent rush average (4.4). But if you take their Week 6 loss to Washington out of the equation, when they were gashed for 230 rushing yards, they've held their other opponents to 3.9 yards per carry.

EDGE: Falcons

WHEN THE FALCONS PASS THE BALL

The Falcons' ability to run has made their play-action passing game next to impossible to stop. Matt Ryan is having the best season of his career. He is second in the league in passing (119.0) and has an NFL-high 23 TD passes. He has completed 68.6 percent of his third-down passes. Thirty-two of his 47 third-down completions have resulted in first downs. Julio Jones is one of the league's premier wideouts. He led the NFL in receptions (136) and receiving yards (1,871) last year, and already has 51 catches for 970 yards. Interestingly, just five of those 51 catches have been on third down. RB Devonta Freeman is one of the league's top receiving backs. He had 73 catches last year and has 28 this year. The Eagles have given up 12 TD passes in the last five games. They are thin at CB. They lost nickel corner Ron Brooks for the season, and Leodis McKelvin has been slowed by a hamstring injury.

EDGE: Falcons

SPECIAL TEAMS

The Eagles are first in kickoff return average (35.4) and third in punt return average (14.1). They've returned two kickoffs for TDs. PR Darren Sproles had a 66-yard return last week against the Giants. Thirty-one of Caleb Sturgis' 47 kickoffs have resulted in touchbacks. Just one of the other 16 has been advanced beyond the 25-yard line. The Eagles are first in opponent average drive start after kickoffs (22.3). P Donnie Jones has had just 10 of 36 punts returned. Sturgis had made 18 FG attempts in a row before getting one blocked vs. Giants. The Falcons' 41-year-old PK, Matt Bryant, has a career 85.6 accuracy rate and has missed just one FG in 21 attempts this season. Eric Weems handles both KRs and PRs. He is fifth in the league in punt returns (11.9) and 11th in kick returns (23.1). The Falcons are ninth in kickoff coverage (19.7), 23rd in punt coverage (11.4).

EDGE: Eagles

INTANGIBLES

The Eagles are 3-0 at the Linc and 1-4 on the road. They have averaged 28.0 points per game at home, and 23.6 on the road. They've outscored their three opponents at the Linc, 84-23.

EDGE: Eagles

Domo's prediction: Falcons 31, Eagles 23

KEY MATCHUPS

1. Eagles CBs Nolan Carroll, Leodis McKelvin and Jalen Mills vs. Falcons WR Julio Jones: Jones is one of the league's best wideouts. McKelvin is nursing a hamstring injury and Mills is a rookie. ADVANTAGE: Falcons

2. Eagles LBs Jordan Hicks and Nigel Bradham vs. Falcons RB Devonta Freeman: Freeman is third in the league in rushing. The Falcons' run game makes their play-action passing game go. ADVANTAGE: Falcons

3. Eagles RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai vs. Falcons LB/DE Vic Beasley: Beasley is the Falcons' top pass-rusher with 7 1/2 sacks. He'll line up all over the place, but look for him to spend a good deal of time across from Vaitai. ADVANTAGE: Falcons

Hot and Not

HOT

Eagles: RB/PR Darren Sproles. Rushed for 57 yards, caught three passes and had a 66-yard punt return vs. Giants.

Falcons: QB Matt Ryan. Second in the league in passing. Has thrown an NFL-high 23 TD passes.

NOT

Eagles: CB Leodis McKelvin. Playing with a hamstring injury, he got beat several times vs. Giants.

Falcons: CB Robert Alford. Has given up his fair share of 23 opponent TD passes.

@Pdomo Blog: ph.ly/Eagletarian.com