Domo's Eagles-Falcons scouting report

EAGLES VS. FALCONS

Recent history: The teams last met on Oct. 28, 2012, with the Falcons defeating the Eagles at the Linc, 30-17. The Eagles lead the series, 17-13-1.

WHEN THE EAGLES RUN THE BALL

The Eagles' rushing attack wasn't nearly as potent last season as it was in 2013 when they averaged a league-best 5.1 yards per carry and LeSean McCoy ran away with the league rushing crown. In a shocking offseason move, Chip Kelly traded away McCoy and also released both of his starting guards, Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans. He signed not one but two running backs in free agency — defending league rushing champ DeMarco Murray and ex-Charger Ryan Mathews. Both of them are strong, fast, north-south runners. Murray had nearly 500 regular-season and postseason touches with the Cowboys last season, which is a big reason Kelly also brought in Mathews. Murray was an invaluable red-zone weapon for the Cowboys. He scored seven times on seven rushing attempts from the 1-yard line, and tied the Seahawks' Marshawn Lynch for the most red-zone rushing TDs (12). The Falcons finished 16th in yards allowed per carry last season (4.2).

EDGE: Eagles

WHEN THE EAGLES PASS THE BALL

Chip Kelly is pinning his hopes on Sam Bradford, a quarterback with a 58.6 career completion percentage, an 18-30-1 career won-loss record as a starter and two ACL tears in the last two seasons. Bradford is a much more accurate passer than his completion percentage might indicate. And with a strong arm and an ability to process information quickly and get the ball out fast, he's seems an ideal fit for Kelly's spread-tempo offense. The Eagles lost their top receiver, Jeremy Maclin, in free agency, but added a good one in the draft in first-rounder Nelson Agholor. While Agholor may not have Maclin's sure hands, he is quicker and was very effective on bubble screens in the preseason. For the most part, Kelly plans to keep 6-3, 212-pound Jordan Matthews in the slot, where he caught 67 passes last season and was the team's top third-down and red-zone receiver. Kelly also intends to utilize running back Darren Sproles much more as a receiver.

EDGE: Eagles

WHEN THE FALCONS RUN THE BALL

The Falcons' ground game wasn't very effective last season, which was a big reason Matt Ryan had the second most pass attempts in the league (628). They finished 24th in rushing yards per game (93.6) and 21st in yards per carry (4.0). They parted ways with Steven Jackson and the plan is to use second-year man Devonta Freeman and rookie third-rounder Tevin Coleman. But Freeman, who had just 65 carries as a rookie, sat out the entire preseason with a hamstring injury. The Falcons' offensive line wasn't very good last season. Injuries were a factor, but they also just didn't play well. In an attempt to upgrade their line, the Falcons acquired veteran guard Andy Levitre last week in a trade with Tennessee. They also signed former Redskins guard Chris Chester. The Falcons are going to have a difficult time running on the Eagles, who finished fifth in yards allowed per carry last season (3.7).

EDGE: Eagles

WHEN THE FALCONS PASS THE BALL

Matt Ryan is one of the league's top passers. He had 600-plus pass attempts in each of the past three seasons. But that number likely will shrink under new offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, who favors a run-first offense. Even with a poor offensive line in front of him last season, Ryan still managed to complete 66.1 percent of his passes and finish with a plus-14 touchdowns-to-interceptions differential (28/14). It helps that he has two of the league's better wideouts — Julio Jones and Roddy White — to throw to. Jones had 104 catches last season for 1,593 yards. White is 33 and isn't much of a vertical threat anymore. But he still caught 80 balls last year. The problem is, they don't have much else after Jones and White. The Eagles have rebuilt their secondary, replacing three of last season's four starters. But it remains to be seen whether the unit will be better.

EDGE: Falcons

SPECIAL TEAMS

The Eagles had the top special teams in the league last season, scoring seven touchdowns and blocking a league-high four punts, as well as a field goal and a PAT. Darren Sproles led the league in punt-return average (13.0) and returned two punts for touchdowns. They have assembled some of the top special-teams players in the league, including returnees Bryan Braman, Chris Maragos and Trey Burton and newcomers Seyi Ajirotutu and Brad Jones. Punter Donnie Jones put a league-best 34 punts inside the 20 last season and had the NFL's fifth-best opponent return rate (38.1 percent). Kicker Cody Parkey missed just four of 36 FG attempts and was 8-for-10 from 40-plus yards. But he struggled a bit in the preseason and has been nursing a groin injury. The Falcons' Matt Bryant is one of the league's top kickers. Devin Hester has returned 19 punts and kickoffs for touchdowns, the most in NFL history.

EDGE: Eagles

INTANGIBLES

Matt Ryan has a 40-17 career record as a starter at the Georgia Dome. But he is 6-10 there over the last two seasons. The Eagles are 10-6 on the road under Chip Kelly and are 2-0 in season openers. They have scored 67 points in those two Week 1 wins.

EDGE: Even

PREDICTION: EAGLES 34, FALCONS 24

KEY MATCHUPS

1. Eagles LT Jason Peters vs. Falcons WLB Vic Beasley: Beasley, the Falcons' first-round pick, has 4.5 speed and had 12 sacks last season for Clemson. Peters, 33, did not have one of his better seasons last year, but dropped 20 pounds in the offseason and still is one of the league's top left tackles. Advantage: Eagles

2. Eagles CB Byron Maxwell vs. Falcons WR Julio Jones: The 6-3, 220-pound Jones had 104 receptions for nearly 1,600 yards last year. He is Matt Ryan's go-to guy. Maxwell is a long, physical press corner who likely will shadow Jones all over the field. Advantage: Falcons

3. Eagles RB Darren Sproles vs. Falcons OLBs Justin Durant and O'Brien Schofield: Sproles is expected to line up a lot in the slot and try to exploit mismatches against the Falcons' linebackers and safeties. Advantage: Eagles

HOT AND NOT

HOT

Eagles: QB Sam Bradford. Bradford was 10-for-10 with three touchdown passes in three series in his last preseason appearance against Green Bay.

Falcons: QB Matt Ryan. Ryan completed 72.2 percent of his passes in the preseason.

NOT

Eagles: CB Eric Rowe. The second-round rookie struggled in the preseason, both outside and inside. He was targeted 15 times and gave up nine completions at 18 yards per clip.

Falcons: G James Stone. Stone, who started nine games last year as a rookie, gave up three sacks in just 59 pass-blocking opportunities in the preseason. His struggles precipitated the trade for Andy Levitre.