Beating the Falcons with the Short Passing Game
To get a gauge on how Nick Foles winds up taking advantage of the Falcons defense in Week 1, let’s look back to his performance in the divisional contest last season when these same two teams squared off for a berth in the NFC Championship game.
Foles’ numbers during that bout were good, if not exemplary. He went 23-of-30 for 246 yards, zero touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 100.1. And his average yards per pass attempt? Just 8.2 — the lowest out of all three of his postseason efforts last year.
Ah, that’s it! Foles can use his short passing game to great effect, not taking chances and relying on short, precise throws within 10 yards.
He was awfully effective at this during the game too. Just take a look at his passing directional chart against Atlanta in the playoffs last season, courtesy of Pro Football Focus:
Out of those 30 passes thrown in the game, Foles attempted just three of 20-plus yards. And in the intermediate range of 10 to 19 yards, Foles had just four attempts. So 23 of his 30 pass attempts (76.7 percent) were within nine yards of the line of scrimmage.
Based off the above passer ratings in each area of the field here, it’s safe to say he performed pretty well by this approach.
To ensure Foles’ success continues into 2018, we’ll have to grant the Eagles defense remains as effective as it was last season, shortening Falcons drives and ensuring Atlanta’s own defense is on the field too much. After all, Philly mustered a mere 15 points in the 15-10 victory.
And it’s hard to bank on 15 points being enough to pull off a win in Week 1 again, which leads us to the next reason why Foles can win this bout.
