No. 2: Falcons’ Matt Ryan vs. Eagles Pass Defense
The NFL is a passing league, and few teams can get by with sub-par quarterback play.
So that means the Falcons will look for Matt Ryan to get out of the gate on the right foot and take advantage of whatever opportunity the Eagles passing defense present on Thursday night.
Moving the ball through the air against Philadelphia wasn’t easy last season. The Eagles’ 5.7 average pass yards per attempt in 2017 ranked seventh best in the NFL, and Football Outsiders placed the defense No. 8 overall against the pass.
Ryan hasn’t exactly had bona fide success against the Eagles in his career either. Over six total starts against Philly, Ryan is 3-3 with a 60-percent completion percentage and a career-89.2 passer rating. The only teams against which Ryan has posted a lower completion percentage are the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Buffalo Bills.
Sure, the context varies from year to year, and it’s impossible to gauge Ryan’s Week 1 impact off what transpired in the past.
But if the Falcons can look to some of those receiver-versus-defensive back matchups, particularly the one on the previous slide, Ryan’s efforts will be all the easier.