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Your in-depth Eagles vs. Titans Week 4 preview

Adrian Fedkiw|

It’s a quarterback match-up of what could’ve been against what actually happened.

It’s Chip’s golden boy against Doug’s.

EAGLES PASSING GAME VS. TITANS PASS DEFENSE
PHI- 81.3 PASSER RATING (23/32), 222 YPG (20/32)
TEN- 89.6 PASSER RATING ALLOWED (14/32), 219 YPG ALLOWED (10/32)

Carson Wentz wasn’t sharp in his first game back following his ACL and LCL tear. He finished 25-of-37 for 255 yards with a touchdown, but did turn the ball over twice, which led to a pair of field goals for the Colts. Nineteen of his 25 completions went to tight ends as the Eagles continued to struggle at wideout without Alshon Jeffery.

Wentz certainly passed the knee test with some electrifying scrambles.

Those two mistakes nearly cost the Eagles the game if not for their 17-play, 11:18 go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Wentz got caught staring down Zach Ertz before Anthony Walker undercut it for an interception.

The other miscue occurred when Wentz attempted to step up in the pocket and was stripped by Margus Hunt. Wentz had a couple overthrows early and his processing speed wasn’t as lightning quick as he’s accustomed to, but rust was expected.

Wentz took five sacks last week and the pass protection took a lot of heat, but Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said Monday that Wentz could’ve gotten the ball out quicker too.

“It was really three things. One is the offensive line gets beat, sack. It happens. Second one is quarterback hangs on to the ball or tries to scramble, gets sacked. The third one is flat out coverage. They got you wired and you’re trying to extend the play.

“So a little bit of all three of those yesterday with the five sacks. Couple situations maybe just throw the ball away and skip it and not put yourself in that situation.

“But they’re all teachable and correctable and we’ll learn from them.”

Will the game slow down more for Wentz this week?

“I think things will come into focus a little bit more for him this week. [He] did some great things, obviously last week, and not only through the air but with his arm and how he managed the run game. I just think that the more reps and the more time he’s out there, it just gets better and better and things will begin to slow down. We start getting more of the pieces around him back, will also help.

“Listen, it’s not going to be kind of where we picked up at the end of the season last year. It’s just not. It takes a little bit of time.

“I’m excited about it because really the sky is the limit now with the group and they begin to work that chemistry out in practice and then in games.”

Speaking of Jeffery, he’s been cleared for contact and could play this week.

The Eagles’ No. 1 wideout Jeffery never recorded a 100-yard game, but was still rewarded with a four-year, $52 million extension. Jeffery’s first year in Philadelphia got off to a rocky start and many questioned whether he was a true No. 1 receiver. Turned out, though, that Jeffery played through the entire 2017 season with a torn rotator cuff.

Electing to fight through the pain after signing a one-year deal, Jeffery tallied only 354 yards and two touchdowns over his first seven games. He normally turns 50-50 balls into 80-20 balls, but those 80-20 balls went back to being 50-50 balls this season. He’s known for his strong hands at the catch point and making tough snags through traffic, but we didn’t see as much of that from him either.

Jeffery flipped the switch over his final nine games, putting up 435 yards and seven scores. In the postseason, Jeffery recorded 219 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 18.2 yards a reception.

Pederson explained what the Eagles have been missing without him in the lineup.

“Overall, just continuity. We just finally get our quarterback back and we have had some injury at the running back position and receiver position. So just getting some continuity and some flow with that group, getting them to play together is something that in these next few weeks will be important for us.”

To mask the troubles at wide receiver, the Eagles relied on their tight ends in their win over Indy. Dallas Goedert was the big winner, hauling in all seven of his targets for 73 yards and a score. This was after only being targeted three times the first two weeks.

Through a trio of games, however, the Titans are ranked first in covering tight ends, allowing just seven receptions for 69 yards. Tennessee’s secondary is also solid, Malcolm Butler was signed during the offseason to be the No. 1 corner, Logan Ryan is underrated and the ball-hawking Adoree’ Jackson is only in his second year. The safeties are good too, with Kenny Vaccaro and Kevin Byard.

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EAGLES RUNNING GAME VS. TITANS RUN DEFENSE
PHI- 4.1 YPC (13/32), 118.7 YPG (11/32)
TEN- 4.8 YPC ALLOWED (25/32), 118.3 YPG ALLOWED (23/32)

Will Jay Ajayi and Darren Sproles return this week?

According to Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Ajayi has a small fracture in his back but feels good and is excited to play Sunday.

A small fracture in the back doesn’t sound fun.

Sunday was a coming-out party for Wendell Smallwood, who was barrelling through the middle and keeping his legs moving to churn out as many yards as possible. Smallwood averaged 5.6 yards per run and gained 56 yards on 10 totes Sunday, tying Corey Clement for the rushing lead on six less carries.

If Sproles is able to play, he’ll take over the punt return duties after Clement struggled with them in the rain. Pederson, however, said that if Sproles doesn’t go, Clement will continue to return punts.

“Have you tried catching a punt in the rain? Corey is a great player and he does a lot for us. If we get Sproles back obviously, it’s Sproles’ role but yeah, if Corey is the guy, we just keep working with Corey.”

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TITANS PASSING GAME VS. EAGLES PASS DEFENSE
PHI- 97.1 PASSER RATING ALLOWED (18/32), 309 YPG ALLOWED (28/32)
TEN- 89.6 PASSER RATING (14/32), 219 YPG (10/32)

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota will start Sunday despite his injured right hand. Backup Blaine Gabbert is currently in concussion protocol and the third-stringer, Austin Davis, just joined the team this week.

Pederson said that he expects to see a healthy Mariota.

“He throws the ball extremely well in the air. His ability to make plays with his legs is a tough thing for any defense. But it is something that I find our defense will have to be prepared for.”

Personally, Mariota has been a disappointment. I had lofty expectations for him last season heading into year three and I felt like he regressed. He wasn’t good in the red zone and his ball placement still needs work.

Mariota doesn’t exactly have much to throw to either. Corey Davis was drafted fifth overall in 2017 to be Mariota’s go-to receiver, but has caught just 13 balls for 151 yards.

Besides Davis, there’s not much in Tennessee. Tight end Delanie Walker was lost in Week 1 with a leg injury. The other wideouts on the roster, Rishard Matthews, Tajae Sharpe, Taywan Taylor, Darius Jennings and Nick Williams, are very pedestrian.

McLeod had surgery on a torn MCL Wednesday, according to a report by NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Derrick Gunn. He suffered the injury in Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts.

This is a big loss for the Birds. Not only was McLeod a starter, but the Eagles also like to implement their Big Nickel package and use three safeties on the field at times.

That now won’t be as easy to do.

Corey Graham will probably be the one to replace McLeod in the starting lineup.

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TITANS RUNNING GAME VS. EAGLES RUN DEFENSE
PHI- 3.4 YPC ALLOWED (6/32), 61.7 YPG ALLOWED (1/32)
TEN- 3.7 YPC (25/32), 122.0 YPG (10/32)

The Titans have run the ball 98 times this year, tied for third most in the league. But they’re not running for a high average. The offensive line will be getting right tackle Jack Conklin back after he tore his ACL in the Wild Card Game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Tennessee uses a zone scheme, which has seemed to fit Dion Lewis better than the battering ram Derrick Henry, who is averaging just 3.0 yards per carry.

Philadelphia would certainly welcome a run-heavy game plan.

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PREDICTION: Run-first teams don’t fare well against Philadelphia and even if the offense still needs more time to get rolling, the defense won’t be allowing much to a bland Titans offense.

Eagles 23-13.

 

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