Week 4 was the third straight loss for this Eagles squad, but things may be looking up for the team in a few key areas. In Week 5, the Eagles will take on the Carolina Panthers, who sit at 3-1 after a loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Here, we will go over each team position by position, analyzing how each group stacks up and ultimately predicting a winner for this game.
Quarterback
After a dreadful week 3 performance, Jalen Hurts bounced back in a huge way against the Chiefs. Hurts was poised, accurate, and in total command of the offense on Sunday as he passed for over 300 yards and 2 touchdowns. Hurts, like this offense, was greatly screwed by penalties, which took 3 touchdown passes off of the board. Hurts will have inconsistencies, as any young quarterback does, but he’s shown great improvement from 2020 overall this year. If we get the Hurts that played last week and week 1, the Eagles can be hugely successful on offense, but if we get the Hurts that played week 3, the game will be all but over for us.
Sam Darnold has finally escaped the death grip of Adam Gase, and as many predicted, he’s flourishing in Joe Brady’s offense. Completing a career-high 67 percent of his passes and racking up over 1,100 yards, Darnold seems to have found his long-term home in Carolina. That’s not to mention Darnold’s efficiency on the ground, where he leads the league with 4 rushing touchdowns. There’s a reason Sam was so highly touted coming out of USC, and he’s showing it on the field so far in 2021. Both Hurts and Darnold have a lot to prove and have shown some good things, but so far this season, Darnold has been more consistent. Point Panthers.
Running Back
It seems that at the moment Miles Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell are equal parts of this rushing attack for the Eagles. They still are seeing limited usage compared to the rest of the NFL, but both backs are productive for the snaps they receive. Sanders and Gainwell both provide a threat on the ground, and Gainwell provides a threat in the air that not many RBs do in today’s NFL. This group is well-rounded and productive, and if usage continues to increase, this room could cement itself as one of the best in the NFL.
Usually, this position would be a shoo-in for the Panthers, but with CMC seemingly sidelined for this game, the Panthers are without one of the most valuable players in the NFL. Filling in for Mccaffery is rookie Chubba Hubbard, a 5th round pick who’s well-rounded and is a legitimate threat as a pure runner. It’s not a strong headliner, but it’s tough to expect more from a backup. Point Eagles.
Offensive Line
While the Eagles offensive line has injuries, they’ve shown why they’re considered one of the deepest of any position group in the league. Andre Dillard has shown why he was a first-round pick, filling in for Jordan Mailata extremely well since his absence. If Mailata is out again this week, the Eagles shouldn’t have to worry about the LT spot too much. At Guard, both Landon Dickerson and Nate Herbig played very well, Dickerson in particular. Jason Kelce is having one of the best seasons of his career at center, even at his advanced age. If Lane Johnson is once again out, the Birds can count on Jack Driscoll to fill in, who had a fantastic game last week. This line is most definitely beat up, but the depth is so good it’s still one of the better units in the whole NFL.
The Panthers offensive line has been one of the team’s few weaknesses this season. Starting at Left Tackle, Cam Erving has yet to live up to his first-round selection in 2015, even with multiple changes of scenery. The Interior isn’t fantastic, but not awful; Dennis Dalay, the strongest of this group, has fallen back to earth after his insanely good 2019 season. Center Matt Paradis has played ok, but he’s had a couple of sacks allowed that kill drives. John Miller, who’s replacing Elfein at guard, is a very weak link, as he simply has never put it all together at the NFL level. The strongest part of this group is RT Taylor Moton, who’s one of the best at his position, which earned him a major extension in the 2020 off-season. Overall, this group has some pieces, but it also has some major weaknesses that could lead to this group being qualified as one of the weaker units in the NFL. This point goes to the Eagles.
Wide Receivers
The Eagles wide receiver core seems to be improving every week. This time, it was Devonta Smith who showed why he was drafted 10th overall by posting his first 100+ yard receiving game. Smith looks like a true WR1 through the first few weeks of this season, separating with ease and handling himself against all types of corners despite his frame. Quez Watkins also looks fantastic, even though he gets fewer looks than Smith. Watkins has the speed and newly acquired route running to be a truly impactful deep threat, as long as Jalen Hurts looks his way. Jalen Reagor’s lack of production continues, but his tape still shows the explosion he was drafted with and his improvement this last off-season. This group is young and unproven still, but the talent is most certainly here.
DJ Moore is finally having his true breakout season. Even after 2 years of steady production, many felt Moore still hadn’t scratched the surface of his true potential, and that seems to have been the case. The connection between Darnold and Moore has been electric, as DJ cemented himself as an explosive and reliable WR1 for this Panthers squad. Behind Moore is Robby Anderson, who matched Moore production-wise in 2020, but hasn’t had the same connection with Darnold that DJ has so far in 2021. Behind that duo is rookie Terrance Marshall, who flashed in the preseason but has had a relatively quiet start to the year. This core has a very potent duo, along with some upside on the perimeter with Marshall, and the proofness of this squad gives them the edge over the Eagles.
Tight Ends
Dallas Goedert really showed how much of an impact he could have last week, hauling in multiple big receptions and touchdowns (even though some were called back due to BS penalties.) On tape, Goedert is emerging as a top TE in the NFL, and the stats will come very very soon. Next to Goedert, veteran Zach Ertz is playing the best he has since 2019, providing another layer to this Eagles passing game.
The Panthers recently traded their number one tight end, Dan Arnold, to the Jaguars, leaving Tommy Tremble as the De Facto TE1. Tremble was an intriguing rookie prospect, with explosiveness to be a dynamic pass catcher, but simply hasn’t proven himself in the NFL just yet. This point, per usual, goes to the Birds.
Defensive Line
The Eagles defensive line is still a very strong unit, but there are some questions beginning to rear their head. Josh Sweat has proven to be a force when coming off of the edge, but on the other side, Derek Barnett has been one of the most infuriating players to watch in the league. The penalties, combined with the lack of production, have caused some to wonder whether he would be better off of the field, but is there anyone else? Milton Williams looks raw and unready to perform at this moment, and Kerrigan has been a 0 so far as well. For now, Barnett will stay, and hopefully, he can get some discipline or be in for a rough time. On the Interior, Hargrave continues his incredible season, but Fletcher Cox has been uncharacteristically quiet. Soon, Javon is already attracting more double teams, and with Fletcher Cox seemingly regressing at an alarming rate, it leaves a question on who will pick up the slack. This line has pieces, but questions exist that haven’t really existed before for this unit.
The Panthers defensive line has been one of the best units in the NFL since the beginning of the year. This core is absolutely stacked from top to bottom, starting with star edge defender Brian Burns, who’s emerging after his 2020 breakout to solidify himself as one of the most potent pass rushers in the NFL. On the other side, this line has speed with pass rushers Hasson Reddick and Morgan Fox, who have been one of the better rotational duos in the NFL. As we work inside, we see why this run defense has been the best in the NFL (aside from last week). Derrick Thomas was effective in the run game last year, but he’s emerged to a dominant level of play so far in 2021. Daquan Jones has been a consistent veteran presence next to Derrick, rounding out a defensive line with 0 weak links. This line got gashed against the Cowboys last week, but that’s been the major outlier so far. Point goes to the Panthers.
Linebacker
The Eagles linebackers have been nothing short of atrocious so far this season. Alex Singleton is a solid tackler and plays the run well, but he’s a low ceiling player who’s weak in coverage. Eric Wilson has been dreadful so far, especially in the run game. It’s time for the Eagles to see what they have in sophomore Davion Taylor, an athletic and explosive player who excelled in his time in camp.
The Panthers usually have a very good linebacking core led by Shaq Thompson, but he’s out for this week. That leaves a rotation of Jermain Carter, Clay Johnston, and Julian Stanford to fill in for Shaq’s absence. None of these guys are world-beaters, but Carter has been passable. Neither of these groups is great, but the shiniest turd award goes to the Panthers.
Cornerback
Even though the final box score reflected poorly on the Eagles secondary, the cornerback group has still been very good for this team. Before a garbage time TD to Tyreek Hill, Mahomes was held under 200 yards passing, something not many teams can do against the Chiefs offense. Darius Slay has “rebounded” from his 2020 campaign, and he’s playing like a true lockdown CB1. Steven Nelson has done his job at CB2, and you could make a case he’s even exceeding his role. In the slot, Avonte Maddox continues his quietly good season, rounding out a CB group that’s one of the more solid in the NFL.
With the Acquisition of Stephon Gilmore, the Panthers have built one of the scariest cornerback groups in the entire NFL. Thankfully for the Eagles, neither Gilmore nor Jaycee Horn will be playing against them. Even without those two, the Panthers CB group is far from terrible. CJ Henderson may need some time to adjust to the Carolina defense, but there’s a reason he was selected 9th overall in 2020. Donte Jackson is having a very good season, and even though he may be a bit overmatched in a CB1 role, you could do much worse than him. Nickel and Dime packages will include veteran AJ Bouye, a veteran who’s lost juice, but is startable, and Rashaan Melvin, another aged vet who probably shouldn’t see the field much. This is a group that’s amazing when healthy, but simply isn’t, and for that reason, the Eagles take this point.
Safety
Rodney Mcleod is finally back, and he played surprisingly well for his first start coming off of a major injury in 2020. He was dearly needed, as Anthony Harris has struggled a bit so far this year, but he’s also faced two of the most effective deep passing offenses in the NFL these past two weeks. Mcleod makes this group a strong one, and I’m optimistic Harris will bounce back soon.
The Panthers safety room is led by sophomore Jeremy Chinn, who’s coming off of a rookie season in which he competed for the DROY award. Chinn hasn’t really lived up to the expectations of his rookie year, partially because he may be playing out of position. The safety still has massive potential, and we’ve seen how game-changing he can be. At the second safety spot is Sean Chandler, a former UDFA. He’s a solid presence, but that’s about it. Both of these groupings have pluses and minuses, but when it comes to proofness, this point goes to the Eagles.
Conclusion
In overall position group points, the Eagles outscore the Panthers 5-4 (assuming CMC is out). These teams match up extremely well, and both offenses have explosive potential. The Eagles have a chance to dominate upfront on defense against a weak Panthers offensive line, and pressuring Sam Darnold will be the key to winning this game. Jalen Hurts needs to be able to move the ball through the air as he did against the Chiefs, as the Panthers run defense has been extremely stingy for most of this season. It’s going to be a close game, but I think the Eagles offense has a big day against a somewhat suspect Panthers secondary while Gannon’s defense limits big plays as the Birds snatch a victory in Carolina.
Prediction: 28-21 Eagles
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Noah Berger is a featured writer at The Birds Blitz. For more from Noah, check out his archive and read through our Eagles articles for the latest news about the Birds.
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