Eagles vs. Broncos Week 10 Preview: key matchups, odds and official prediction

Victor Williams
November 12, 2021
Eagles
1 Comment

Following their competitive outing against the LA Chargers, the Eagles travel to the Mile High City to face the 5-4 Broncos.

Denver just decimated the #1 offense in football last week after moving on from Von Miller and can claim a clean sweep of the NFC East with a win over Philadelphia.

The Eagles are relatively healthy heading into Week 10 other than Andre Dillard, who is questionable with a knee injury sustained at practice on Friday. Denver has three starting offensive linemen and linebacker Baron Browning on the injury report. The Broncos will also be without offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur as he has entered COVID-19 protocols.

It’s not yet clear who will call the plays for Denver. Two options are RB coach Curtis Modkins and QB coach Mike Shula, who are both former coordinators. https://t.co/KPcyhwVdeQ
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 12, 2021

Only Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson have been more accurate than Teddy Bridgewater this season, and the Eagles have had a tough time stopping the pass thus far. Seven QBs have completed over 73% of their passes against Philadelphia this year — 5 of them have thrown for over 80% — as Jonathan Gannon’s soft coverage continues to be exposed.

Philadelphia’s front-four will have to make Bridgewater uncomfortable to prevent him from joining the 80% club. Fortunately for the Eagles, Teddy B is the 4th-most sacked QB in the league by virtue of holding on to the ball too long.

The Eagles defense registered zero sacks and just one QB hit on Justin Herbert — who set a career-high completion percentage. After only blitzing a season-high 12 times last week, Gannon is going to have to be creative and generate pressure or it’s going to be another long afternoon.

“You can throw off the timing by getting a little pressure,” Sirianni said. “You can throw off the timing by disguising the coverage and confusing the quarterback on where to go. You can throw off the timing with some reroutes and some press coverage as well.”

The Broncos also ran for a season-high 190 yards last week, with rookie RB Javonte Williams rushing for 100+ yards for the first time in his young career. Denver’s WR duo Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick are always a big play waiting to happen as both receivers are averaging over 14 yards per catch. That offense can be explosive when it wants to be.

TIM PATRICK OVER TREVON DIGGS
pic.twitter.com/xU5u1e1Lx9
— PFF (@PFF) November 7, 2021

On the other side of the ball, Nick Sirianni has done an excellent job of simplifying the offense for Jalen Hurts. The Eagles promoted Jordan Howard to the active roster on Wednesday and for good reason — he’s rushed for over 120 yards and 3 TDs the last two weeks.

Jalen Hurts attempted just 14 and 17 passes in the last two games respectively, but he may be pressured to throw more in this one as Denver allows just under 100 rushing yards per game.

DeVonta Smith had a much-needed breakout performance vs. the Chargers, but the Broncos’ secondary is vastly more talented. His former Alabama teammate Patrick Surtain II got banged up in the second half of Denver’s victory over Dallas and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. The #9 overall pick is putting together a stellar rookie campaign of his own:

47.4% comp. allowed
66.7 passer rating allowed
5 yards per target allowed
Giving up just 32 yards per game

TEAM	SPREAD	MONEYLINE	OVER/UNDER
Philadelphia Eagles	+2.5 (-109)	+110	O 45.5 (-110)
Denver Broncos	-2.5 (-112)	-134	U 45.5 (-110)

Odds via Parx Sportsbook

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If Sirianni remains committed to the gameplan he’s installed the prior two weeks, the Eagles will be able to win this one. All of Philadelphia’s wins have come on the road this season and Denver isn’t as good as Dallas made them out to be.

Prediction: Eagles 23, Denver 17