The Atlanta Falcons will welcome the Philadelphia Eagles this evening to open the season. What is a reasonable final score prediction for this Week 1 game?
Chip Kelly has been extremely busy for the Eagles this offseason and has made some major changes to the roster. He brought in Sam Bradford from the St. Louis in a trade that sent Nick Foles out of town. He also shocked his fan base by convincing DeMarco Murray to sign with them in free agency.
Atlanta is starting a new era of football under brand new head coach Dan Quinn. He is expected to bring a much tougher defense to the table, although they don't have the most talent in the league on that side of the football. Offensively, they are going to be a very dangerous unit with Matt Ryan and Julio Jones leading the way.
Tonight's game is a fresh start for both teams, although there are also quite a few question marks surrounding both teams as well.
As far as the Eagles are concerned, they have to figure out whether or not Bradford is the starter that can be a long-term option for them. His injury troubles over the past couple of years have been well documented and he is out to prove that he can still play at a high level. Coming through with a big game in his debut would be a huge step towards that goal.
On the other hand, Atlanta is trying to figure out whether or not they made the necessary moves to get back into contention in the NFC after an embarrassing 2014 season. There are plenty of talented players on the Falcons' roster that can take a big leap forward in 2015 and power them towards playoff contention. Quinn is the perfect guy to help turn the franchise back around after his successful tenure with the Seattle Seahawks.
It will be interesting to see how both teams look this evening in their first regular season action. There are quite a few changes for each squad to get used to on both sides of the football, but Philadelphia appears to have more talent on paper.
Assuming the Eagles play up to their full potential, there is no way that the Falcons will knock them off. Adding both Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso to their defense was a huge step in the right direction and should help them counter the offensive weapons that Ryan has for the Falcons.
There is no question that tonight's game is going to be a close game with both teams fighting as hard as they can. Both teams have the necessary talent to make a run at an NFC playoff spot, but the Eagles simply have more balance. Kelly has had the chance to tailor his roster to the exact specifications that he wanted and it will pay off tonight.
Atlanta vs. Philadelphia Week 1 Prediction: Eagles 31, Falcons 20
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