Eagles vs. Panthers Week 5 game preview and predictions

How are you feeling about this matchup?

The Philadelphia Eagles are going to beat the Carolina Panthers today.

This prediction doesn’t come from a place of feeling amazing about the Birds. We all know they have some real issues after allowing 40 points in their last two losses.

And some of those flaws will be on display yet again in Charlotte. There’s potential for a real big coaching mismatch with Matt Rhule/Joe Brady/Phil Snow getting the best of Nick Sirianni/Jonathan Gannon.

But the Eagles might be able to fare better in that battle than the Panthers’ offensive line will be able to against Philly’s defensive front. Carolina ranks 26th in Pro Football Focus’s pass block grading and 30th in pass block win rate. And the Panthers are going to be without starting left tackle Cam Erving.

Why put so much weight on one matchup? Well, we saw what the Eagles were able to do against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. They have the potential to harass Sam Darnold, who only has the 20th quickest time to throw, the same way they did with Matt Ryan. Javon Hargrave is poised to have another big game against a lackluster Panthers interior. Fletcher Cox might even finally come alive in this matchup.

Flipping it to the other side of the ball, the Eagles have their work cut out for them. On paper, at least. Philly’s offensive line could be an issue with Andre Dillard facing his toughest test of the season and Jordan Mailata playing through injury and out of position at right tackle. But Jeff Stoutland typically tends to do more with less, so the offense might be able to survive against Brian Burns and Haason Reddick.

The feeling here is this game comes down to the final possession and Jalen Hurts leads the Eagles on a game-winning drive to give Philly their second win of the season. It’s not always this simple but the Birds simply need this game more. With a quick turnaround against the reigning Super Bowl champions up next, the Eagles risk soon falling to 1-5 with a loss today.

For more, check out BGN’s weekly NFL game predictions.

Suggested format:

Score prediction:

Bold prediction:

My predictions:

Score prediction: 24 to 21, Eagles win.

Bold prediction: Fletcher Cox picks up his first sack in 301 days.

Your predictions:

Leave your own score predictions in the comments.