The Philadelphia Eagles vs. Denver Broncos game became more intriguing after Denver steamrolled past the Dallas Cowboys just one week ago. The NFL is weird — we all know this by now. The Cowboys beat the Eagles by 20 points. The Broncos were up by 30 against the Cowboys before Dallas made it closer in garbage time.
So, Broncos by 50, right?
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Denver Broncos storylines
Obviously, the Broncos won’t beat the Eagles by 50. That’s not how this works. Football is a sport played by 22 humans trying to accomplish the same goal. My wife and I can’t decide what to watch between Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, and Apple TV. It’s difficult for two people — let alone an entire NFL team — to be on the same page.
[bet-promo id=”160605″ ]Hence, we get weeks where nothing makes sense. Humans, by nature, are unreliable. In this game, the Eagles should be searching for some reliability from their quarterback, while the Broncos are looking for the same thing.
Evaluating Jalen Hurts
Finding out exactly where Jalen Hurts stands as an NFL quarterback should be Nick Sirianni’s goal for the rest of the season. Hurts is effectively a rookie after making only four starts in 2020, and already he’s been deployed in essentially two completely different offenses this year alone.
The Eagles went from a pass-heavy to a pass-averse offense in a hurry. At 3-6, I think Sirianni and Philadelphia’s front office owe it not just to Hurts, but to themselves, to see if the second-year signal-caller can handle the burden of having to win with his arm.
Hurts has a higher success rate than Justin Herbert, Baker Mayfield, Kirk Cousins, and Russell Wilson. Statistically speaking, his numbers are nearly identical to Mac Jones, who has received massive praise as a rookie. And that’s not even factoring in Hurts’ rushing ability.
I’m not here as an advocate or adversary of Hurts. I want him to get a fair shot at being the long-term option for the Eagles, and Denver’s secondary should offer a good barometer.
Can the Broncos’ offense keep the momentum?
The Broncos put up 30 very easy points against the Cowboys one week ago. Dallas’ defense still ranks in the top 10 in expected points added per play, DVOA (Football Outsiders’ efficiency metric), and success rate. So, was it a bad week for the Cowboys’ defense or something the Broncos can build on?
In Week 9, offensive linemen Calvin Anderson and Quinn Meinerz stepped in beautifully on a massive day on the ground for the Broncos. The front five is the most prominent sore spot on Denver’s offense.
Sure, for a few weeks, Teddy Bridgewater wasn’t performing well, but the addition of Jerry Jeudy is massive. With Jeudy, Tim Patrick, Courtland Sutton, Noah Fant, Melvin Gordon, and Javonte Williams all available, there is really no excuse for Denver’s offense not to at least be sufficient.
Before last week, their run game had struggled. If that gets going, this team will compete for a Wild Card slot.
Denver vs. Philadelphia betting line and game prediction
The Broncos are currently 2.5-point favorites at home. With the AFC in complete and utter disarray, the 5-4 Broncos currently own the No. 11 seed. However, they’re only two games out of the top seed.
Denver has so much to play for. With games against the Chargers and Chiefs upcoming following their Week 11 bye, the Broncos should throw the kitchen sink at Philadelphia to get a win.
A lot has changed in two weeks. Before wins against Washington and Dallas, it looked like the Broncos — and head coach Vic Fangio — were doomed. Now, they’re squarely back in the playoff hunt.
So, because the world is unfair and the football gods are playing with our emotions, the Eagles will somehow pull a rabbit out of their head (shoutout Jason Witten) and win this game against the better team.
Broncos vs. Eagles Prediction: Eagles 23, Broncos 20