PROPHET PLAYS
5* Philadelphia -7
Really don’t think the Eagles skip a beat offensively with Mark Sanchez taking over for the injured Nick Foles at QB. It’s not like Foles was setting the world on fire this season. He struggled with the deep ball, took too many sacks and had 13 turnovers (10 picks) after getting intercepted just twice last season. Sanchez is not the key for the Eagles on offense tonight. The ground game sets up the passing attack and it’s rounded into shape the past four weeks with a per game average of 152, including 190 against the Texans last week. The three-headed monster of LeSean McCoy (107.5 average last four games), Darren Sproles and Chris Polk has been productive in large part because the once-injury-riddled offensive line has gotten healthier. Yes, RG Todd Herremans is now out for the season, but LG Evan Mathis returns tonight and C Jason Kelce came back versus Houston. That’s 4 of 5 starters back from a unit considered the best in the league a year ago. The Panthers can’t stop the run. They’re ranked 27th in the league with a per game yield of 131.9 (4.8 ypc). And they haven’t been able to run the ball either, also ranked # 27 in that category, averaging just 94.7 ypg (3.7 ypc) as DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart have been either injured or unproductive leaving Cam Newton often shouldering most of the load. The Eagles did suffer a significant loss with starting LB DeMeco Ryans going down with a season-ending injury in the Houston game, but the heart and soul of the D has been an outstanding three-man front that’s been like a brick wall to run against while also generating enough bonus pressure in passing downs. Philly’s secondary still is not very good, especially both CBs and safety Nate Allen (burned badly in the Arizona loss), but it’s doubtful the Panthers have what it takes to exploit that weakness. Eagles easy!