Preview: Eagles look for seventh straight win against Denver Broncos

By: Jesse Larch, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Eagles played arguably their worst game of the season against the San Francisco 49ers, but still won convincingly. Now they will get another test from the Denver Broncos (3-4).

The Eagles have won seven a row, while the Broncos are coming off of a loss on Monday Night Football to the Kansas City Chiefs, the only team that has beaten the Eagles this season. 


Expect Little From Jay Ajayi

Eagles nation rejoiced when the team acquired Jay Ajayi from the Miami Dolphins for a fourth round draft pick, and rightfully so. 

Ajayi is just 24-years old and has already been to a pro bowl. Even with all of his reported personality concerns Ajayi is still an incredible pickup for the Eagles both in the short term and the long term. 

For how much excitement Ajayi will inevitably bring Eagles' fans, we will likely have to wait until week 11 to see Ajayi in a featured role in the Eagles offense. 

Head coach Doug Pederson stated that the team was not in any rush to get Ajayi on the field, emphasizing that he needs to pickup the team's offense first. 

Even if Ajayi learned the offense at an exceptional rate, the Broncos boast a run defense that allows 72.9 yards per game. Only the Eagles allow less with 70.4 rushing yards allowed per game. 


Von Miller vs The Offensive Line

Lane Johnson called Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller the best player that he has ever seen on film. Miller offered his own compliment calling Lane Johnson the best right tackle in the NFL. 

Normally Miller plays against right tackles, but with Jason Peters now on injured reserve it would be no surprise to see Miller moved around on defense on Sunday afternoon. 

Halapoulivaati Vaitai is a capable run blocker but he leaves something to be desired in his pass protection, and the Broncos will look to exploit that one way or another, whether it is with Miller and his seven sacks on the season, or using blitz packages to confuse Vaitai and have Miller stay on Lane Johnson's side. 

While Miller is above average, the Broncos are average as a team at getting after the quarterback, so it will be interesting to see if the Broncos decide to put their best pass rusher on the weak point of the Eagles line or trust their other players to make an impact. 


Injury Report

The Eagles are relatively healthy this week, with only cornerback Ronald Darby and newly acquired running back Jay Ajayi listed as questionable for the game. 

It would not be surprising to see both sit with the bye week on the horizon. Darby is physically healthy but the team wants to give him time to get back into game shape. AJayi is still learning the playbook and one more week of preparation before hitting the field for the first time in midnight green would only benefit him.

Tight end Zach Ertz carries no injury designation despite aggravating his hamstring in practice earlier this week. 

The Broncos will be without tackle Donald Stephenson. Inside linebacker Davis Todd, guard Ron Leary, and wide receivee Emmanuel Sanders are all questionable. Sanders is a big part of the Broncos offense, but was optimistic last week that he would be ready for this week's game. 


Broadcast Information

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Television: CBS| Play-by-Play by Ian Eagle with color commentary by Dan Fouts and sideline reports from Evan Washburn

Radio: 94.1 FM WIP | Play-by-Play by Merrill Reese with color commentary by Mike Quick and sideline reports from Howard Eskin

Online: NFL Game Pass

Go to top button