BALL CONTROL
In the days leading up to the game, Doug Pederson was pretty transparent about his offensive strategy against the Falcons. Control the football with the run game and keep it out of the Falcons’ hands.
Easier said than done of course. Given how inconsistent the Eagles’ ground game has been this season, there was no guarantee they were going to be able to run the ball well enough against the Falcons to sustain time-consuming drives.
But using two- and three-tight end sets that often included an extra offensive lineman (guard Isaac Seumalo), the Eagles expanded the edge and then attacked the Falcons inside with their two biggest backs – Ryan Mathews and rookie Wendell Smallwood.