Green Bay Packers vs Philadelphia Eagles: Dream start for LeFleur

Undefeated

Matt LeFleur couldn't ask for a better start of his tenure at the helm of the Green Bay Packers. After winning on the opening night in Soldier Field vs Chicago Bears, they managed to take down the Vikings and the Broncos. It was not all smooth, but 3-0 gives them some breathing room and time to correct some of the things that were not working that well so far.

One of those things was surprisingly the offense. At least that was my personal observation. With all this talent and young offensive mind being appointed as the new head coach, I thought that things will run more smoothly. Rodgers is not getting rid of the ball quick enough. He is in the bottom 10 percentile in that statistical category. It seems that the offense has many long-developing routes and Rodgers doesn't want to settle for the check-downs. Top 10 pass protecting unit allowed him to do that so far, but with Eagles pass rush coming to town, I believe they'll be forced to make some adjustments there.

The defense was the star of the show so far. I was skeptical about the improvement, considering that not many things have changed from the last year. But the coverage is really solid on the back end, while Za'Darius Smith, Rashan Gary and Preston Smith provided that boost in the pass rush that they desperately needed.

Ball security

Eagles lost to Detroit Lions because of the self-inflicted wounds. They had no problems driving the ball down the field. They ran the ball with success right down the middle with rookie Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard. Wentz was protected well and had time to throw the ball to his receivers. But as I mentioned, turning the ball over created the short field for the Lions offense and made it easier for them to score. Sanders fumbled the ball twice, while Nelson Agholor was stripped after the catch.

Eagles can't really afford to lose another one, because the things would get extremely complicated for them. Dallas is running their division with 3-0 and could pull even further ahead after visiting the Saints, that are missing Drew Brees. I read some negative comments about Wentz's performance, but honestly, I didn't really see it that way. They were unfortunate in Atlanta to lose after Julio Jones scored on a 4th down. While the Lions took advantage of multiple turnovers, but the Eagles still had a shot at the win, but were denied by great defensive play by Rashaan Melvin on Arcega-Whiteside.

I think that the Eagles are better then their record is showing. They are getting Alshon Jeffrey back for this game, which is a great boost for their receiving corps, after missing both him and DeSean Jackson last week. Crucial for the Eagles will be to create some pass rush and take the time away from Aaron Rodgers.

Packers vs Eagles best bet

There are only two defenses in the league that managed to limit their opponents to less than 3 yards per carry. New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles. Patriots has faced ridiculously incompetent opposition so far, which is why I will declare Eagles rush defense the best in the league so far. That is not great news for Green Bay's running backs and it seems like we have a competition brewing in that backfield.

Last year, Aaron Jones exploded onto the scene and became a starter for the Packers. But, they were not giving up on Jamaal Williams, even though he wasn't nearly as explosive as Jones in the running game. They probably viewed him as a dependable back that will not turn the ball over, knowing his assignments in pass protection etc. Something similar happened under the new staff as well. But, Jones is struggling to get the same production as last year, while Williams seems to have added some burst to his game and looks a bit faster and agile out there. It resulted in him out snapping Jones in the last game. And I believe that moving forward, we will see something similar. With that type of workload, Jones will be working with 10-12 carries and I don't think that's enough to cover 50.5 line vs Eagles run defense.