Saints and Eagles Are Both Desperate For A Win On Sunday

The victory over the Dallas Cowboys this past Sunday is something the New Orleans Saints hoped to parlay into somewhat of a momentum shift for the rest of the season.

A win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday would help propel the momentum even more for the team as well as the fanbase who were already preparing for the Saints to have a top pick in the 2016 NFL Draft.

But the Saints aren’t the only one’s looking to possibly salvage their season because the woeful Eagles are trying to find a spark as well with a quarter of the season already down.

Both teams currently sit at the bottom at a 1-3 overall record as well as being 0-2 in their respective divisions making this Sunday’s matchup equally important for both the Eagles and the Saints.

Jan 4, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive players and New Orleans Saints offensive players huddle during the 2013 NFC wild card playoff football game at Lincoln Financial Field. The New Orleans Saints won the game 26-24. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Entering the 2015 season Philadelphia and New Orleans were thought to be making moves to help the clubs head in the right direction including the ironic signing of two former members of the Seattle Seahawks fabled “Legion of Boom” to both of their secondaries with cornerback Byron Maxwell signing a lucrative deal with the Eagles and cornerback Brandon Browner signing with the Saints.

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The Eagles had hoped to find an offensive resurgence under former first round quarterback Sam Bradford and the addition of running back Demarco Murray.

The Saints as well were trying to up their capabilities on offense with wide receiver Brandin Cooks healed up and signing running back C.J. Spiller in hopes of creating some mismatches in the mold of former Saints and current Eagles running back Darren Sproles.

But neither of these factors on offense or defense have worked out for either organization so far except for the huge play made in the Saints overtime win this past Sunday on an 80-yard touchdown catch and run by Spiller.

Sep 20, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Cole Beasley (11) avoids Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Byron Maxwell (31) during the second half at Lincoln Financial Field. The Cowboys defeated the Eagles, 20-10. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Maxwell seems to be the biggest bust of free agency after signing a 6-year, $63 million dollar contract with the only glowing stat he has is one forced fumble and ProFootballFocus.com has him as the 96th ranked cornerback out of 104.

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Who’s number 104 you may ask?

Well it’s his former teammate Browner who was thought to come in and create a physically intimidating secondary for the Saints but instead has lead to plenty of penalty flags and big plays by opposing offenses.

Neither offense has gotten off the ground as expected under the assumed wizardry of Saints head coach Sean Payton or the mad scientist “genius” of Eagles head coach Chip Kelly.

There is a ray of hope for Saints fans with Spiller due to the aforementioned overtime touchdown last week and this should hopefully convince Payton to include him in the gameplay even more.

While Browner has yet to make the impact that he was expected to, the Saints defense that is chockfull of rookies has unexpectedly seemed to find their footing in this past game and can hopefully build on that against the Eagles offensive line who has allowed six sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and 23 hurries.

Sep 13, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) is sacked by Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Alex Okafor (57) during the second half at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Likewise the Saints offensive line who is dealing with injuries will have to keep Brees upright after allowing seven sacks, three quarterback hits, and 25 hurries.

The Eagles are desperate for a win so that they can possibly gain some ground in the NFC East as the Cowboys, New York Giants, and Washington Redskins are all at 2-2 and they have a high percentage to revive their season especially since the Cowboys, who are in the lead, are being hit with injuries and set to play a dominant New England Patriots squad on Sunday while the Redskins will likely take a loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday as well.

For the Saints, their desperation for a victory comes in part due to that the rest of their season will be a battle to likely even sniff a Wild Card playoff spot at this point with both the Carolina Panthers and Falcons at 4-0 and the Panthers owning the NFC South at 2-0 within the division with even the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are also at 1-3, have a one game division lead over New Orleans.

So basically the things that are working somewhat in favor of the Eagles within their division are doing the opposite for the Saints with the Panthers on a bye this week, the Falcons almost assured a win, and the Bucs likely to win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday afternoon.

When the Saints and Eagles face each other at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday it will come down to not only who needs a win, but who wants it more…

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