Eagles-Falcons player matchups to watch in Week 2 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles (1-0) will host the Falcons (0-1) in their home opener at the Linc on Monday Night Football.
The Eagles are coming off a 34-29 win over the Packers in Brazil, while the Falcons are coming off an 18-10 home loss to the Steelers.
Here are some key matchups to watch:
Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata vs. Matt Judon
The Eagles got an extended look at Matt Judon at their joint practice against the Patriots in August. He gave them fits. And then a couple days later, he was traded to the Falcons, who desperately needed some pass rush.
Judon, 32, played in just four games in 2023 but made four consecutive Pro Bowls before that and had 12 1/2 and 15 1/2 sacks in his two full seasons with the Patriots. He still looked that disruptive in the joint practice in August and Judon got off to a nice start in Week 1 with the Falcons, picking up half a sack and five combined tackles.
Judon will play on both sides of the line so both Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata will have to be ready for him in this game but Mailata will probably see more of him. The good news is that the Eagles have one of the best tackle duos in the NFL. Both Johnson and Mailata played extremely well in the season opener against a good Packers offensive line. Maybe the Packers had some trouble getting traction on the field in São Paulo, but the Eagles’ tackles did their job. After one week, Johnson ranks fifth and Mailata ranks 10th on the PFF top offensive tackles.
Jalen Hurts vs. Jessie Bates and Justin Simmons
After throwing just one interception all summer, Jalen Hurts made some bad decisions in Week 1 and threw a couple of interceptions against the Packers. The Eagles were lucky to win the game after turning the football over three times. Hurts knows he has to be better.
“Those are things that I control and I have to be better at and I take accountability for that,” Hurts said after the win.
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