The Eagles are returning to the scene of the crime.
Like a dramatic ending to a movie, the Eagles' win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday means their magical run will now take them back to New Orleans, the city where their season was left for dead back in Week 11.
It was the Saints game, a 48-7 beatdown that was the worst of Doug Pederson's time as head coach, that was the turning point of the Eagles' season. Although all hope seemed loss, the Eagles have been a different team since that game, giving fans reasons to hope the result might be different next Sunday as well.
This is the Eagles' team that went into New Orleans back just under two months ago:
Record: 4-6
Offensive PPG: 20.5
Defensive PPG: 23.1
Defensive turnovers: 0.7 per game (7 total)
Sacks allowed: 3.4 per game (34 total times, Foles five times, Wentz 29 times)
This is the team that the Eagles have become since:
Record: 6-1
Offensive PPG: 25.4
Defensive PPG: 18.5
Defensive turnovers: 1.4 per game (10 total)
Sacks allowed: 1 per game (Seven total sacks, Foles five times, Wentz two times)
There will also be a number of key players in the game next week that either weren't playing last time or are playing at a much higher level — and most of them are on the defensive side of the ball.
The Eagles' defense that allowed 48 points to the Saints is not the unit that will go to New Orleans next weekend. In that blowout loss, both De'Vante Bausby and Chandon Sullivan saw time at cornerback. T.Y. McGill was one of the top defensive tackles. Sidney Jones started. None of those players will have a role next Sunday.
Instead, the Eagles will have a healthy Avonte Maddox for the entire game, something they didn't have the first time. Maddox played just 17 snaps against the Saints the first time around before leaving with a lower-body injury. Maddox returned from that injury three games later a much better player, and despite some struggles against Chicago, has been a key player in the defense turning things around.
The emergence of Cre'veon LeBlanc has also been significant. LeBlanc made one of the plays of the game on Sunday when he ripped the ball out of receiver Anthony Miller's hands for a what should have been an Eagles' fumble recovery in the second quarter. He has emerged as not just a solid starter, but an impact player who is playing at an extremely high level. That was not the case against New Orleans.
In addition to Maddox and LeBlanc, cornerback Rasul Douglas is also playing at a very high level, and has improved significantly since his poor showing against the Saints. An Eagles' secondary that was abysmal back in November is now a strength of the defense.
On offense, the starters mostly remain the same — save for one big difference.
Quarterback Nick Foles was on the bench the last time these two teams met, with Carson Wentz starting and turning in one of his worst games as a starter. Wentz was a large part of the reason the offense struggled that day. He had accuracy issues, he made poor decisions and he threw three interceptions. He played small on a big stage in a game the Eagles needed to win.
That likely won't be the case from the Eagles' quarterback next weekend. Foles has this offense playing at an elite level, and with a 4-1 record in the playoffs, he is one of the toughest quarterbacks in the league to knock out of the postseason. In fact, since the Saints beat the Eagles, Foles' offense is averaging more points-per-game than Drew Brees' Saints offense is.
All of these changes and improvements doesn't the change the fact that the Eagles are still nine-point underdogs next Sunday. Beating the Saints will not be easy.
This current group of Eagles, however, is much more capable of getting the job done than the group that got embarrassed last time around.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
