Brandon Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation was nice enough to answer 5 questions about his Philadelphia Eagles ahead of tomorrow’s matchup. I did the same for him, and you can read his questions with my answers here. I long for the day when I can answer the opposing team’s questions with some confidence in the Tennessee Titans. That day is not today.
Here are my questions with his answers:
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1 – The Titans franchise went into the tank the night they traded A.J. Brown to the Eagles. Summarize his time with the Eagles from your perspective. Why was it necessary to trade him this offseason?
Including the playoffs, the Eagles were 56-20 during A.J. Brown’s Philly tenure. They went to two Super Bowls and won one. He was a big part of the most successful era in modern franchise history. For that, I’ll always think of him fondly. He was pretty fun to watch!
Of course, the 2025 season left Eagles fans with a sour taste in their mouths. Brown clearly didn’t put his best foot forward last year. He looked really disillusioned and disinterested while being frustrated with the Eagles’ offensive struggles. We can’t act like he was totally crazy to feel that; plenty of Eagles fans were similarly annoyed with the team’s offensive incompetence. But Brown didn’t express those feelings in the most constructive manner. It reached the point where it was hard to envision him being fully motivated as a member of the Eagles. His once close relationship with Jalen Hurts deteriorated.
Trading Brown away wasn’t ideal. The Eagles got worse at receiver by moving on from him. But keeping him didn’t seem like a tenable situation. And that’s a shame because Brown looked pretty good to me when I saw him practice against the Eagles in Foxboro this summer. I don’t buy the idea that he’s in rapid decline. Unfortunately for him, he’s now dealing with an injury that will cause him to miss time and perhaps negatively impact him over the course of the entire 2026 season. We’ll see on that front. The Eagles, meanwhile, will look forward to the 2027 fifth-round pick and 2028 first-round pick they received from the New England Patriots in exchange for Brown.
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2 – Who fills in for Landon Dickerson? How big of a loss is his injury for the Eagles’ offensive line?
Should I be like the Eagles and try to obfuscate here? Competitive advantage in the SB Nation blog Q&A exchange?!
Nah. That would be silly. As silly as the team trying to hide their seemingly obvious intentions? Who can say for sure.
Sure seems to me like Drew Kendall will be the guy. He was the first-team left guard whenever Dickerson missed reps or sat out of practice in training camp. Dating back to the NFL Combine, there was word that the Eagles were internally high on Kendall, a 2025 fifth-round pick. He then looked good in their preseason games this summer.
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Alternatively, there’s been some buzz about the Eagles moving starting center Cam Jurgens to left guard and putting Kendall in at center. That could make sense for the perspective that Kendall only played the pivot in college and thus lacks extensive guard experience. But then there’s the matter of Jurgens lacking experience at left guard; he previously played right guard in 2023.
The Eagles showed a look with veteran swing tackle Fred Johnson, who played some guard earlier in his career, during practice this week. I’d be surprised if he’s the Dickerson replacement since he didn’t play well this summer and he hasn’t played guard in a long time. Wee Willie Lampkin is also potentially a factor in this equation.
Ultimately, though, I’m leaning Kendall until I see otherwise.
Losing Dickerson isn’t a big deal in terms of the player that he was in Week 1. It looked like he couldn’t move out there. He admitted that he was a “complete liability” against the Washington Commanders. By virtue of him struggling so much, his replacement should be an automatic upgrade, even if they’re not actually all that great.
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3 – As you know, the Eagles and Titans don’t play very often. Who are some of the under-the-radar players that we should keep an eye out for?
Offense: Dontayvion Wicks. He’s only played one career game against the Titans, which came early in 2024 as a member of the Green Bay Packers. Wicks saw two targets for zero catches in that one. I’d expect him to be more noticeable this time around. Wicks logged the longest reception of his career last week in a win over Washington. With the Titans likely to try to key in on stopping DeVonta Smith, Wicks should get some opportunities to win his matchups. His route-running savvy allows him to get open for Jalen Hurts, who has already developed solid chemistry with his new target.
Defense: Jalyx Hunt. The 2024 third-round pick had a stellar summer for the Eagles. He wasn’t very active in the traditional box score in Week 1 but Pro Football Focus charted him with four pressures. Whereas the Eagles had to respect Jayden Daniels’ mobility in Week 1, I think their pass rush will be able to attack Cam Ward more aggressively this weekend. I could see Hunt having a big game while going up against Dan Moore at left tackle.
Real deep cut: my guy Darius Cooper, who deserves more offensive playing time than he saw in Week 1. Cooper logged four special teams tackles against the Commanders.
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4 – If the Eagles could steal one player from the Titans’ roster, who would it be and why?
The Eagles are already strong at defensive tackle but Jalen Carter is now dealing with a wrist injury that’s causing him to wear a cast. And the Eagles are relying on him to play a lot of snaps. I’d steal Jeffery Simmons and strengthen the DT rotation. The combination of Simmons, Carter, Jordan Davis, and Moro Ojomo would be really nice. Opposing offensive lines would hate facing that group.
Honorable mentions: Peter Skoronski could step in to fill the hole at left guard. I thought about Calvin Ridley or Carnell Tate since I’m not sure what to make of Makai Lemon as WR3 just yet.
5- What’s the biggest matchup in the Eagles’ favor and the biggest matchup against their favor?
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Biggest matchup in the Eagles’ favor: Philly’s defensive front going up against the Titans’ offensive line and Cam Ward. The Eagles generated pressure on 19 of Jayden Daniels’ 38 dropbacks in Week 1. Was their pass rush perfect? Hardly. They logged just one sack and two quarterback hits. But I’m willing to believe that the rush was accounting for Daniels’ mobility; the Eagles did keep his rushing production in check. Vic Fangio’s defense should be able to have more success attacking Ward.
Biggest matchup in the Titans’ favor: Jeffery Simmons against the Eagles’ interior offensive line. The Birds will be starting a backup at left guard and it’s not like Cam Jurgens, who struggled last year, was lighting the world on fire. Tyler Steen is a solid starter at right guard but not a Pro Bowler. Simmons having a big game should work towards preventing the Eagles’ offense finding a rhythm. Which is something they certainly didn’t have in Week 1 when they gained just 10 first downs, second-fewest in the league.
6 – Who wins this game and why? With the Titans currently listed as 7-point home underdogs, what’s your score prediction?
The Eagles will win this game and cover. I feel good about Fangio’s defense being able to cause problems for Ward and a Titans offense that struggled against the New York Jets last weekend. I don’t feel amazing about the Eagles’ offense as a collective right now … but I do feel encouraged by what I saw from Jalen Hurts against the Commanders. He might be able to make some big plays that end up being the difference in this game, just like he did against Washington.
The Eagles come out on top in this one to notch their first-ever win in Tennessee, 27 to 12.
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