The Philadelphia Eagles were able to put up 37 points in their blowout victory over the Los Angeles Rams without Pro Bowl wide receiver DeVonta Smith.
The former Heisman Trophy winner missed last Sunday's game with a hamstring injury that had been bothering him over the last few weeks. Now, with the Eagles preparing for another marquee matchup against the Baltimore Ravens, Smith's injury status remains a big concern.
Philadelphia may have been able to look good against the Rams' defense last week without Smith, but Sunday's contest against Baltimore is entirely different.
That's because the two defenses they faced were entirely different. Los Angeles carried a defense ranked 28th in the league. Baltimore's rushing defense?
Second in all of football.
The Ravens do have an Achilles heel on the defensive side and it is in their secondary. Baltimore owns the second-worst pass defense in the league and it has been exploited many times throughout the season. ... and a quick analysis reveals that as a key here.
Does Philadelphia have the means to exploit that weakness, though, without Smith on the field?
If Baltimore is smart, their strategy for Sunday's contest against the Eagles would be to stack the box against Philadelphia's hard-nosed rushing attack. At the same time, they'll need to bracket both wide receiver A.J. Brown and tight end Dallas Goedert.
This would essentially dare Jalen Hurts to beat them through the air trusting any other receiver. So far this season, none of the role players behind Smith and Brown have been up to the task.
That will need to change if the Eagles are going to in in Baltimore on Sunday.
