Monday Night Football, two losing teams at 2-8 and 3-7, play in front of a national audience and presumably nobody really cares who wins. Realistically, both franchises would be better off losing this one as neither have any chance of the playoffs and every win between now and the end of the year will be a step down the draft board.
Carolina are 2-8 but I would argue that they are a better team than that record suggests. They have had a very difficult schedule and their eight defeats have all come against teams who are still in with a chance of the playoffs. The worst team they have lost to is the 5-6, Dallas Cowboys. In their eight losses they have lost by less than a touchdown on six occasions. They have been unlucky and with a weaker schedule they could well be sitting with a better record.
Philadelphia are 3-7 and I would say that is also an inaccurate reflection of the level they are playing at. I don't think there is a worse team in the NFL than the Philadelphia Eagles and their 3-7 record flatters them. I am an Eagles fan and I have never saw them look so bad. They don't even look like they are trying and they seem to be finding new ways of losing games every week.
The Panthers come into this game with a relatively clear injury list. The only player in any doubt is receiver, Steve Smith. He is listed as probable due to a finger injury but looks likely to play.
The Eagles aren't as lucky and are missing at least three key players. Michael Vick, LeSean McCoy and Jason Avant will all miss out. The Eagles have been bad enough this year without losing the one bright spark on their offense, LeSean McCoy. McCoy has been the Eagles best player by quite some distance and his absence will be a huge loss.
The match ups give little away and the two teams are quite well balanced. Both teams have had turnover issues. The Eagles have more turnovers than any other team in the NFC with twenty-four and the Panthers aren't a great deal better, turning the ball over eighteen times.
Many people would have been looking forward to this game hoping to see Michael Vick going up against Cam Newton for the first time but due to Vick's injury it will be Nick Foles under center for the Eagles. Foles came with a big reputation and has shown some flashes of being a good player but his time on the field so far has been inconsistent more than anything else. The jury is very much out on the rookie and he couldn't have came in at a worse time with the Eagles in the middle of their worst run of defeats in the Andy Reid era. There's a lot of apathy around this Eagles team at the moment and Foles won't be getting the opportunity to grow into the role that he should be due to the high expectations and disappointing performances so far this year.
Prediction - I'm an Eagles fan but I have to side with the Panthers. The Eagles don't look capable of winning games at the minute and I see it going in much the same way as the Redskins game with Cam Newton leading the Panthers to a big Monday night win.
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