Pederson: Run Game More Important Vs. Falcons
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Atlanta Falcons come to Philly on Sunday with the NFL's most explosive offense.
They have the NFL's leading passer in Matt Ryan (2,980 yards), the NFL's leading receiver in Julio Jones (970 yards), the league's highest scoring offense (33.9 points per game).
So how do you slow them down?
"I think your run game becomes a little more important in games like this," Eagles head coach Doug Pederson told reporters on Wednesday. "Atlanta's offense is one of the top offenses in the National Football League and they're playing extremely well. So anytime you can sort of play keep away -- and time of possession and things like that -- can help you.
Does it work out like that all the time? No. But those are things that as we put our game plans together and the personnel, we take into consideration."
The Eagles have not rushed for 100 yards in either of their last two games, both losses. Ryan Mathews, after his second late game fumble in Week 7 vs. the Vikings, has been relegated to backup duties seeing just nine carries in the past two games combined.
Darren Sproles has played in over 80-percent in the Eagles' past two games, totaling 103 and 71 scrimmage yards, respectively.
Related: Porter: Eagles Hurting Themselves By Not Using Ryan Mathews
The Falcons are giving up 4.0 yards per attempt, but just 91.6 yards per game on the ground -- which is seventh best in the NFL. However, they're ranked just 17th as a rushing defense according to DVOA (Defense-adjusted Value Over Average).