As the Eagles prepare for their playoff match-up with the Falcons this Saturday, one of the keys to the game will be in the trenches for Philadelphia.  The Eagles had one of the top five Rushing Offenses in the NFL this season ranking Third in Rushing Yards (2,115) and Sixth in Rushing Attempts (473).  Meanwhile their Defense during the 2017 season ranked First in Rushing Yards Allowed (1,267) and Third in Rushing Touchdowns Allowed (7).  Can the Eagles control the line of scrimmage versus a Falcons team whose Offense is averaged 115.1 Rushing Yards Per Game and a Defense that allowed just 19.7 Points Per Game during the regular season?

ESPN.com NFL Insider KC Joyner joined Mike Gill on Monday discussing how the Eagles and Falcons match-up on the ground and in the trenches:

“(Eagles offense) ranks fourth in the league in Good Blocking Productivity – The Falcons defense is 19th in Good Blocking Rate Allowed;  you can get some big runs against them….This is (an Eagles Defense) that does not allow very many big running plays and Atlanta’s Offense should not be able to get the ball moving as much which the concern is if Atlanta knows they can’t run the ball that effectively they will start throwing against the secondary.  Which Philadelphia Secondary shows up?  Because there have been times this Secondary has looked great and there’s been times it has looked terrible.  So if I’m Philadelphia, I almost want to invite Atlanta to run and hope I can keep the game low scoring.”

Hear what Joyner had to say about NFL Wild Card Weekend results, issues with Officiating in the league, and more Football talk

More From 97.3 ESPN