Who Picked the Eagles: Week 13

The Eagles head to Foxboro, Mass., on a three-game losing streak. They’ll face the 10-1 New England Patriots. It sounds like a recipe for disaster.

But with a banged-up Patriots offense in the way, could Sunday’s game be closer than expected? Local and national writers weigh in on the Week 13 showdown.

Birds 24/7 Predictions

Tim: Patriots win, 33-20

I just don’t think the Eagles have the horses on offense to get it done. Bradford is still working through a shoulder injury and I don’t have much confidence in the offensive line to protect it.

Josh: Patriots win, 38-17

I don’t care if Brady is throwing the ball to me and you, he’s going to carve up Davis’ unit.

The Eagles haven’t responded well to adversity all year, and there’s no reason to believe they will now.

National Writer Predictions

Pete Schrager of FOX Sports isn’t convinced the Eagles can bounce back from their back-to-back colossal losses. He takes the Patriots, 34-17.

It’s tough to see the Eagles winning this one after what we’ve seen from them the last two weeks, even if the Patriots are suiting up Tom Brady and a bunch of guys off the street on offense. Chip Kelly’s dream quarterback is off in Nashville playing for Mike Mularkey (Mike Mularkey!), while he’s left with Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez. The local media is fired up in Philly, and after giving up 90 points in two weeks, it’s hard to blame them. I don’t see things getting better Sunday.

NFL.com’s Elliot Harrison doesn’t think Sunday’s game will be a blowout, but he’s still taking the Patriots, 24-14.

What once looked like it would be a blowout could become a defensive slugfest. Expect a relatively tight game, with a large dose of running from both teams. In a shocking development, New England will win due to mistakes made by the Eagles’ quarterback(s), as this is the kind of matchup won by the team that allows the fewest giveaways. Philly’s offense has zero starch in the collar, but the Eagles should utilize their running backs, given the state of Pats linebacker Dont’a Hightower, who suffered a knee injury Sunday. Danny Amendola should be back, while Rob Gronkowski’s availability is apparently up in the air. In Bradford we trust — Tommy Bradford, that is.

Add CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco to the voices who think this won’t be another embarrassing loss for the Birds. It’ll still be a loss, though: he takes the Patriots, 31-23.

The Patriots are really short-handed on offense, especially without Rob Gronkowski. But they have Tom Brady and the Eagles are the perfect tonic for any offense right now. Philadelphia has issues. That will show up here. Patriots win it, but Eagles get a late score to make it interesting.

The guys at Pro Football Talk expect the Eagles to lose, but their opinions on the state of the team differ slightly.

MDS’s take: I don’t think the Eagles are as bad as they’ve looked the last two weeks, but they’re certainly not good enough to win at New England.

MDS’s pick: Patriots 35, Eagles 21.

Florio’s take: No team has given up 45 points in three straight games since 1970. It’s fitting that it will happen again exactly 45 years later.

Florio’s pick: Patriots 45, Eagles 21.

All 13 of ESPN’s panelists expect the Patriots to knock off the Eagles this weekend.

Each of SB Nation’s seven panelists take New England to defend Foxboro with a win.

Beat Writer Predictions

Zach Berman, Philadelphia Inquirer: Patriots win, 27-21

Jeff McLane, Philadelphia Inquirer: Patriots win, 30-19

Martin Frank, News-Journal: Patriots win, 34-27

Mark Eckel, NJ.com: Eagles win

Eliot Shorr-Parks, NJ.com: Eagles win