PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Before the Philadelphia Eagles begin their quest for a repeat Dre'Mont Jones Jersey , they’ll have one more celebration.The first Super Bowl banner in franchise history will be unveiled in front of a sellout crowd that waited seemingly forever to witness the moment.Then it’s on to defending their crown.Coach Doug Pederson and his veteran players have preached throughout the offseason the importance of moving forward and focusing on the present if the Eagles are going to have any chance of becoming the ninth team to repeat as Super Bowl champs.They have a tough opponent Thursday night in the NFL opener. The Atlanta Falcons were 2 yards away from knocking the Eagles out of the playoffs in the divisional round, but Matt Ryan’s pass to Julio Jones fell incomplete in the right corner of the end zone.“It’s going to be a great night,” Pederson said. “The fans are going to be crazy and they’re going to be excited. It’s going to be great for the banner to be dropped. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. This football team, though, they understand this is a different season. It’s a new team, new year. We’re sitting here 0-0 with a great opportunity against a great opponent. Quite honestly, that’s their focus.”The Falcons understand they were real close to advancing to the NFC championship game. Beating the Eagles this time around won’t make up for the loss in January, but the goal now is to finish the season at home in Atlanta, where the Super Bowl will be played in February.“They had a great team last year,” Ryan said. “I’m certain that the atmosphere will be good, obviously with them celebrating (what) they did last year. Once that settles, it comes down to us, our 11 on the field against their 11.”Nick Foles filled in for Carson Wentz, led the Eagles to their first championship since 1960 and earned Super Bowl MVP honors . Foles again will be under center; Wentz hasn’t been medically cleared following surgery last December to repair two torn knee ligaments.Foles struggled in the preseason http://www.cardinalscheapstore.com/zach-allen-jersey-cheap , but he was excellent when it mattered in the playoffs. Foles had a 115.7 passer rating, completed 72.6 percent of his passes and threw for 971 yards, six TDs and one interception in three playoff wins.“You have to get a rhythm,” Foles said, comparing his quarterbacking to his days playing basketball. “If I go play pickup basketball right now, I’m not going to be very good because I haven’t played in a long time. But if I play for a couple weeks, I’ll be back to who I used to be. I’ll be able to shoot everywhere, I’ll probably be able to dunk again a little bit. It’s the same with football. That’s how I am as an athlete.”Some things to know about the Falcons-Eagles rematch:THEY’RE BACK: While the Eagles won’t have Wentz, three key players who also sustained season-ending injuries last year will return. Nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle Jason Peters, versatile returner/running back Darren Sproles, and playmaking linebacker Jordan Hicks are healthy and ready to go. Pederson held Peters and Sproles out in preseason but expects them to be sharp.UNHAPPY HOMECOMING: Ryan, who grew up rooting for the Eagles and went to Philadelphia’s William Penn Charter School, is 1-4 at Lincoln Financial Field. Even during his MVP season two years ago, he had his worst game in Philly. He was 18 of 33 for 267 yards with one touchdown and one interception in a 24-15 loss.TEVIN’S TIME: Devonta Freeman (865 Hakeem Butler Jersey , 7) and Tevin Coleman (628, 5) combined for 1,493 yards rushing and 12 TDs last season, but the Eagles had the NFL’s stingiest run defense and held the Falcons to 86 yards on the ground in the playoff game. Coleman, however, had 79 yards on 10 carries.THROW IT TO JULIO: Jones, a two-time All-Pro, only had three TD catches last season and offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian wants to make sure they find him inside the red zone.“We need to get No. 11 the ball,” Sarkisian said.MISSING MEN: Wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Mack Hollins won’t play because of injuries, so the Eagles will rely on veteran Mike Wallace, second-year pro Shelton Gibson, and Nelson Agholor to pick up the slack. WASHINGTON (AP) — Missed tackles. Missed assignments. Missed communication. All are plausible explanations for what’s gone wrong with the Washington Redskins‘ defense lately.A unit that was a big reason for the team’s strong start to the season is also now a big reason for the Redskins’ rapid descent to 6-6 and a three-game losing streak heading into Sunday’s matchup against the visiting New York Giants.“We’ve just got to get off the field,” Redskins cornerback Josh Norman said. “Got to find a way to get off the field.”Only 12 of the league’s 32 teams have given up more yards per game than the 367.4 the Redskins are allowing this season. That’s bad enough as it is.But narrow the scope to the past five outings, and Washington’s average balloons to more than 420 yards. Over the past three games http://www.bengalscheapstore.com/jonah-williams-jersey-cheap , Washington’s opponents have averaged 27.3 points.“Defensively, we have to play better. We have to play better. These 430-yard games are too much for the defensive personnel that we do have. We have no excuses there,” coach Jay Gruden said. “So the challenge will be, ‘Hey, if we have to win 7-6, let’s do it.'”To Norman’s point, the third-down conversion numbers are the most staggering of all.For the season, the Redskins are letting foes get the first down 44 percent of the time; only three clubs are worse. Over just the most recent five games, it gets worse, rising to a 54 percent success rate on third downs.It’s probably not a coincidence that Washington is 1-4 in those games, dropping from first place to third in the NFC East.And now comes the challenge of dealing with the Giants and their two offensive stars: rookie running back Saquon Barkley, third in the NFL in rushing yards, and wideout Odell Beckham Jr., who threw one TD pass and caught another last week.“We’ll work on things that maybe have hurt us in the past and we’ve got to work on those and get better at them Drew Sample Jersey ,” Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Manusky said, “and just got to make sure we make tackles in the open field.”Unlike all of the injury issues on offense — Mark Sanchez is Washington’s third starting QB in less than a month, and the team is on to its third pair of starting guards — the defense has been relatively healthy.Plus, it was supposed to be getting help when the Redskins acquired Green Bay Packers safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix at the trade deadline. Things only have been getting worse lately, though.“It’s frustrating,” Norman said, “but we’ll find it.”Notes: LB Ryan Anderson (hamstring) and G Tony Bergstrom (knee, ankle) were ruled out for Sunday, while LB Zach Brown (illness), C Chase Roullier (knee), DL Matt Ioannidis (bruised shin) and WR Josh Doctson (strained hip) were listed as questionable. … With all the injuries along the offensive line, Gruden said the team hadn’t yet decided who will start at the two guard spots and that the team might do some rotating of players during the game.