Five over/unders for Eagles preseason matchup against Colts

The Eagles head to Indianapolis on Saturday night to take on Andrew Luck and the Colts in their third game of the 2016 preseason. Not only will we get our most extensive look so far at Doug Pederson's offense, but the defense will also get a crack at facing a first-team offense for more than just a few plays, which has been the case to this point.

So let's not waste any more time with a big intro and instead get right into it...

Takeaways by the Eagles defense: 2.5

Get ready, because you’re probably going to be seeing this stat used quite a bit this season, especially if the offense remains as pedestrian looking as it has through the first half of the preseason. So far, it’s been Jim Schwartz’s defense that’s been stealing the show with its NFL-leading eight turnovers (plus another on special teams) in their first eight quarters. Their seven interceptions also lead the league while their seven sacks rank fourth. 

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Unfortunately — and this is where I have to tell you that I’m not holding this against them, just simply stating facts — those numbers have come at the expense of some pretty underwhelming names. Of those seven interceptions, none have come off a projected NFL starter: Ryan Griffin (2), Mike Glennon (1) and Landry Jones (4). Again, they can only play against the competition put in front of them, so this is not meant to undermine an impressive start for Schwartz’s unit.

In Indianapolis, however, the Birds will get a healthy dose of Luck and the Colts first-team offense, including speedy wideouts T.Y. Hilton, Donte Moncrief, and Phillip Dorsett. But that may not matter all that much. The Colts offense has only turned the ball over once this preseason. And even though Luck has thrown just eight passes through the first two games (he’s 8-for-8, btw), backups Stephen Morris, who spent time on the Eagles practice squad last season, and Scott Tolzien have yet to throw an interception on 61 combined attempts. 

Combine that with the fact that they’ve only put the ball on the turf once in their first two games, and you begin to see how it could be tough for the Eagles defense to maintain that turnover-per-quarter pace at which they’ve been playing. Still, I’m going to take the over here because, well, it worked each of the last two weeks. If it ain't broke...

OVER.

Points allowed by the Eagles defense: 9.5

This should be more tied into the above number than it actually is. While the Colts have done a great job taking care of the ball, they haven't scored a ton of points this preseason (18.5/game). That's in large part due to the fact that their defense has only forced as many turnovers as their offense has surrendered: one.

As for the Eagles defense, they've yet to allow double-digit points this preseason after shutting out the Steelers last week and allowing just nine points in their first win over the Bucs. Again, this brings us back to the competition level – and, of course, a reminder that this isn't a slight of Schwartz's D – which will likely be tougher this weekend. But they've been so good that allowing 9.5 more than their NFL-leading (and somewhat ridiculous) average of 4.5 points per game, would still leave the Colts with just 14 points. I'm taking the over here, but only because they've got to allow points eventually, and they can still put up a good showing even if they can't keep the Colts in single digits.

OVER.

Sam Bradford yards per attempt: 5.9

The Eagles quarterbacks haven't done much this preseason in terms of passing down the field. And sure, there's been more Chase Daniel (team-high 26 attempts) than Sam Bradford or Carson Wentz, but as a unit they're averaging just 4.4 yards per attempt, which is the second worst number in the NFL. Bradford's 5.9 YPA is the best among the Eagles passers, but that would still rank last among any of his first five NFL seasons (he averaged 7.0 YPA last season). 

Some of that could be due to the absence of Jordan Matthews (knee), but he's a slot receiver and isn't really known as a deep threat. Dorial Green-Beckham is expected to get some run with the first team on Saturday night, which could help open things up down the field, assuming he's been able to develop some sort of rapport with Bradford in the week-plus since he was acquired from the Titans.

The Colts, however, have allowed just 5.4 yards per attempt this preseason, good for fourth best in the league. I know Pederson is hoping to get his first-team offense going in this third game, but I'm not sure that will be through the air.

UNDER.

Eagles yards per rush: 3.5

They're averaging 3.4 yards per carry so far, but the guys likely to see a healthy dose of the carries in this one -- Ryan Mathews and Kenjon Barner -- are doing slightly better than that. They averaging 4.7 and 5.8 yards per carry, respectively, and combined are averaging 5.45 yards per carry. We'll also get our first look at rookie Wendell Smallwood, who was out for the first two games.

Against an Indianapolis defense that is allowing 4.3 YPC and 123 yards/game, I think the Eagles will make up for their lack of an aerial attack with a healthy dose of the run game, assuming the offense line can overcome a certain lack of continuity.

OVER.

Dorial Green-Beckham TDs: 0.5

As previously mentioned, DGB is going to get a look with the first-team offense on Saturday night, but will be working off a limited number of plays.

"We put a couple plays in for him this week, expanded his role from a week ago," Pederson earlier this week. "[He's had a] full week of practice. He's comfortable with what we're doing with him. Can't tell you how many [or] the number of snaps he'll get, but he'll definitely play and play with the first group."

If that role is anything like it was last week against the Steelers, you can expect to see the 6-foot-5 wideout featured in the red zone. The Eagles have yet to throw a touchdown pass this preseason, and if there's one guy on the roster that's best suited to help them break that slump, it's Green-Beckham. Since we've seen the run game's ability to punch it in from short distance, and the preseason is more about process than result, it would be wise for Pederson to try to have his starting quarterback throw at least one score before the regular season starts.

OVER.

Follow Matt on Twitter: @matt_mullin