3 KEY MATCHUPS

1. Cole Beasley vs. Sidney Jones

Jones has had his share of struggles for the Eagles this season. Though he was benched last week against Dallas, he's their best option to line up in the slot following the release of Orlando Scandrick and Avonte Maddox unlikely to play (concussion). Jones has allowed a 68 percent completion percentage against him when his cover assignment is targeted this season.

2. Jon Feliciano vs. Fletcher Cox

Buffalo's scrappy right guard will have to bring his best against one of the most disruptive interior defensive linemen in the league. If not given the proper attention, Cox has the ability to wreck a game.

3. Micah Hyde/Jordan Poyer vs. Zach Ertz/Dallas Goedert

The dual threat tight ends of Ertz and Goedert bring a size advantage to this matchup. Hyde and Poyer will need to neutralize these threats in the middle of the field to keep the Eagles pass game under wraps.

2 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE OPPONENT

Ball security a two-sided issue

The Eagles have had problems hanging onto the football. Their eight lost fumbles, including two last Sunday in Dallas, are tied for fourth most in the league. The lost fumbles are a big reason why Philadelphia is a minus-two in turnover margin.

Philadelphia's receiving corps has had a similar problem when it comes to catch rate on passes from Carson Wentz. The Eagles rank 30th in the league catch rate, as they're pulling in just 61.7 percent of their targets. Chief among the struggling pass catchers are Nelson Agholor (58%), Mack Hollins (48%) and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (29%).

Points for everyone

A 3-4 record is certainly not what the Eagles expected to be after seven games this season, but they might consider themselves fortunate in light of the points they've been surrendering to their opponents.

Philadelphia has given up 24 points or more to their opponents in six of their seven games, including 27 or more in five of those contests. They've put themselves behind on the scoreboard early and often in their games this season as they've trailed by double digits in six of their seven games as well.

Evidence of that is seen in their first half point differential where they've been outscored by a count of 121 to 82.

ONE THING THAT COULD DECIDE THE GAME

Red zone finishing

Buffalo ranks second in the NFL in red zone touchdown percentage, finding the end zone at a clip of almost 69 percent. They'll need to cash in against Philadelphia's middle-of-the-pack red zone defense that allows touchdowns more than half the time (56%).

UNDERCURRENTS

--You could call them the 'Banged up Birds' as the Eagles are dealing with a slew of injuries to a number of starters. Just last week against Dallas, Philadelphia was without LT Jason Peters, WR DeSean Jackson, RB Darren Sproles, DT Malik Jackson (I-R), DT Tim Jernigan, LB Nigel Bradham and CB Avonte Maddox. All of those players did not practice on Wednesday.

--It appears like the Eagles don't expect to have their two injured defensive tackles in Jackson and Jernigan back anytime soon. Earlier this week they signed defensive tackles Anthony Rush and Albert Huggins, releasing DT Akeem Spence and CB Orlando Scandrick to make room on the roster.

Making matters worse, DT Hassan Ridgeway was placed on injured reserve this week, so it's likely that Rush or Huggins will need to start alongside Cox at defensive tackle on Sunday or play significant snaps. Both players were on other teams' practice squads last week and neither has played in an NFL regular season game before.

--Philadelphia's defense is talented up front, but that alone has not been able to make them a dominant side. Through seven games the Eagles rank 25th in defensive drive scoring efficiency, allowing their opponents to score points on more than 40 percent of their possessions (40.7%).

--The Eagles are tied for the third-highest total in the league when it comes to allowing touchdowns of 20 yards or more. They've allowed six such scoring plays in seven games. Only Oakland (9) and Miami (7) have allowed more this season.

--Per head coach Doug Pederson, the Eagles are an angry bunch. Frustrated by their poor performance against division rival Dallas last week, suffice to say Philadelphia will be coming to New Era Field with a purposeful approach.