Here are 10 matchups we’ll be looking for in Sunday’s Patriots-Eagles game in Philadelphia:

WHEN THE PATRIOTS HAVE THE BALL

Tom Brady against the Eagles pass defense: Philadelphia is tied for 11th in the league, having yielded 223 passing yards per game, while Brady and the Patriots are second in the league with 316 yards per game. It will be interesting to see how healthy the Eagles’ secondary truly is -- Nnamdi Asomugha was carted off the field on Thursday because of a hyerextended left knee, while fellow cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report with an ankle injury. There is some familiarity there with Asante Samuel, as he and Brady went against each other every day in practice from 2003 until he left for Philly as a free agent following the 2007 season. The 30-year-old Samuel leads the NFL with 38 interceptions since 2006, including five returned for touchdowns.

Sebastian Vollmer against Jason Babin: I’ve hit on this a few times, but an August conversation with NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger is important to remember when it comes to talking about the Philadelphia pass rush against the Patriots. In the wake of Detroit’s preseason win over the Patriots -- where the Lions were able to get sustained pressure on Brady with their front four -- Baldinger told me that from a personnel standpoint, the only other team in the league who could replicate that sort of pressure against New England was the Eagles. That starts up front with a guy like Babin, who leads Philadelphia in sacks (10) and is second on the team in quarterback pressures (24). Expect the Patriots to utilize an extra blocker (Nate Solder could reprise the role he’s played to great acclaim the last couple of weeks as an extra tight end) and give Vollmer some help with an extra chip on Babin from Rob Gronkowski.

Matt Light against Trent Cole: This is the matchup on the other side of the line. Cole -- Logan Mankins’ offseason hunting buddy -- has five sacks and 27 pressures, and will likely be coming at Brady from the blind side. Along with the Vollmer/Babin matchup, these are Philadelphia’s two most favorable matchups when it comes to the Eagles’ defense. Light has done a relatively good job of protecting Brady’s blind side this season, going up against some of the best pass rushers in the league. According to PFF, Light has allowed three quarterbacks sacks on the season.

Rob Gronkowski against the Eagles’ linebackers: Maybe the most favorable matchup across the board for the Patriots. Gronkowski has proven to be a matchup beast for opposing defenses -- he’s too big to cover with a defensive back and too quick to be covered by a linebacker. Figure that Philadelphia will try and do their best to muscle Gronkowski out of the picture, but the Eagles’ linebackers are woeful against the pass (as an NFC scout told us here), which should mean plenty of chances for the big tight end Sunday afternoon.

The Patriots offense against their slow starts: The New England offense has been sluggish out of the gate for most of the season -- including Monday night against the Chiefs (when they had 10 points in the first two quarters), the Patriots have now averaged 9.3 points over the first half of their last six games, including a high of 13 points (once against the Cowboys and once against the Jets) and a low of zero (against the Giants). Against Kansas City, the Patriots didn’t get into Chiefs’ territory until Kansas City botched an onside kick at the end of the first quarter, and didn’t engage in a sustained drive from their side of the field into the Chiefs side until late in the second when Brady hit Gronkowski with a 52-yard scoring strike to finally get New England on the board. The Patriots cannot have a similar slow start against a better team in the Eagles.

The Patriots pass defense against Vince Young: Word came down Saturday afternoon via Albert Breer of the NFL Network that Michael Vick will miss Sunday’s game as he continues to heal up from two broken ribs he suffered earlier in the season, which means another start for backup Vince Young. While Young looked impressive at times in engineering an 18-play drive late in last week’s win over the Giants, he’s been somewhat inconsistent (before the game-winner last week against New York, he threw three picks). In two career starts against New England, Young hasn’t done well -- he’s 15-for-38 for 227 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions. His last outing against New England came in October 2009, where he was 0-for-2 for no yards and an interception as the Patriots crushed Tennessee, 59-0 in a surprise fall snowstorm in Foxboro.

Andre Carter against Jason Peters: Carter has re-energized the New England pass rush. The 6-foot-4, 255-pounder, in his first season with New England, leads the team in sacks (he has accounted for nine of the 23 the Patriots have produced this season, which is tied for sixth in the league), as well as quarterback hits (19). In addition, according to Pro Football Focus, he’s also tops on the team in quarterback pressures with 20. Coming after Young from the blind side, he’ll be going against Peters, who has allowed just one quarterback hit all season, and has graded out as the Eagles’ best pass blocker at +6.1

Rob Ninkovich against Brent Celek: Ninkovich struggled at the start of the season, but has really played well as of late, especially against opposing tight ends. While he hasn’t been alone in trying to slow them down, he’s played a large role the last few games (especially against New York’s Dustin Keller) trying to defend them, getting physical with them and knocking them around. He’ll likely be called upon to try and do the same with Celek (37 catches, 382 yards), a fairly reliable threat for the Eagles in the passing game. (If Pat Chung is healthy, expect him to show up against Celek as well.).

The Patriots run defense against LeSean McCoy: The Patriots’ run defense will face its biggest challenge of the season in the Eagles. Philadelphia is 4-2 when it runs the ball 30 times or more, and McCoy is one of the best in the league when it comes to toting the rock. McCoy is the best back the Patriots have faced this season, as he leads the league in total yards (1,019) and average yards per game (101.9), and is tied for the league lead in runs of 20 yards or more (eleven). Despite the fact that the Patriots allow nearly 300 yards a game through the air, expect a heavy dose of McCoy on Sunday.

Julian Edelman against the Philadelphia offense: After a very rough start last Monday against the Chiefs, the former collegiate quarterback was on the field for the second consecutive week on defense, lining up as a slot corner and showing a good nose for the ball. He ended up with one tackle, and was always around the play. It certainly appeared that one of his duties was to serve as a spy on Kansas City running back Dexter McCluster. He might fill that same role this week against McCoy.