NFC Game Of The Week
Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles
Redskins: They’ve played much better than people expected them to come into the year. Right now, the Washington Redskins are 3-2 and in second place in the NFC East when they were expected to finish in the basement of the division. They’ve been getting some really good play out of Kirk Cousins and he’s proven he was worth the decision to start under center after Jay Gruden decided to go with him and not Robert Griffin III when he was still with the franchise. I think I enjoy watching their offense more this year than I have in the last few seasons or so even when they had DeSean Jackson. He’s now gone and Terrelle Pryor has stepped in and become that top target for Cousins down the field. Yes, I’m talking about the same guy who was once a quarterback coming out of Ohio State. He’s become the perfect possession receiver because he has the height, the body control and he’s a big guy for secondaries to try and contain. Their defense, which has struggled at times is average at best and this is with an all-pro player in Josh Norman. They’re back on Monday Night Football for the second time in three weeks.
Eagles: As many of you know, this is a team that I’ve been really high on this year and they’ve surprised me with their hot start. This team is the real deal and they really impressed me more with their victory in Carolina over the Panthers last Thursday night. This is the best team in the NFC right now. They have a good offensive line that keeps their quarterback protected, the running game is coming alive, Alshon Jeffrey, Torrey Smith, Nelson Agholor and Zach Ertz have become a nice receiving core, the defense is playing productive football across the board. They can get after the quarterback, they can cover and they get takeaways, did you see what they did to Cam Newton last week? He came into that game as one of the hottest passers in the game and the Eagles intercepted him three times. What has really stood out to me during this hot start has been the play of Carson Wentz and he’s the perfect example of the saying when you get good play from your quarterback, everything around you will go well. He’s really matured as a passer. I love how he spreads the football around to each receiver, he’s mobile, he can extend plays and he’ll make something happen with his feet when he has too. They’ll look to really take control of this division on Monday.
Redskins Player To Watch: Chris Thompson– With Robert Kelly out with an injury, he’s come in and really given Washington’s offense a boost from a balance standpoint. He’s so dynamic and is a guy that Cousins can check the football too when the other receivers aren’t open along with running it up the middle for hard earned yards.
Eagles Player To Watch: Jalen Mills– He saw a lot of Kelvin Benjamin last week and he’ll be seeing a mix of Pryor and Josh Doctson. These are both bigger receivers. This is another challenge for Mills again.
Final Analysis: When they met in week one, Washington got off to such a fast start and then the fourth quarter came and they turned the ball over a few times which led to the Eagles coming back and winning the game. Washington’s main priority will be stopping the run. They’ve been the only team to hold the Eagles under the 100-yard mark this year. Philly will come out and attack a depleted secondary early on.
Prediction: Eagles 28 Redskins 1
