A knockdown affair is on tap in the Philadelphia, as the
Eagles and Washington try to match Dallas with a win in the NFC East. The Redskins are 2-9 (4-6-1 ATS) in last 11 trips into the City of Brotherly Love and are out to reverse fortunes from opening whistle. Washington actually leads the all-time series 74-64-5 lead, even after being swept last season.
The Redskins must feel good following a three-point win over the
Miami Dolphins in Week 1, but in those results sit reason for trepidation. The Skins were atrocious in 2006 but went on their annual spending spree in free agency to reverse the trend, and the Fins should not be used as an objective measuring stick. The
Washington defense held Miami to just 3.3 yards per carry, giving hope to defensive coordinator Greg Robinson the defense is back. Especially impressive were linebackers Rocky McIntosh and
London Fletcher, who cleaned up making a host of tackles in the opener. On offense, QB
Jason Campbell failed to impress with just 12 completions for 222 yards and two interceptions versus zero touchdowns. The rushing numbers were great, averaging 4.7 yards per carry for 191 total rushing yards with
Clinton Portis and
Ladell Betts leading the way. Washington did suffer a tremendous loss as tackle Jon Jansen broke his ankle, which will end up hurting the Redskins running game both today and in the future. Sportsbook.com has Washington as a 6.5-point underdog and in this rivalry the dog in only 1-6 ATS recently.
The Eagles were expected to once again serve as a model for others to follow, hitting the 2007 season as a favorite to battle for the NFC title. While it is just one week of work, it may be fair to take the results of Week 1 and turn them into worry. Against a persistent Green Bay defense, QB
Donovan McNabb completed just 45% of his passes for 184 yards and one TD. McNabb is not the nibble scrambler coming back from devastating knee injury and was a sitting duck in the pocket, being swallowed up by the Packers front four like a bowl full of Campbell’s soup. The
Philadelphia offensive line came into 2007 considered a strength and was woefully ineffective last week.
Brian Westbrook was part of the rushing attack that really struggled, averaging just 3.6 yards per carry (29 carries for 103 yards). On defense the effort was strong and should have been enough to avoid the three-point loss. The Eagles earned four sacks and were relentless in pursuit of the
Brett Favre, holding the Packers to a lowly 2.7 yards per carry as well. Those efforts should have produced better results; however Philly was betrayed by deplorable special teams. The failure of this unit, literally gave the Pack the win.
Keys to the Game – In order to limit the unrelenting blitzing schemes of DC Jim Johnson, Washington needs to run the ball against undersized Philadelphia front. This makes the Eagles play more straight up and keeps Campbell protected against potential troubles. The Redskins are 10-5-1 ATS on the road vs.
NFC East teams. Philly will in turn try to flush the Washington running game; make Campbell beat them with the pass. Antwan Randle El was finally something other than a decoy and was a factor in first game win. The Eagles have the ability to return him to former role. Philadelphia is 8-3 ATS as a home favorite on Monday night, while Washington is 3-5 against the number as a road dogs to open the work week.
Monday Night System – Play Against any Monday Night football home team in a divisional game that lost by seven or less points the previous week. (17-5, 77.2%)
StatFox Forecaster – Washington covers
StatFox Power Line – Philadelphia by 10
StatFox Outplay Factor – Philadelphia by 9
