The Redskins play their second division game in a row on Sunday, facing the Philadelphia Eagles after Thursday's loss to the New York Giants. Both teams are coming into this week's game at 1-2 and looking to pass a Romo and Dez-less Dallas Cowboys team for the division title this year. The Eagles got their first win of the season last week against a hapless New York Jets offense.
The Redskins will be without DeSean Jackson, and the former Eagle will miss his chance to shine against the Eagles again. In his first two games against the Chip Kelly-led Eagles last year, Jackson had 9 catches for 243 yards and 1 TD. With the potential for bad weather conditions, the Redskins will need a healthy dose of Afred Morris and Matt Jones, but they face a stout Philadelphia run defense.
Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation gave us a few factors that could lead to a loss for the Philadelphia Eagles this week.
WHY THE EAGLES WILL LOSE
OFFENSE
Washington, not unlike Philadelphia, has a pretty strong front seven. Their run defense ranks fifth by Football Outsiders and only allows 3.6 yards per rush attempt. This could spell struggle for an Eagles run offense that has really struggled this season before showing signs of life in Week 3. Another factor to consider here is that it seems like DeMarco Murray will play. Ryan Mathews has been the more productive runner of the two through a small sample size this season. If Washington can shut down the Eagles’ run game, the pressure will be on Sam Bradford to throw the ball a lot. Considering the way Bradford has struggled with his accuracy recently, the Eagles don’t really want to have to rely on him to carry the team. Being able to stop the run will make life hard on Philadelphia’s underperforming offense.
DEFENSE
The Eagles’ defense is currently the strength of the team now by far. Their run defense only allows 3.1 yards per rush attempt, which is the best rate in the league. The Eagles have allowed one 100-yard rusher in just one of their last 27 games. Washington’s rushing offense will put Philadelphia’s run defense to the test. The combination of Alfred Morris (199 yards, 4.1 per attempt) and rookie Matt Jones (189 yards, 5.3 per attempt) has been pretty effective so far. This will be a good matchup to watch.
X-FACTOR
The weather. At the time of this writing, there’s a 30% chance for rain in Landover on Sunday with winds gusting around 15 mph. With Washington’s run defense being so good, it’s possibly the Eagles look to exploit their opponent’s defense through the air. Bad weather conditions could mean Bradford will only continue to struggle throwing the ball with accuracy. The Eagles have dropped 11 passes so far this year, which is a league high, and having the ball be wet certainly won’t make that any easier.
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