It feels weird to say it, but the Washington Commanders are among the NFL’s statistical leaders in offense, ranking 6th in yards per game and 8th in points per game. Their opponent today, the Philadelphia Eagles, are #1 in yards per game and #5 in points per game.
At the individual level, Carson Wentz and Jalen Hurts ranked 2nd & 7th in passing yards at the end of Week 2. Wentz is tied for 1st in touchdown passes thrown, while Hurts is #1 in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns among quarterbacks.
Meanwhile, neither defense has really distinguished itself in a good way, with the Eagles ranked 15th in yards allowed, and the Commanders ranked 27th. Points per game rankings are similar, with the Philly ranked 13th and Washington 27th. The return of Kam Curl to Washington’s lineup could help the Commanders’ defense, but they will be without Daniel Wise and Casey Toohill, and William Jackson and James Smith-Williams are both questionable, so that may offset (or more than offset) any bump the team gets from Curl’s presence on the field for the first time this season.
Of the 15 matchups remaining to be played in Week 3, the Eagles and Commanders have combined for more offensive yards than any other set of opponents through two weeks of play. The only pair of opponents that have scored more points in the first two weeks is Buffalo-Miami, who have scored an average of 67 points per week, compared to 58.5 for Philly & Washington.
Of course, both Philadelphia and Washington have played the Lions. The Eagles scored 38 points against Detroit while Washington scored 27. Each team has played one other opponent so far this season. Philly put up 24 points against the Vikings, who held Green Bay to 7 points, and the Commanders scored 28 against the Jaguars, who have the NFL’s only shutout, having beaten the Colts 24-0 in Week 2.
On the other end of the scale, the Cowboys-Giants game features the 2nd lowest scoring pair through two weeks. Remember that Dallas scored only 3 points in their opening match against Tampa Bay, and the Giants have won two games by playing defense and scoring 21 and 19 points. The Cowboys are far removed from the days when they had the highest scoring offense in the league.
The offensive stinker of Week 3 appears to be the Texans-Bears game, which features the two teams that have combined for both the lowest yardage and lowest points totals in the league through two weeks.
The other defensive struggle could turn out to be the Falcons at the Seahawks, though Atlanta has scored 26 & 27 points in its two games.
Most NFL fans love offense. DraftKings has the over/under mark for the Eagles-Commanders game set at 47.5 points. For the first time in many years, it looks like it might be reasonable to think that Washington could score enough to make that mark look low. Get ready for a lot of big plays and explosive offense from both teams in this critical opening NFC East game.