NFL Week 3 Predictions: Redskins @ Eagles
By Todd Duvall
Tyler Buecher, Staff Writer
After overcoming two substantial halftime deficits in a row, I have become a believer of this Philadelphia team. The Philadelphia Eagles now have their eyes on their first NFC East matchup of the year hosting the Washington Redskins who were bit by the injury bug last week. Robert Griffin III will be out for an extended period of time and DeSean Jackson is still questionable to suit up against his former team.
Kirk Cousins proved his mettle last week filling in admirably against the Jacksonville Jaguars giving Washington their first victory following a nine-game losing streak dating back to last year. Cousins will be facing a Philadelphia pass rush that was nearly non-existent last week (zero sacks) that needs to turn it up and find a way to reach the quarterback. Alfred Morris (3rd in NFL in rushing this year) will look to keep his hot start going as he faces an Eagles front-seven that gave up nearly 170 yards on the ground last week to the Colts. The Eagles offense needs to jump out to a quick lead to try and limit the amount of carries by Morris.
Offensively, if Philadelphia’s line can give quarterback Nick Foles time to make his reads, he should have a field day against a subpar secondary that allowed the second most passing yards per attempt last season. However, that won’t be easy against a Washington pass rush that collected 10 sacks last week and will be looking to repeat their success against Philadelphia’s injury-riddled offensive line.
Capitalizing on the intermediate game with their tight ends and running backs against a suspect linebacking crew in coverage could prove to make the difference this week against a revitalized pass rush. LeSean McCoy has been off to a mediocre start (3.7 yards per carry) and will be eager to turn it around against this rival defense at home where he as averaged 4.7 yards per carry over his career.
If Philadelphia can limit it’s turnovers and finally get out to an early lead forcing Washington to turn to the passing game, they should be able to pull off the victory at home. The last three games between these two games have all been within a score and this game could very likely continue that trend.