Philadelphia Eagles versus Houston Texans: 5 Interesting story lines

The Philadelphia Eagles welcome the Houston Texans in Week 16. There’s no reason that anyone should have to explain the significance of this one if you’re a fan.

At this point, it’s getting hard to speak. It’s getting hard to type. It’s getting hard not to think about it. You already know the situation, who they’re playing and what’s at stake. The Philadelphia Eagles welcome the Houston Texans to Lincoln Financial Field.

Philly’s trying to keep those slim playoff hopes alive. We could talk about it all day, though we’d rather just get on with it.

Just for kicks, let’s talk about a few things to watch.

1. This is actually a more winnable game than the one we saw last week, right?

Last week, Philly shocked everyone by beating the Los Angeles Rams on the road. That means this one should be fairly winnable too right? The Texans are good but beatable.

Their coach, Bill O’Brien, isn’t really seen as the offensive mastermind that Sean McVay is (though he very well may be), and Philly gets to play in the friendly confines of ‘The Linc’.

With another full week to prepare Nick Foles, there’s no reason to think Philly can’t win.

2. Don’t let Watson extend plays.

Texans coach Bill O’Brien spoke with the Philly media earlier this week. As you might imagine, the Deshaun Watson topic came up. Watson, like Carson Wentz, is coming off of a fairly significant injury to his knee, and week after week, we’ve seen signs that he’s returning to the form that made him a big star early.

Simply put, Philly can’t allow Watson to get completely comfortable or to extend plays. They can’t allow Watson to the beat them because, believe it or not, he can.

3. Brooks faces his old team.

Hopefully, DeAndre Carter doesn’t saunter into the wrong locker room. After serving two stints on Philly’s active roster, Carter was waived for a final time on November 6th. Houston claimed him off waivers a day later, and they’ve liked what they’ve seen.

Brooks traded in his Texans jersey a while ago, and has since, made consecutive Pro Bowls in Philadelphia. Now, he has to keep his old friends off of Nick Foles and clear some holes in the running game. That shouldn’t be too difficult of a task for Brooks.

4. Philly MUST contain Watt and Clowney.

We seem to talk about pass rushes and quarterback hits constantly, and this week, with Jadeveon Clowney and JJ Watt lining up on the other side of Philly’s offensive line. It’s safe to say, their names have probably rolled off of Doug Pederson, Duce Staley and Mike Groh’s tongues once or twice this week.

They contained Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh fairly well last week. Eagles fans are hoping for a repeat performance from the offensive line in Week 16.

5. Can Foles do it again?

Can ‘Saint Nick’ lead this team on another run? If Philly doesn’t win today, it doesn’t matter. Everyone’s said enough. Kickoff is at 1 PM EST.