Philadelphia Eagles versus Washington: 5 Keys to a victory in Week 1

2. The Philadelphia Eagles offense needs to get off to a hot start.

Setting the tone with the ground game will obviously open up more opportunities in the passing game especially with play action. Some of the best drives for Philly come with they run play action and then set up tight end screens to Ertz or Goedert so that’s something to keep an eye out for.

Getting chunks of yards on the ground will also result in more of third and short or third and medium situations where the Eagles can convert by having Ertz and Goedert run intermediate routes that they excel at. There will also be plenty of options with the RPOs that they often use Ertz in.

DeSean Jackson and Jalen Reagor are going to require plenty of attention over the top. Washington will need to have safety help at all times. That will leave more room for Ertz and Goedert to work in the middle. Ertz might also get double-teamed because of his resume and Goedert has proven that he can win one-on-one. Landon Collins can likely spend some time covering Ertz but the linebacker core isn’t exactly going to lock up either if them if they are asked to do so.

The Eagles play their best when they are tiring defenses by converting on third down and chewing the clock. Sometimes they go away from the run and it hurts them a bit. If they keep it simple and run 12 personnel early and often, this should be an easy win.