Our Week Seven of the NFL season wraps up on Monday Night Football with a good one when the Washington Redskins (3-2) travel up the coast to Lincoln Financial Field to take on the Philadelphia Eagles (5-1).
ESPN will bring you this MNF extravaganza at 8:30 p.m. EST. I’ll be traveling this long and dusty road with you, running the GetMoreSports.com live blog. Come hang out with me.
The Game: Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles (-5)
O/U: 49.0
The History
The Redskins and Eagles are one of the NFL’s oldest rivalries. They’ve played 165 games against each other since 1934. Washington holds an 86-74-5 advantage in the all time series.
Washington swept the Eagles last season, beating them 27-20 at FedEx Field on October 16, 2016 and 27-22 at Lincoln Financial Field on December 11, 2016.
In spite of their long history together, the Eagles and Redskins have met in the playoffs only once. Washington won 20-6 on January 5, 1991. Mark Rypien outdueled Randall Cunningham, passing for 206 yards, two touchdowns and one pick. Cunningham was 15 of 29 for 205 yards, one pick, but he did roll up 80 rushing yards.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS (3-2)
The headlines after last week’s 26-24 win over the San Francisco 49ers were all about how Kirk Cousins struggled. Sometimes, I think people are just looking for shit to write. First off, Cousins won the game. The 49ers have battled every team they played right down to the wire and C.J. Beathard had a terrific game after Cousins’ former offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan, benched Brian Hoyer.
Cousins led a fourth quarter touchdown drive that won the contest, completed 23 of 37 for 330 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. He was only sacked once. The Redskins converted 50 percent of their third downs and had 36:52 in time of possession. That’s a struggle? The 49ers might be 0-6, but they haven’t played like an 0-6 team.
The Redskins got no help in the run game, gaining just 94 yards as a team. The big day receiving did come from a running back against the 49ers, with Chris Thompson catching four balls for 105 yards.
Washington’s defense picked up three sacks, forced a turnover and got six stops in the backfield. The defense will be without Josh Norman again. His ribs have kept him on the sidelines the last few weeks. They’ll also be missing a couple of offensive linemen with Tyler Catalina and Ty Nsekhe both listed as out.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (5-1)
Philadelphia steps into this game with the best record in the league. It’s not been an accident. Their lone loss was on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs. They opened the season beating this same Redskins team 30-17. Now, since those first two games they played a few cupcakes until last week when they beat the Carolina Panthers on the road, 28-23.
Second year quarterback Carson Wentz has taken a major leap this season. Against the Panthers he was 16 of 30 for 222 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. It wasn’t a perfect performance by the Eagles offense by any means. They were 5-of-14 on third downs, but did convert their one fourth down.
Wentz is finding free agent acquisition Alshon Jeffery more and more. Jeffery caught four passes for 71 yards. The Nelson Agholor reclamation project continues to pay off. He had four catches for 55 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Eagles sacked Cam Newton twice, forced four turnovers and got eight stops in the backfield. Philly will be mostly healthy in this game. They have four guys listed as questionable on the injury report, but they all practiced this week and should play.
The Pick
There are plenty of reasons to like the Eagles with this pick. They’ve been playing great football and you could make an argument that they’re the best team in the league. I’m still picking against them. I really like the way Washington has been playing lately. They should be able to run the ball and, frankly, Philly is due for a loss. Redskins 27, Eagles 24
This week
Straight up: 0-1
Against the spread: 0-1
Last week
Straight up: 5-9
Against the spread: 5-9
Season
Straight up: 48-43
Against the spread: 43-48
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