A lot has changed since the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins first met in Week 11. That game was Nick Foles’ first career start in the NFL. Both teams were 3-6.
But that’s where the fortunes of the teams took divergent paths.
Since then, Washington has won 5 games in a row and the Eagles….haven’t. The Skins have found that they are more blessed at the quarterback position than anyone knew, after Kirk Cousins stood in for RG3 last week and led the team to victory on the road against the Cleveland Browns in Week 15.
This week, Griffin III will be back to face the Eagles at what is very likely Andy Reid’s final game at the Linc. While the team undoubtedly welcomes his return and leadership, RG3 faces some challenges on his offense, particularly from Washington’s offensive line. They’ve been hit with a rash of issues, both injuries and suspensions. Against a Philadelphia d-line that is finally bringing pressure to the quarterback, it could be a rough game for RG3. But he’s more than adept at finding ways to escape danger and Washington will try to bring rookie gem RB Alfred Morris into the fold as much as possible.
Eagles fans will see the return of LeSean McCoy to the field, his first time in action since that Week 11 meeting with the Redskins when he left late in the game with a concussion. Will he have a limited role while the Birds try to give Bryce Brown more playing time to work on securing the freaking ball and affording Dion Lewis some opportunities to take the field? It seems silly to needlessly risk Shady sustaining further injury but we’ll see how it goes.
The Redskins come into this game with everything in the world to play for — if they win this week and next, they will have won the NFC East for the first time since 1999. The Eagles as spoilers? Is it really that fun or interesting playing “spoiler” when every team in your division has a chance but you? I think the motivation for Philadelphia will be more to put in a strong showing for the final home game of their head coach. But will that be enough to propel them past Washington’s playoff aspirations?
After the mess we saw against the Bengals, I don’t think it will be.
More things to watch:
- Will special teams suffer yet another epic meltdown?
- How will the crowd at the Linc greet Reid?
- After almost a full season, the Birds are still trying to figure out this safety situation. Nate Allen was benched, Kurt Coleman is back at free safety and Colt Anderson remains, switching to strong safety. We’ll see how it goes.
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