It all comes down to this, ladies and gentlemen. The Eagles have rallied back from what many considered to be a battle that was lost long ago and are now right in the thick of the playoff hunt. A win against Washington correlated with the Bears delivering a heartbreaking blow to Minnesota is all that now stands in Philadelphia’s way, but is there truly another miracle in the works?
We’ve now hit 3/5 bold predictions in back to back weeks, bringing our total to 26/70. While we will fall just short of the 50% we were aiming for, a late rally is oddly on-brand for such a crucial weekend. Without further ado, here are what could be the final slate of bold predictions for this NFL season.
Big Nick energy:
A win is all the Eagles need and since his return to the Eagles offense, that’s all that Nick Foles has done. Completing a current career-high 69% of his passes, Foles has tossed 4 touchdowns and 2 picks in the last two games, with all four scores coming against Houston. Washington are a team with nothing to play for other than putting a spanner in the works of a divisional rival’s season. Would that really outweigh the Eagles desperation cry?
When there’s a big moment, Nick Foles shows up, that’s just a fact and this may be the biggest moment he’s experienced this season. I’m predicting Foles to pick apart the Redskins defense with the help of a resurgent offense, throwing for 300+ yards and 3 touchdowns.
It’s Captain Cre’Von’s world and we’re all just living in it:
It had to be done. By now, you all know the Captain Cre’Von story and now that the curtains may close on his first season in Philadelphia, it’s only right that the corner who has drawn high praise from Jim Schwartz in recent weeks demands an encore. When you look at the film, it’s easy to see why.
Secondly, I predict the nickel corner to pick off his first pass as a Philadelphia Eagle, sending my Twitter analysis into a meltdown and earning himself a Ski Mask on the sideline.
Goedert ends his rookie season in style:
The rookie tight end very almost hauled in his fifth touchdown of the season last week, but literally fell just short of the mark. The SDSU product has been extremely productive inside the red zone this season and has at least 2 receptions in each of his last 3 games. With the Eagles leaning more and more on 12-personnel looks, it’s easy to see Goedert soaring on Sunday afternoon.
Nick Foles has done a great job spreading the ball around upon his return and I’m expecting Goedert to be a beneficiary of that in week 17. Washington have had trouble defending tight ends at times, with names like Evan Engram causing them grief. I’m predicting Goedert to record touchdown number 5 and 50 receiving yards as a result.
A gentle reminder…:
Fletcher Cox has had another big year and believe it or not, needs 2 sacks to match a career high 9.5 set in 2015. Although he’s fallen under the radar due to not being statistically dominant, Cox has been an absolute behemoth and opposing offensive lines seem to have no answer for the man carrying the entire front four. The Redskins offensive line has been ravaged by injuries and that doesn’t bode well at all, especially with Josh Johnson at QB.
Penultimately, I’m predicting that Cox will go one further than recording a sack as he did earlier in the season against this team, adding 2.5 to his tally and setting a new career high, gently reminding the league that he truly is an elite defensive tackle that deserves more respect.
The big audition:
The Eagles have plenty of questions to answer this offseason and running back is certainly one of the more prominent. Will Josh Adams be the lead back moving forward? Will Wendell Smallwood and Corey Clement cling onto their roster spots, or will the team instead finally draft a running back early? This may be the final audition for all three backs (potentially) and urgency has to be at an all-time high.
Pederson has committed to running the ball recently and that won’t change today. Finally, I’m predicting Josh Adams to run all over Washington, adding another 20+ yarder to his stat-sheet, scoring another touchdown and recording 100 scrimmage yards.
What are your bold predictions? Let me know in the comments below!
