The Eagles continue to control their own destiny after yet another heart wrenching win against the New York Giants on Monday. After trailing 17-3 at halftime, the Eagles were able to tie it up to force overtime and win the game on a Wentz to Ertz touchdown throw.
Now sitting at 6-7, they are one win away from evening up their record at 7-7, which would be the first time they’d be .500 since November 11th.
Standing in their way are the 3-11 Washington Redskins, whom lost to the Eagles in the first game of the season. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, however.
The 2019 Season Kickoff
The Eagles kicked off the 2019 season with a home game versus the Redskins. What seemed like an easy course to a 1-0 start, ended up being the bumpy game that would ultimately be the theme of 2019.
The Eagles trailed the Redskins 20-7 at halftime, after two long touchdown passes from Case Keenum to Vernon Davis and rookie Terry McLaurin, respectively, and two field goals. The Redskins led 17-0 at one point until Wentz connected with DeSean Jackson for a 51 yard touchdown.
Wentz and company would go on a 25 point run, including another 50+ yard pass to Jackson, to pull ahead 32-20. Keenum hit Trey Quinn for a late game touchdown, which would end up being the final touchdown of the day.
Many hoped this game would be a blip on the radar of an otherwise smooth offensive year, but that would not be the case. Not even close. Instead of an 8 or 9 win team, the Eagles are a six win team fighting for a division title with another six win team.
2019 Redskins
As previously stated, the Redskins are 3-11. After that first loss, they went on to lose four more before their first win. This was followed by another four game losing streak before a two game win streak. Their most recent game was a loss versus the Packers, ending their minute chance of a division title (yeah, they actually had a chance).
Here are their ranks so far:
- Points per game: 14.5 (last)
- Yards per game: 262.4 (last)
- Passing yards per game: 161.3 (last)
- Rushing yards per game: 101.1 (20th)
- Points allowed per game: 23.8 (20th)
- Yards allowed per game: 359.8 (18th)
- Passing yards allowed per game: 225.0 (11th)
- Rushing yards allowed per game: 134.8 (27th)
The one constant
The Redskins will still be deploying one of the better rookie wide receivers in the league. Terry McLaurin currently has 703 receiving yards, third among rookies. His 703 yards are 494 more than the total yards of the three receivers that will be active on Sunday (Arcega-Whiteside, Ward, Davis). McLaurin hauled in a 69 (nice) yard pass from Keenum during the first game, en route to 125 yards total.
Also the same is the Redskins’ defense, for the most part. Cornerback Quinton Dunbar has continued to have a career year and has become one of the premier cornerbacks in the league. He currently has an 87.4 grade from ProFootballFocus and has allowed a 68.4 passer rating when targeted. Speaking of career years, interior defensive tackle Matt Ioannidis has been on fire this year. He’s second among interior defensive linemen with eight and a half sacks and also has 55 tackles. Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, and Isaac Seumalo will have their hands full when trying to stop Ioannidis from adding to his 14 quarterback hits.
The differences
Well, the quarterback for starters (see what I did there? Starting quarterback? Quarterback for starters? Whatever.
In the first meeting this season, the Redskins were manned by Case Keenum. Going into the game, Keenum made references to his abysmal performance in the NFC Championship game versus the Eagles as a member of the Vikings and said he still thinks about that game. He did do his best to put those nightmares to rest, but he won’t have a chance to try to redeem yet another loss to the Eagles.
The Eagles will be facing rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins. In seven games, five starts, he has a 2-3 record with 971 yards, three touchdowns, seven interceptions, a 55% completion percentage, and a 61.2 QB rating (15.0 QBR).
In those seven games, he has been sacked 26 times. He was sacked six times against the Jets.
Despite losing to the hapless Dolphins, losing you a rookie performing this poorly might be a worse loss.
Also different from the first game is the absence of a man who has terrorized the Eagles in his career. Ryan Kerrigan is set to miss Sunday’s game, and the rest of the season, as he was placed on IR with a calf injury. In 17 career games against the Eagles, Kerrigan has 11.5 sacks, 59 tackles, 22 QB hits, and six forced fumbles. With Lane Johnson also out Sunday for the Eagles, Kerrigan’s absence is definitely welcomed.
For some history and game predictions, check out the next page!
Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
