Redskins at Eagles: Deja Vu All Over Again

Washington Redskins (3-5) vs. Philadelphia Eagles (4-4)
1:00 p.m. Lincoln Financial Field
I’ll be honest. You can’t call the win last Sunday as anything more than a fluke. Terrell Owens shouldn’t have dropped his touchdown pass. The kick shouldn’t have been blocked. The facemask shouldn’t have occurred, and shouldn’t have been worth 15 yards. And Nick Novak’s last second kick shouldn’t have bent three different ways before just clearing the bottom right corner of the goalposts.

However, it was about time the Redskins got a break or two. From Clinton Portis hurting himself in the first preseason game making, of all things, a tackle, from Pierson Prioleau getting hurt on the first play of the first game without being touched, from the refs giving Dallas almost every single call in the first meeting, to Vince Young deciding to play like an All-Pro for the only time all season, it’s about time that something went right. The win against Dallas is just the first in what should be several cosmic breaks the Redskins should receive coming down the stretch.

Interference from the Big Guy not withstanding, the Redskins take to the road (again…it feels like they’ve been on the road all season) to face a team coming off a bye week (again…this will be the fourth time the Skins have to do so, which is two more than any other team in the league). In other words, status quo for the season. By the way, the team they’re playing is 7-0 the last seven years coming off their bye week. Lovely. Thanks NFL!

Anyway, the Redskins get their first look at the T.O. free, and therefore, turmoil free Philadelphia Eagles. They should be turmoil free, right? After all, T.O. was their only problem last season. Now that he’s gone, I’m sure Philly will resume their winning ways and return to the Super Bowl.

Except the Eagles are 4-4 and looking at an impossible stretch of eight games that they would be lucky to split. Not only that, they are 4-4 following one of the easiest first half schedules and they should have won at least six games. That terrific leader Donovan McNabb is still going through in-fighting in his locker room and no longer has T.O. to blame. Their defense is aging and can’t stop the run. Despite having one of the most multi-dimensional running backs in the league, Andy Reid continues to insist that the Eagles throw 61% of the time. And the fans, as usual, are as obnoxious as ever. But it’s a good thing they got rid of T.O., otherwise they’d be in real trouble.

So what’s the excuse this year in Philadelphia? I know last year they blamed everything on T.O. and injuries. Again, Owens is long gone, and the Eagles have been relatively healthy. McNabb hasn’t come up with another phony injury, but the Eagles haven’t completely tanked yet, and we’ll see what happens when Philly starts losing and their playoff hopes fade away.

The excuse this year is the play-calling. As I said earlier, the Eagles feel that they have to pass 61% of the time. They can’t control the clock at all. McNabb, without T.O. or any other premier receiver, has reverted back to the average quarterback he was two or three seasons ago when he could barely complete half of his passes. The Eagles defense is on the field 8-10 minutes more than the opposition because he offense can’t consistently run. Even when the Eagles score, they do it so quickly, and in bunches, that they put the ball right back into the hands of their opponents so they can tie it right back up. And as I mentioned, their run defense is horrible and it’s relatively easy for other teams to move the ball on them and keep McNabb off the field

So how did this team get to 4-4? Well, playing Houston, Green Bay and San Francisco certainly helps. But like the Redskins, they’ve also run into some bad luck. Most of it was their own doing. They collapsed against the Giants. They allowed the Saints to march on a game-winning seven-minute drive. They allowed the Bucs to outplay them for three quarters, only to comeback and then lose on a ridiculous 62-yard field goal. Even I almost felt sorry for them after that one. Almost.

When it comes down to it, the Redskins are still at a disadvantage. I already mentioned that the Redskins will be facing the Eagles off a bye, and any team with two weeks to prepare for a home game should be able to win. The Skins and Eagles are pretty much evenly matched, but with an extra week to prepare and get healthy, plus playing in front of the nasties in the stands, the Eagles should definitely be seven point favorites.

The Eagles are going to score their points. The Eagles can score quickly and often, and the Redskins defense allows offenses to do the same. But if the Redskins can get Portis going, they should be able to control the line of scrimmage and the tempo and keep McNabb on the sidelines. They do that, they win. They need to take the blueprint that Jacksonville used two weeks ago against the Eagles and replicate it as closely as possible.

I don’t know why, but I feel pretty confident about this game. More so than any other this year. I think the win against Dallas will spur the Redskins on and wake them up. A win here, and the Redskins, surprisingly enough, get back into contention in the wide-open NFC. The Eagles seem to be a sinking ship. They don’t look like they have any confidence in McNabb or any confidence in Reid’s play-calling. Hopefully Reid didn’t get wise during the past two weeks.