MNF Preview: Washington at Philadelphia

by: Trev Rogers

I love Monday Night Football. There’s no better way to kick off a week, and forget about the beginning of a work week, then watching two teams go at it on the national stage. This week’s matchup could potentially tell us a lot about these two teams, as well as the NFC in general.

Looking at Washington: Washington is coming off a great overtime win over the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins were not a major offensive juggernaut, but Washington did enough on defense to stop the running game cold, and managed to get some good pressure on Trent Green, though the measly two sacks still raises questions about the lack of a pass rush. Still, despite four turnovers, Washington won, and if QB Jason Campbell continues to improve, the two-tier running game of Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts could make this team very dangerous if they can raise their game.

Looking at Philadelphia: Anyone outside of Green Bay see last week coming? After frankly dominating Green Bay over the last five years (starting with that unbelievable 4th and 32 fiasco), the Packers pulled off a gutsy win—but Philly handed them the win with two muffed points that led to ten points. Philly’s defense looked great, and utterly dominated an overmatched Green Bay offensive line. Only a couple of vintage Favre-esque “How the **** did he do that??” plays kept Philly from shutting out the offense. However, their offense looked slow and rusty, and could not put up points. On the bright side, with Marquand Manual gone, that may have been a top five NFL defense that they struggled against. No shame to that.

How do these two teams match up?: This is the question. Washington is much better than they showed, and fully capable of getting 10-11 wins if they play top notch. Philadelphia looked bad, but take away two muffed punts, and they still win a tough defensive game. Green Bay has something Washington doesn’t: a fantastic pass rush. Philadelphia should be better against Washington’s defense, but likewise it’s hard to say if Washington can run or not. Philly’s rush defense looked great, but it was against a team that will finish 32nd in the NFL in rushing by season’s end.

Washington has more road graters, and much better running backs. This is going to force Eagles defensive coordinator Jimmie Johnson to use a lot of run blitzes. Hopefully not on play action with Randle El running down the sideline.

This has the potential to be a defining game. If Philadelphia falters, and loses, they could be in serious trouble. Washington can make a huge statement by beating a division rival, and pre-season favorite for the NFC East. This will be a chess match that will probably go well into the fourth quarter before being decided, and should make for one heck of a game.

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