Redskins Eagles Line

Written by Steve Janus

The Philadelphia Eagles will host the Washington Redskins in an NFC East showdown between two teams who have no shot at playing past this Sunday. The Eagles went on the road and beat the Cowboys 20-7 for their third straight win, but at 7-8 the Eagles have no shot at winning the division. Things haven’t been going so well for the Redskins. Just one week after upsetting the Giants 23-10 on the road, Washington lost 26-33 to the Minnesota Vikings, who had just two wins coming into that game. At 5-10 the Redskins are guaranteed to finish last in the division for a fourth consecutive season. The Eagles won 20-13 at Washington back in week 6, and are the clear favorites coming into this matchup.

Taking a look at the week 17 NFL spreads, oddsmakers currently have the Eagles favored by 8-points over the Redskins with the total set at 46 points.

Washington Redskins:

The Redskins got off to a quick 3-1 start to the season, but it has been all down hill from there. Washington is just 2-9 since week 6, including a six game losing streak that ended any hopes of a big turnaround. Head coach Mike Shanahan has came out and said this team is still has a ways to go before they are ready to make the playoffs.

One thing to keep in mind with Washington is they have played their division rivals tough. They are 2-3 in the division coming into this game with both wins coming against the Giants. They lost 16-18 at Dallas, lost in overtime to the Cowboys 24-27, and kept it within a touchdown in the first meeting with the Eagles.

You have to wonder if the Redskins won’t go out and try and bring in a new starting quarterback this offseason. Rex Grossman opened the season as the starter, was benched in favor of John Beck, and then eventually won back the job. Last week Grossman threw for 284 yards and two touchdowns, but also tossed his 19th interception of the season (tied for the league lead).

The expectation was that Shanahan would turn the Redskins into a powerful running team, much like he did in his days with the Broncos. Washington has shown flashes of getting the ground game going, but come into the final week ranked 26th in rushing yards, averaging just 98.8 ypg. Rookie running back Roy Helo has showed some promise with three straight 100-plus performances, but was held to just 53 yards on 23 attempts last week against the Giants.

Moving the ball against a much improved Eagles defense figures to be a struggle. The Eagles haven’t allowed more than 19 points in each of their last three games, and are holding opposing offenses to just 228 total yards of offense during that stretch.

Philadelphia Eagles:

It appears the Eagles have gotten things figured out, as they have looked as good as any team in the league over the last three weeks. Unfortunately they took too long to turn things around, as they were never able to recover from their surprising 1-4 start.

While the Redskins have played the NFC East tough, the Eagles have dominated their division rivals. Philadelphia’s only division loss came against the Giants in week 3. With a win this week they will go 5-1 in the East, easily the best division record of the four teams.

The big question for the Eagles this week is whether or not Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy will be able to suit up. McCoy injured his ankle in the Eagles win over the Cowboys last week. The emerging star has rushed for 1,309 yards and an NFL-best 17 rushing touchdowns. McCoy has also been a huge part of the passing game, hauling in 48 receptions for 315 yards and three additional scores.

One thing the Eagles have to be excited about as they finish up a disappointing season, is the play of starting quarterback Michael Vick down the stretch. Vick threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns last week, as is averaging 258 yards over his last three games.

In the Eagles win over the Redskins earlier this season, McCoy rushed for 126 yards with a touchdown, while Vick threw for 237 yards and a score. If the Eagles can find the motivation to show up and finish the season strong, they should be able to come away with another relatively easy win against Washington.

Betting Trends:

Washington is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 vs. NFC East.

Philadelphia is 2-8 ATS in their last 10 home games.

Be sure to stop back and check out who Steve Janus has picked to win this week in the NFL .

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