These two teams met earlier in the season and the Eagles dominated in a 20-13 win in a game that featured four interceptions by the Eagles defense including three by safety Kurt Coleman. In fact, Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman lost his job after that game, but has since regained it. Running back Roy Helu had a string of three straight 100-yard rushing games from Weeks 12-14 before being slowed down by knee and toe injuries. Last week against Minnesota, Helu was inactive and undrafted rookie Evan Royster rushed for a career-high 132 yards in Helu's absence. A former Eagle, Jabar Gaffney, leads the team in receiving yards with 919 yards on 64 catches and five touchdowns this season. But injuries and suspensions have hit the Redskins hard. Tight end Fred Davis and offensive tackle Trent Williams will be unavailable for Washington due to each player receiving a four-game suspension for performance-enhancing substances.
Despite the struggles for the offense, the Redskins still boast one of the better defenses in the league. The Redskins have two outstanding pass rushers in Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan at outside linebacker. Middle linebacker London Fletcher is the ironman of the defense and remains stout in the run and pass game. Cornerback DeAngelo Hall still remains one of the best ballhawks in the entire league, but the Redskins won't have talented safety LaRon Landry who was placed on injured reserve with an Achilles injury. The Redskins will pose a stern test for the Eagles, who will play all of their healthy starters as they look to build momentum for the 2012 and finish the season 5-1 within the NFC East.
Last Time They Met:
October 16, 2011: Eagles 20, Washington 13
Coming off of a disappointing 1-4 start, the Eagles traveled down I-95 to Washington in desperate need of a "W." They wasted no time, taking a 20-0 lead in the first half en route to a 20-13 victory. The Eagles held the Redskins to just 42 yards on the ground and forced quarterback Rex Grossman to throw four interceptions on just 22 attempts; three of them were by Kurt Coleman and the other came at the hands of fellow safety Nate Allen. Reserve signal-caller John Beck was called upon to relieve Grossman, finding it equally difficult to drive the ball on the Eagles defense. For the Eagles offense, running back LeSean McCoy and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin both had 100 yard days. Quarterback Michael Vick threw for 237 yards and a touchdown, adding 54 more yards on the ground in the Eagles 20-13 victory.
When The Eagles Have The Ball:
Quarterback Michael Vick is back to playing at an elite level as he posted a quarterback rating of 100-or-more in back-to-back weeks for the first time all season over the last two games. Vick had a solid, if unspectacular, performance in the first meeting against the Redskins as he was 18-of-31 for 237 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The offense was carried in that October 16 meeting by LeSean McCoy, who rushed for 126 yards and scored a touchdown. Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin had 101 yards receiving to pace the Eagles, and tight end Brent Celek, who has come on strong of late, accounted for 42 yards and a touchdown off a beautifully designed screen. Celek has 25 catches for 403 yards and two touchdowns over the last six games.
Even though the Redskins have been out of the playoff picture for some time, the Eagles must contend with the two explosive pass rushers in Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan. Orakpo is the more brilliant all-around defender, and will battle Jason Peters. Note that Peters was injured for the first matchup and had to be replaced by Todd Herremans, who did an outstanding job switching from right tackle to left tackle. Kerrigan uses a quick burst off the ball to get his sacks, of which he has 7.5 this season, and will go against Herremans, not Winston Justice, who started in the first meeting.
The Redskins employ a 3-4 scheme and the Eagles have had success against that front this season. Up front, the Eagles offensive line should have be able to handle nose tackle Barry Cofield and ends Adam Carriker and Stephen Bowen. London Fletcher, the ironman as one of the middle linebackers, continues to be an impressive force against both the pass and the run. The only issue will be if the Redskins defensive line can't clog the gaps, which would allow McCoy to sneak his way into the second and third levels of the defense.
The secondary does not have its best all-around player in strong safety LaRon Landry, who was placed on injured reserve with a nagging Achilles injury. Cornerback DeAngelo Hall has always been a question mark in coverage, but his ball skills make up for that. But Hall has only three interceptions this season, which would be his fewest since his rookie year.
When The Redskins Have The Ball:
You just never know with Mike Shanahan. Back when these two teams met in Week 6, the Eagles knocked Rex Grossman out of the game not because of injury, but because Grossman committed four cardinal turnover sins. But after a few weeks of John Beck at quarterback, Shanahan went back to Grossman, the notorious turnover machine. In 12 starts this season, Grossman has only one game in which he did not throw an interception, and that was all the way back in Week 1. And then there's the running back position, where Shanahan is notorious for mixing it up. Four players have started at running back for the Redskins this season, with undrafted rookie Evan Royster getting the nod last week in lieu of the injured and inactive Roy Helu. Royster, the Penn State product, ran for 132 yards on 19 carries last week against the Minnesota Vikings. But remember, back in Week 6, a maligned Eagles run defense held the Redskins' running backs to a combined 28 rushing yards on 12 carries.
While the Redskins defense has remained middling since the two teams' first meeting (the Redskins rank 21st in yards per play on offense and 26th in points per game), the Eagles defense has been improving, especially over the last three weeks. Juan Castillo's unit has allowed 12 points per game over the last three contests and now ranks eighth in the league (and second in the NFC) in total defense. The calling card for the Eagles defense is the pass rush, which has produced an NFL best 49 sacks. The Pro Bowl pair of defensive ends, Jason Babin and Trent Cole, have wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks. Babin leads the Eagles with 18.0 sacks, while Cole and Babin respectively rank first and second on the season among 4-3 defensive ends according to ProFootballFocus.com.
The Eagles' youth up the middle has been well documented this season, but the linebackers, notably rookie Brian Rolle and Casey Matthews, have improved their play of late, while Nate Allen has come on at safety. Kurt Coleman, the star of the Week 6 matchup, suffered a biceps injury last week, which could lead to a second career start for rookie second-round pick Jaiquawn Jarrett. On the outside, cornerback Asante Samuel is likely to play after missing the Cowboys game with a hamstring strain, though Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was impressive in Samuel's absence last week at his natural outside cornerback position. In the passing game, the Eagles will contend with Grossman's favorite target, the ageless burner Santana Moss.
Key Matchups
WR Santana Moss vs. Eagles Cornerbacks
Santana Moss has had a rough 2011 season. Last year, he caught 93 balls for 1,115 yards and six touchdowns. This season, his output has been cut in half. Having missed a month with a broken hand earlier this year, Moss has caught just 43 passes for 539 yards and four touchdowns on the year. He will have a tough time changing his fortunes in Week 17 when he faces an Eagles defense that has tightened up in the past three weeks and has allowed a frugal 133 passing yards per game during that time. With All-Pro corner Asante Samuel on the mend with a hamstring injury, the Eagles may again rely upon fourth-year corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to play alongside Nnamdi Asomugha. Even if that is the case, with that tandem holding Dallas' talented pass-catchers to just 157 yards Saturday, the Eagles should have no trouble containing Moss and the Washington passing attack.
OLB Brian Orakpo vs. T Jason Peters
One of the leaders on Washington's defense, rush linebacker Brian Orakpo has been a force this season. The 260-pounder has notched only 7.0 sacks, down from his career high of 11 in 2010, but he has pressured the quarterback an astounding 41 times according to Pro Football Focus. The only linebacker with more pressures is Miami's Cameron Wake, who has 42. The third-year man out of Texas is one of the most physically gifted defenders in the league, but will have his hands full Sunday when he faces three-time All-Pro left tackle Jason Peters. Peters is having one of the best years of his eight-year career. Pro Football Focus ranks him as the league's most effective offensive tackle, having allowed just three sacks and 17 pressures all season en route to an overall rating from the site that is nearly twice that of any other player at his position. In four career games versus the Redskins as an Eagle, Peters has allowed only one sack, and it wasn't attributed to Orakpo. In fact, in the 6-3 linebacker's five career games against Philadelphia, he has never posted a single sack. If that holds true again Sunday, it could make for a long day for the Redskins offense.
Players To Watch
LB London Fletcher
The ironman of the Redskins defense remains a force to be reckoned with. Middle linebacker London Fletcher has 163 tackles, two interceptions, three forced fumbles and two sacks in 2011. The two-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker has started every game since the start of the 1999 season. Fletcher will look to keep running back LeSean McCoy under wraps. McCoy had 126 rushing yards and a touchdown in the Week 6 meeting between these two teams.
OT Jammal Brown
The man who could keep defensive end Jason Babin from the NFL sack lead is Redskins right tackle Jammal Brown. Even though Babin did not record a sack in the first meeting with the Redskins, he was credited with nine quarterback hurries and four tackles. Babin's career-high 18.0 sacks is tied for second in the league with Dallas's DeMarcus Ware and just a half-sack behind Minnesota's Jared Allen. Brown has been plagued in recent weeks by a groin injury, but returned to action Saturday against Minnesota. Tyler Polumbus would get the green light to start in Brown's place if there was any setback this week. Needless to say, Babin has been on a tear of late and is an essential key to the turnaround on defense.
