The theme for my column last week was, "Just win, baby."

This week that changes to, "Must win, baby." It is mid-October and the Eagles shockingly face a must-win situation. A loss wouldn't mathematically eliminate the Eagles, but it would be devastating in terms of realistic expectations. A 1-5 record isn't something anybody wants to deal with.

A reader asked me if I was confident in the Eagles. Right now, I'm more confused than confident. I see parts of games where the Eagles look like a strong team. There are other times when the Eagles look more like the Keystone Cops than an NFL team. I want to believe in this team. I really do. I need them to show me something. Make me believe. Find a way to win.

The biggest thing for me is to see the team go out and play smart. One common denominator in the team's four losses is that the Eagles helped out the opponent. That must stop in Washington. The team isn't playing well enough to overcome mental mistakes. The players are smart guys. There's no reason for them to be making the mistakes.

I think one of the factors behind the mistakes is that players are trying to do too much. My advice to the players is simple - do your job. There is enough talent in place that if the guys just do what is expected of them, the Eagles could win comfortably. No one has to be a hero. Most big plays come when players are in the right place at the right time and take advantage of the situation in front of them. When players try to turn simple plays into big plays, bad things can happen. Think about Jason Avant's fumble from last week. Think about Ronnie Brown's bizarre goal line fumble/pass against the Niners. Better yet, try not to think about those plays.

Do the little things and the big plays will follow. No one has to do anything out of the ordinary. Catch the ball if it's near you (on offense or defense). Hold onto the ball if you've got it (every player). Block. Tackle. Cover. This stuff is all Football 101. That's what is needed to win.

Last year's trip to Washington featured a ton of explosive plays. That looked more like a video game than a football team. The Eagles scored 28 points in the first quarter and won 59-28. The Skins are much improved since then so don't expect anything like that. Scoring 28 points in the whole game would be a good thing. The Eagles haven't put up that many since Week 2 at Atlanta. The Skins haven't allowed any team to score more than 21 points in a game this year.

Mike Vick and the Eagles offense have a major challenge ahead of them. The Skins are in the top six in fewest points and yards allowed. The counter to that stat is that the Skins haven't faced a really good offense yet. They did play Dallas, but receiver injuries really limited what the Cowboys could do in that game. This game will give the Skins a chance to show they are for real. It will also give the Eagles a chance to they're back on track. Yards haven't been hard to come by, but scoring has been another issue. This would be a great week to work out those issues and get into the end zone a few times.

Tommy Lawlor, goeagles99 on the Discussion Boards, is an amateur football scout and devoted Eagles fan. He was a finalist for Philadelphia's Most Influential Blogger Award.

Not only would that boost the team's confidence, it would put a lot of pressure on Rex Grossman and the Skins offense. While Washington is off to a 3-1 start this year, I still don't believe in them. The big reason is that I don't trust Grossman. He did help lead the Bears to the Super Bowl in 2006, but since then has been extremely inconsistent. Coach Mike Shanahan knows this and has built his offense around the running game.

Let's not sugarcoat this. The Eagles defense has struggled against the run. That could make you think of the game as a mismatch. Juan Castillo and members of the Eagles defense are looking at this as a chance to prove they can stop the run. That's the right attitude for them to have and there is some reason for hope.

Nate Allen is coming off his best game of the year. Andy Reid referred to it as Allen's best game as an Eagle. That's high praise. Kurt Coleman replaced Jarrad Page in the fourth quarter last week and played well. These guys will have a critical role. In the film room segment on Eagles Nightly, Greg Cosell showed a play where a safety came upfield and had a chance to tackle a Skins runner for a short gain. The safety missed the tackle and the runner turned that mistake into a gain of more than 30 yards. The Eagles have struggled with plays like this at times this year, but Sunday might finally be the day that changes. If the safeties can come up and make tackles in the run game, the defense will look worlds different. Linebacker Jamar Chaney played better last week and it would be great if he would continue to improve.

Castillo said the coaches will show some schematic adjustments. I'm curious to see what this is. He wouldn't offer any hints, nor should he prior to a game. We'll find out during the game.  X's and O's can help, but this game will be won by players, not coaches.  The players must execute. 

The one part of the passing game that makes me nervous is tight end Fred Davis.  He has seven catches of 20 or more yards this season.  That is extremely impressive for a tight end.  Play-action passes are a huge part of his game.  If the linebackers or safeties lose him for a second, it could lead to a big pass play. 

The challenge on offense will be protecting Vick.  Jason Peters is out.  King Dunlap started in his place last week, but had a lower back injury come out of nowhere this week and he might miss the game.  If so, Todd Herremans slides to left tackle and Winston Justice will make his 2011 debut.  The coaches can scheme to help Vick by keeping extra players in to block.  They can move the pocket by using rollouts.  They can also mix in more run plays.  Still, the offensive line must do a solid job no matter who is out there. 

I hope the Eagles get the ball to LeSean McCoy quite a bit, as a runner or receiver.  I would also like to see the tight ends used creatively.  The Skins don't match up with tight ends all that well. 

The Eagles can win this game.  They must win this game.  Be aggressive, but smart.  Limit mistakes.  Go play hard and show a sense of urgency.  The season isn't over because the Eagles have talent and time.  The players said a lot of good things this week, but the time for talk is over.  Let's see some action.  Go win.

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