The Eagles close out the 2011 season with a New Year's Day battle against the Washington Redskins. Kickoff is set for 1 PM. After their 20-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Eve, the Eagles have won three straight games and can finish the season with a .500 or better record for the sixth straight season. The Redskins are 5-10 on the season, but have given a valiant effort in the past few weeks defeating the New York Giants and losing to the Patriots and Vikings by only seven points each.
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.
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.
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