Monday Night Football continues to bring the heat. This week we have a battle for the top of the NFC East between two longtime rivals in the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Redskins are tied for the top spot with the Cowboys at 6-5, while the defending Super Bowl Champion Eagles are just behind them at 5-6. A loss in Monday's game could easily spell death for the defending champs with only four weeks to go in the regular season, so they will be putting everything on the line for this one. Get deep into the trenches by heading over to our football betting sportsbook and checking out the lines for this and all the other NFL games!
The most impressive thing about the 2018 Redskins might be the TE combo of Vernon Davis and Jordan Reed. Together, they have totaled 842 receiving yards by TE this season, which is 6th in the NFL. The last time these two teams met, Reed had 8 catches for 64 yards and two TDs, so the Redskins will hope that he can have similar output in this game. To do so, he will rely on QB Colt McCoy, who is making his second start since replacing Alex Smith last week. In that game, McCoy had 268 passing yards with 2 TDs and 3 interceptions. Of course, RB Adrian Peterson should be a factor on offense; the last time Washington played Philadelphia, Peterson had 118 yards rushing and two TDs.
Meanwhile, the Eagles have been struggling with their run game all season but saw flashes of it last week vs Giants. This week they face another division rival in Washington. Eagles center Jason Kelce says that the team is ready for whatever.
"Well, obviously this is another must-win game, in-division opponent," Kelce said in a radio interview. "The Redskins right now, they're a little banged up, just like we are. But they still got a good defense, a good solid team and it's going to take us executing and continuing to get better this week in order for us to win this football. It's a big one for us on Monday night."
The Eagles undrafted rookie RB Josh Adams put up 84 yards on 22 carries versus the Giants last week. He is averaging 5.2 yards per rush this season, while all other Eagle RBs combine for merely 3.9 yards per rush. If the Eagles can get back to a big play mentality, Adams might see those numbers go up even more. The good news is that Carson Wentz seems to be heating up; he has a career-high six games with a 100-plus passer rating this season and has a pass completion percentage of 70 in five of his last six outings. He has been hooking up well with TE Zach Ertz, who is tied for third in the NFL in receptions. Ertz will get some help at that position as TEs Jalen Mills, Sidney Jones, and Avonte Maddox are all considered healthy after missing last week.
As for injuries, CB Ronald Darby is still out for Philadelphia, which has dramatically affected their defense. To make matters worse, LB Nigel Bradham will be playing with one good hand, as he broke his thumb in three separate places last week. Alex Smith still out for Washington, but they may be getting RB Chris Thompson and R Jamison Crowder back. Both players participated in practice this week.
Eagles are 3-1 on Monday night games under head coach Doug Pederson. The Eagles won both meetings versus Washington last year but are 5-2 in the last 7 meetings against the Redskins going back to 2014.
