Let’s take a second to be real about the expectations for the Washington Football Team on Sunday when they host the division rival Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1. Not many people are expecting it to be much of a contest, let alone have Washington with any chance of finding a victory.
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However, in any NFL game, wild things can happen, and what makes sense on paper rarely takes shape. There are always little nuances that can sway either way and often it’s something that we saw coming at some point before the game.
So what is that thing going into this Week 1 NFC East matchup? What is the one thing that Washington can do to make it tough on Philly, and potentially turn the tide in their favor? As with almost anything in Washington, it starts upfront in the trenches, where they stand the strongest.
“That’s a legit defensive line rotation,” NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Dave Zangaro said. “That’s, honestly, one of the better ones in the league. And the Eagles have some questions on their O-line.”
‘Questions’ on the O-line is a bit of an understatement, considering the Eagles recently moved one of their star guards out to the tackle position less than a week ago in order to fill a hole left by injury. Philly’s offensive front is makeshift, to say the least, and luckily for Washington, the Eagles’ major weakness comes at a place where the Burgundy & Gold stands the strongest. With a defensive line fraught with former first-round picks, Washington has a 6-man rotation of dogs in the trenches that will likely be able to wreak havoc on the line of scrimmage, and hopefully, keep QB Carson Wentz under pressure throughout the game. If all goes right, this can disrupt the run game, and also force Wentz into some bad decisions when dropping back, leaving Washington’s improved secondary to clean up the mess.
It’s going to take a lot for Washington to be able to keep this game close and maybe sneak out of Week 1 with a victory, and the defense is just part of the equation. Washington’s offense, led by second-year QB Dwayne Haskins needs to be calm and collected, able to capitalize on the Eagles’ mistakes and put points on the board when possible.
It’s still going to be an uphill battle, but a victory for Washington is not by any means out of the question. If it’s going to happen, though, it starts up front for Washington, and the supposedly dominant defense needs to be destructive.
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