At the moment, the Washington Football Team isn’t completely sure who will be its starting quarterback when they take the field against the Philadelphia Eagles in a win-or-go-home scenario on Sunday night.
Despite that, the prospect of them playing to keep their season alive is enough for oddsmakers to declare them the early betting favorites and a game that will decide the winner of the NFC East division.
According to BetMGM, Washington has opened as 1.5-point favorites on the road vs. the Eagles, and that number could likely grow if it becomes clear that QB Alex Smith is good to go by the time Sunday rolls around. At the moment, it feels safe to assume that backup QB Taylor Heinicke will be the guy under center, but there is some optimism that Smith will be able to return from his calf strain injury and give Washington a go at the postseason.
One break that Washington did get this past week — despite losing to the Carolina Panthers and releasing their former first-round QB a day later — was having the Eagles lose to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, which knocked Philly out of playoff contention. Now, the Eagles have little more to play for than the fact that they don’t want another team celebrating a division championship on their field, which has led them to take interesting measures to prevent such a thing from happening.
Regardless, there can be some cautious optimism for Washington heading into this game. The defense is still playing lights-out, with rookie DE Chase Young on an absolute tear as of late, and a host of offensive weapons are trending in the right direction when it comes to health. We saw RB Antonio Gibson return to the field last week and look good, and both QB Alex Smith and WR Terry McLaurin could likely return this weekend as well. Should all bounce the right way, come Sunday night Washington could very well be celebrating their first division title in years, and doing so on the field of a division rival. Icing on the cake.
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
[vertical-gallery id=45557]