The Philadelphia Eagles (9-5) travel to Landover to face the dysfunctional Washington Redskins (3-11) in a must-win game. The Eagles have lost two straight, to the Cowboys and Seahawks, after seizing control of the NFC East after a Thanksgiving blowout of the Cowboys. The Eagles have struggled since and have failed to generate offense consistently and lead the league in turnovers.
The Redskins will start Robert Griffin III at quarterback in place of the injured Colt McCoy, while Nick Foles is still out injured for the Eagles. Foles will be examined again this week but the speculation is that he will not play the rest of the season, meaning the Eagles will be led by Mark Sanchez at quarterback. Sanchez has struggled recently and the Eagles have not been able to make any big plays. The good news for the Eagles is that the Redskins are among the worst in the NFL at forcing turnovers, tied for 31st overall. The Eagles will be missing another key defensive leader as Trent Cole is out with a broken hand. Brandon Graham has played well this season and will replace him in the lineup.
The key for the Eagles is to not make mistakes. Washington is such a disaster right now that if they just make the plays they need to, not turn the ball over and limit DeSean Jackson’s big play ability they will win the game. The Eagles must win to stay in the playoff race and if the Cowboys lose to the Colts the Eagles would be back in first place. An Eagles loss and a Cowboys win will eliminate the Eagles from the playoffs as they would lose tiebreakers with just about every other playoff contender ahead of them in the standings.