Fading skins playing for little more than pride vs. eagles
In most years this would be a typical punishing NFC East rivalry fraught with big hits, big plays and an interesting story line. And it still may be but the big plays are likely only to come from one team and it’s not likely to be all that competitive.
The Redskins, for whatever reason, are simply not a good team. They have been given the benefit of the doubt one too many times and with a 3-7 record against a mediocre schedule this team has proven, definitively that it is among the poorer teams in the NFL football odds.
Bad coaching can be blamed, as can terrible quarterbacking, but there’s seems be something inherently wrong with this team. The bright spot in the NFL odds for this team has been the defense. It ranks sixth in the football odds giving up just 17.8 points per game and first in pass defense allowing just 161.6 yards in the air.
That’s good news for Washington fans and bad news for Donovan McNabb and his high flying passing game. The Eagles will also be without elite back Brian Westbrook. But the key factor here is that even if the Skins hold Philly’s passing game in check they sill have to score, something they are the third worst at in the NFL (14 ppg). McNabb has more talent around him than he’s ever had in his career and seems to get better every game at utilizing the young playmakers he’s been blessed with; should be a challenge for Washington’s pass D. The Skins are also 5-0 on the road and will be 6-0 after week 12.
