Monday Night – Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles

Another NFC East matchup in prime time. Can you tell this was the NFL’s best division last year? Each of these teams will be doing their best to dethrone Dallas as the kings of the division and what better way to make progress on that than by beating another division rival on Monday Night Football? This matchup has been a lopsided affair of late with the Redskins winning the last 5 games in a row. You have to go all the way back to September of 2014 to find the last time the Eagles beat the Skins. Will that trend continue? We’ll find out.

Keys to the Game

Redskins

Washington is going to be counting on a good game out of Kirk Cousins in order to win this one. The Eagles defense isn’t too imposing at first glance, but they always seem to find a way to force turnovers… and return them for touchdowns. Even with the addition of Terrelle Pryor, I don’t like Washington’s odds if they have to mount another big comeback, so protecting the ball is a must, here.

Eagles

Philly brings the exact opposite game plan into this one: they want to do everything they can to get to Cousins and force him into turning the ball over. Life will be much easier for Carson Wentz if he can play with a lead rather than chasing points. The Eagles can avoid putting that kind of pressure on Wentz by pressuring Cousins. He’s not the most mobile of QBs out there, so he’ll either be taking sacks or making errant throws when defenders are breathing down his neck and that’s when this Eagles defense strikes it big. A defensive score in this one should turn the tables enough for Philly to buck this losing streak.