Sport: NFLPick Selection: Philadelphia Eagles -6.5 -107
Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles 8:30 PM ET
Philadelphia Eagles -6.5 -107
Philadelphia heads home for Monday night football after a very disappointing loss at Green Bay last weekend. The Eagles need this win already as they will be two games behind both Dallas and Washington with a loss and even though it is early, people are already discussing must-win. Being an early division game helps as Philadelphia was 5-1 SU and ATS in divisional play last season while the Redskins were just the opposite, going 1-5 SU and ATS against the NFC East last year.
The Redskins held Miami to 273 total yards in a 16-13 season-opening win. The Redskins' defense has a lot of speed, particularly at the linebacker position but the Eagles can take advantage. Washington held Miami to 66 yards rushing in that opener but the Dolphins followed that up with just 61 yards rushing against Dallas on Sunday so it was more of a case of an inept running game for Miami rather than a dominance from the Washington defense. The Eagles had 103 yards on the ground against the Packers.
The key number for Philadelphia is 125 yards as the Eagles are 35-8 ATS when they rush for 125 to 150 yards since 1992. On the other side, they do have a challenge as Washington put up 191 yards on the ground against Miami last Sunday. Philadelphia did hold the Packers to 46 yards rushing and the Eagles are now 41-16-1 ATS in their last 58 games after allowing less than 90 yards rushing in their previous game. So it obviously comes down to the running game on both sides of the ball and the Eagles have that edge.
For the most part, the Eagles have done a good job against Clinton Portis, holding him to 3.4 ypc in five career games. Washington quarterback Jason Campbell threw the ball only 21 times last weekend, and two of those throws ended up in the hands of a Dolphins defender which tells you why the Redskins are all about the run. Make Campbell throw the ball and good things happen for the opposition and he is likely to face such aggressive blitzing with regularity Monday.
Donovan McNabb did not play very well against Green Bay but that was to be as expected. It was his first game since November 19th of last season and there were jitters and hesitations but we can expect a much better effort tonight as a home game on Monday night can bring out the best. He is also facing a team he has had a lot of success against. Since 2002 in seven games against the Redskins, he has had quarterback ratings of 107.4 or higher four times with an average rating of 102.8 over his last five meetings. Play Philadelphia Eagles 2.5 Units
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