The Philadelphia Eagles kickoff the 2017 NFL regular season with a road trip to FedEx Stadium to square off against the NFC East rival Washington Redskins in a 1 p.m. start this Sunday afternoon. Both teams are picked to finish in the bottom half of the division race behind Dallas and the New York Giants, so it will be an added plus for whichever one can come away with an opening day victory.
All season long, I will be breaking down what the Eagles need to do the most on offense, defense and special teams to come away with a win. This week they remain slight favorites on the road, but when you look at the recent history between the two, Washington has gotten the best of things lately with a five-game winning streak over their rivals to the north on Interstate 95.
Offense
The biggest key this week on offense is to get running back LeGarratte Blount involved in the game plan early and often. He was one of Philly's marquee free agent signings this past offseason after racking up 1,161 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns for New England last season. He was used sparingly in the preseason with little success moving the ball on the ground, but that performance should be heavily discounted with this Sunday's game counting in the standings.
Defense
Kirk Cousins want to get paid like a NFL elite quarterback and if he ever does come to a long-term deal with the Redskins, he should give some of the credit to the Eagles' defense. In two games against the Birds last season, Cousins threw for a combined 497 yards and four touchdowns in a pair of tight victories. If the Eagles are going to have any shot at snapping this five-game skid against the Redskins, they are going to have to put some serious pressure on Cousins with just their front four linemen. One of Washington's biggest playmakers, DeSean Jackson is now in Tampa Bay and Cousins' favorite receiver in 2016, Pierre Garcon is playing for San Francisco. This sets up a perfect opportunity to test his ability to connect with targets such as wide receiver Jamison Crowder and tight end Jordan Reed with defenders such as Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox and hopefully rookie Derek Barnett in his face all game long.
Special Teams
It goes without saying that one of the keys every week on special teams is place kicker Caleb Sturgis's ability to make the field goals he is supposed to. The Eagles lost a number of tight games last season including two to the Redskins so they need to take full advantage of every scoring opportunity in Sunday's contest. Just as a side note, Sturgis did go a perfect 5-for-5 against the Redskins in two games last season.
The biggest key on special teams this week is Wendell Smallwood in the return game. While most kickoffs are touched back to the 25, he should still get a chance to break off a big return at some point in this game. When two teams are as closely matched as these two, winning the battle of field position can mean the difference between winning and losing the game. Big plays on special teams have a way creating a huge swing in momentum and I think Smallwood is in the perfect position to make something big happen this Sunday afternoon.
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