The matchup previews are back, and luckily just in time to break down possibly the most important game of the season and the hopeful start of the Birds’ magical 2021 playoff run. Time to once again go position by position and analyze the key components of this divisional matchup in order to find the Eagles’ keys to victory and predict whether this team can get it done when the lights are brightest.
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts’ 2021 season has been one of ups and downs – but not ones that are unexpected from a 23-year-old signal-caller. Overall, looking at his entire body of work this year, I think it’s safe to say that he has earned himself another year as the Eagles starting quarterback, and not by a thin margin. We’ve seen massive week-to-week development from Jalen in key areas, and while field vision still seems to be an area of weakness, it can’t be understated just how explosive Hurts has been with his legs and surprisingly accurate he’s been through the air. Hurts is a quarterback who is certainly good enough to start in the NFL at his current level – and one who we’ve seen improve himself drastically already.
Taylor Heinicke looked to make himself the next great story of a completely unknown QB being thrust into a starting position and working his way up to being a competent and lovable starter in the NFL. His season started hot – but it’s been painfully obvious over the past couple of weeks that he just isn’t the answer for the Washington Football Team. He truly does limit this offense, both with his raw processing and lacking arm – while he’s shown to be able to perform when circumstances are good, and you can’t deny his clutch ability, Heinicke is a quarterback who isn’t a true worry for opposing defenses. Point Eagles.
Running Back
How things have changed. In our last matchup preview around week 9, Sirriani had just started to utilize the running game as the main threat of this football team – now, it’s their identity. We’ve witnessed one of the most dominant running teams in NFL history over the past half season, and it’s thanks in large part to the backs themselves. It’s really unfortunate that Miles Sanders isn’t able to play this week, as even without TDs, he’s a key piece to this team – however, Jordan Howard, Boston Scott, and Kenneth Gainwell can certainly carry the load. This running game honestly seems pretty back-independent – but it’s nice to have some guys who compliment each other well and can perform in the roles they have.
It looked, at the beginning of the year, that the strength of the WFT would be their running game. Led by star rookie Antonio Gibson, this team was projected to be a powerhouse on the ground. However, this hasn’t fully been the case. These inconsistencies are further compounded by the fact Gibson will be sidelined this week, leaving rookie Jaret Patterson to shoulder the load – something fans of Washington should cringe thinking about. This point goes to the birds.
Offensive Line
I mean, wow. Say what you want about the Eagles front office and development of young players, but Jeff Stoutland and Howie seem to have an incredible gift when it comes to the identification and growth of offensive line talent. That’s how, despite injuries to Brandon Brooks, Isaac Seamalo, and Jack Driscoll, the Eagles have still managed to build possibly the most dominant offensive lines in the entire NFL. This Group is full of maulers, top to bottom – starting with tackles Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata. These two have been playing at pro bowl levels the whole year, with Lane arguably playing as the best RT in the entire NFL, and Mailata living up to every penny paid to him this year. As we move inside, Landon Dickerson has shown why he was considered a top 15 player in this draft, dominating in the run game and improving his pass protection every week. Herbig has filled in as good as you can ask for from a (5th!!!!) string guard- but the real standout, among all these studs, is center Jason Kelce. Kelce has solidified himself as an all time great at the position with his outstanding play this year, and at 33, has shown no signs of slowing down. The way this line plays is a work of art, and something Eagles fans need to sit down and enjoy.
The Washington offensive line was another point of hype for this team heading into 2021. They’ve certainly lived up to it, especially when it comes to run blocking, where they rank at the top of the entire NFL – they’re a bit less dominant in pass protection, but crack the top 10 nonetheless. The three best players on this line have been LT Charles Leno Jr., guard Ereck Flowers, and guard Brandon Scherff. However, with Flowers out for this matchup, we will see either Saadiq Charles or Jamil Douglass fill in, two relative unknowns. The good play doesn’t end there, however, as rookie RT Sam Cosmi has filled in more than nicely when his name has been called – the problem again is that he’s unavailable this week. The only “weakness” among known starters is center Keith Ismael, but he’s hardly been a true detriment. This line is good, but there’s room to take advantage of it on the inside with key injuries to Flowers and Cosmi. This point goes to the Eagles for pure dominance at the position.
Wide Receivers
With a team that has run the ball more effectively than anyone else in the NFL, it’s hard to fault the wideouts for having less volume – but it’s been pretty clear that we have something here with young studs Devonta Smith and Quez Watkins. Smith has more than lived up to his selection in the first round, as he’s on pace to be the best rookie wideout the birds have had since DJax. Watkins has earned major props for demonstrating his big play ability when targeted and consistently finding a way to beat defenders deep with his amazing speed. Jalen Reagor has caught a lot of flack recently, not all underserved – but he’s shown flashes both on special teams and offense recently. This isn’t an established group – but with the average age at 23, it’s hard not to be excited here.
The Washington Football Team is currently wasting the youth of one of the best and most underrated wideouts in the NFL with Terry Mclaurin. He’s an incredibly well-rounded wideout with all of the tools to be a top producer in the NFL – just not the QB who can feed him the targets he deserves. Behind Terry are some interesting but unproven pieces – Curtis Samuel, one of the most disappointing FA signings in the whole NFL – is questionable yet again. Deandre Carter, Cam Sims, and Dyami Brown round out a trio of interesting young wideouts, but none have shown anything to warrant more than intrigue. These two wideout groups match up surprisingly similarly, so I’m going to have to give this a tie.
Tight Ends
I know Dallas Goedert has had a few bad drops recently, but that doesn’t change the fact he’s been one of the most dominant and productive TE’s in the second half of the season. He was an obvious snub for the Pro Bowl, and is catapulting himself into elite TE discussions. Tyree Jackson has yet to make a real impact outside of blocking (Much like Jack Stoll) but Goedert alone makes this group top tier.
With the unfortunate injury to rising star TE Logan Thomas, this Washington group is pretty bare-bones. Ricky Seals-Jones has been ok when needed, but there’s nothing to brag about here. Point Eagles.
Defensive Line
While the Eagles defensive line hasn’t had any specific player putting up massive sack totals, it’s pretty clear that they’re one of the better units in the NFL. Both Josh Sweat and Derek Barnett have been putting constant pressure on opposing QBs, with the former finally getting the sacks to back it up recently. Both Javon Hargrave and Fletcher Cox have been stalwarts in both pass rush and run defense, with the latter again putting up some amazing win rate and sack numbers. There’s even been some nice play from depth pieces like Milton Williams and Tarron Jackson recently – so while it may seem like the pass rush is lacking, that really isn’t the full case.
The oh-so hyped WFT defensive line. Instead of putting up gaudy sack numbers like so many projected them too before this year, they’ve seemingly found a much more useful hobby in punching each other. Sure, Chase Young is out, but he has been majorly disappointed when on the field – not to mention the sticking point of this line is the “depth”. All jokes aside, this line does have pieces – EDGE Montez Sweat and DT Jonathan Allen have played very well this season, but guys like Daron Payne have really failed to step up this year. There’s also some concern with young guys like Casey Toohill and James Smith Williams playing meaningful reps in place of injured or struggling vets – so this point goes to the birds.
Linebacker
The Eagles linebacking group has been passable! This is possibly one of the happiest moments of my time as a bird’s fan. TJ Edwards has been an absolute monster since he started getting meaningful reps – and even with Davion Taylor still out, Alex Singleton has played nicely and filled his role well.
The LB position was one the WFT tried to address this off-season with the addition of rookie Jamin Davis in the first round. Unfortunately, Davis has been extremely poor when on the field – leaving guys like Cole Holcomb as the best LB out there. This group is quite bad, and due to how the Eagles group has been playing, they get this point.
Cornerback
Surprisingly to almost everybody, this Eagles CB group has been one of the strongest in the NFL this season. This is due to in massive part one man – Darius Slay. Slay has regained his form as an absolute lockdown defender, and one of the best corners in the entire league. Behind him, Avonte Maddox has been an absolute stud in the slot, with Steven Nelson as a consistent presence on the other side. This group is really good, even with a lack of depth.
The Washington CB group, much like the rest of this defense, has been quite disappointing this year. Kendall Fuller has played very well as a true CB1, but behind him, it’s been just about nothing. William Jackson III was supposed to be a major boost to this secondary, but really hasn’t lived up to his hype at all (Not to mention he’s out this week). Now at CB2-4 the WFT has a rotation of Troy Apke, Corn Elder, and Danny Johnson. Yikes. (Pt Eagles).
Safety
The Eagles’ safety room is led by veterans Rodney Mcleod and Anthony Harris. While neither has been true world-beaters this year, they’ve been more than passable. With the rotation of Marcus Epps, this group is best described as “solid.”
Washington safety Kam Curl has been one of the few truly bright spots on the defense this year. He’s provided consistently good play for a 2nd-year 7th round pick – and solidified his starting spot on this defense. Next to him, however, is Jeremey Reaves, who has been extremely poor this year in relief of Landon Collins. This point again goes to the Eagles.
Conclusion
In overall position group points, the Eagles dominate the Football Team 9-1 (one tie). With all of the COVID issues and Injury on this Washington team, it’s not surprising the Birds stack up so well against them – however, some of these groups are quite close. The WFT still has a quite explosive pass rush and Mclaurin at wideout, so there’s some danger of big plays against the Eagles – but I believe the Birds will prevail in dominating fashion in this game, even with how gritty divisional matchups can be.
Prediction: 31-17 Eagles
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Noah Berger is a featured writer at The Birds Blitz. For more from Noah, check out his archive and read through our Eagles articles for the latest news about the Birds.
