In their first divisional road game of the 2015 NFL season, the Philadelphia Eagles battle the Washington Redskins on Sunday.
With 1-2 overall records, this is a pivotal game for both teams as they try to keep their postseason chances alive. With a loss today, the Eagles will drop to 1-3 overall, 0-2 in the division and 0-3 in the NFC. That might be too deep of a hole to dig out of early on in the season.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. from FedEx Field.
That last time the Eagles traveled to FedEx Field was in Week 16 of 2014. The Eagles were still in playoff contention, but they lost to the Redskins by three points.
Quarterback Robert Griffin III started that game, and wide receiver DeSean Jackson helped Washington get the victory with four receptions for 126 yards. Jackson will miss this game with a hamstring injury, and RGrIII was replaced in favor of Kirk Cousins going into this season.
Cousins started the game against Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 3 of 2014. He threw for a whopping 427 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in a losing effort. The Eagles won that game by three points, thanks to a late 51-yard field goal by kicker Cody Parkey.
Earlier this week, Parkey (groin) and starting right guard Andrew Gardner (foot) were both placed on the injured reserve after suffering season-ending injuries in Week 3 against the New York Jets.
Matt Tobin makes his first start of the season in replace of Gardner. Tobin started five games at left guard and two games at right guard for the Eagles in 2014. The Eagles hoped that he would emerge as a starter after releasing guards Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans in the offseason, but he was beat out by both Gardner and starting left guard Allen Barbre.
To replace Parkey, the Eagles signed former Miami Dolphins kicker Caleb Sturgis. It seems that Sturgis will make his Eagles debut in extreme weather conditions, as Hurricane Joaquin looms over the Washington area.
Sturgis played his high school and college ball in the state of Florida, so he thinks he can handle whatever the weather has in store for him. In his two-year stint with the Dolphins, he is 20 of 32 on 40-plus yard field goal attempts, and six of 13 on attempts of 50-plus yards.
With Kiko Alonso out for at least a month after re-injuring his previously torn ACL and Mychal Kendricks questionable with a hamstring injury, expect to see a lot of Jordan Hicks once again at inside linebacker. The rookie out of Texas has been a playmaker thus far. He forced the hit on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo which resulted the quarterback's broken collarbone. He also had 10 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery last week against the Jets.
The Eagles defense against the run ranks first in the NFL in terms of yards per attempt (3.1). The Redskins have two top-12 running backs in Alfred Morris and Matt Jones. It will be a battle of strength versus strength for the Eagles front-seven against an improved Washington offensive line.
Starting running back DeMarco Murray hasn't got off to a great start with the Eagles. Murray has just 11 rushing yards on 21 carries in two games to start the season. He was scratched from the lineup in Week 3 after testing his tweaked hamstring in pregame warm ups. Ryan Mathews was quite effective in his first start for Philadelphia last week, rushing for over 100 yards on over 20 carries.
The Redskins defense is ranked second overall in the NFL.
There is hope that Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford can take advantage of a decimated Redskins secondary. Bradford has thrown for a career-low 5.8 yards per attempt through three games this season. The Eagles have the most dropped passes in the NFL, but Bradford is certainly holding back from taking deep shots downfield.
Washington will definitely be without starting cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who will miss about a month after suffering a injury to his right toe against the New York Giants. The other starting cornerback, Chris Culliver, is questionable with a knee injury. Bashaud Breeland and Will Blackmon will likely at cornerback.
Whoever can come out of this game victorious will improve their overall record to 2-2, giving them a great chance of catching the Dallas Cowboys at the top of the NFC East division. For the Eagles to win and recover from an 0-2 start to put themselves right back in the playoff hunt would be huge at this stage of the season.
Eagles Injury Report
Out
- ILB Kiko Alonso (knee)
- DE Cedric Thornton (hand)
- DE Taylor Hart (shoulder)
Questionable
- RB DeMarco Murray (hamstring)
- ILB Mychal Kendricks (hamstring)
- T Jason Peters (quad)
- S Chris Maragos (quad)
Probable
- TE Trey Burton (shoulder)
- WR Riley Cooper (knee)
- WR Josh Huff (hamstring)
Redskins Injury Report
Out
- CB DeAngelo Hall (toe)
- WR DeSean Jackson (hamstring)
- LB Perry Riley Jr. (calf)
Questionable
- CB Chris Culliver (knee)
- DE Kedric Golston (hand)
- C/G Josh LeRibeus (calf)
Probable
- C Kory Lichtensteiger (finger)
- QB Colt McCoy (foot)
- T Moses Morgan (knee/elbow)
Where to Watch
TV: Fox (Dick Stockton, David Diehl)
Radio: 94 WIP (Merrill Reese, Mike Quick, Howard Eskin)
Michael Malia is a contributing intern for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Facebook (Michael Malia) or Twitter @Michael_Malia.
