Philadelphia Eagles: Three keys to a Week 17 win over Washington Redskins

Contain Washington’s run game

Usually, when teams are down to their fourth quarterback of the season. They have to rely heavily on their run game for success. Running the football has been a staple of the Washington offense this season and has been more of the case since Johnson took over at quarterback.

Adrian Peterson has rushed for 1,042 yards this season, his first 1,000-yard season since 2015 with Minnesota. When these teams first met in early-December, Peterson rushed for 98-yards on nine carries, with 90 of those yards coming on one touchdown run.

So outside of the 90-yard run, the Eagles defense held Peterson to eight yards on eight carries, a mere one-yard per carry. The Eagles defense needs to contain Peterson the same way they did in that Monday night game. If they can do that, then they will force Johnson to beat them with his arm.

Building on that, eliminating Washington’s run game will make their offense one-dimensional. Johnson has not been terrible, but he has not been great either, throwing for three touchdowns and three interceptions in his three games this season.

In those three games, Washington has limited the work Johnson has had. He has not surpassed 25 pass attempts in a game yet this season, and that is likely the best situation for the Redskins. If Johnson is forced to throw the ball more than 25 times, then it is likely the Eagles could force him into some mistakes throughout the game.