The Philadelphia Eagles need to smash Washington in Week 1

With the start of the 2019 season just days away, the Philadelphia Eagles really need to get off to a hot start against their division rivals in Washington.

The anticipation is killing all of us by now. We are mere days away from the beginning of the 2019 season for the Philadelphia Eagles. The first task: taking down the division rival Washington Redskins.

And while it would be a fool’s errand to call the first of 16 critical by any means, Sunday’s game serves as an important one for the Eagles, both because of their upcoming schedule and the significance of the season-opening game itself.

It’s great that the Eagles get to open at home in front of their rabid fans. But, after that, the league’s schedule-makers did them no favors. The Eagles will play five of their next seven games on the road, including a visit to Lambeau Field and an odd three-game “road trip” that, coupled with their bye in Week 10, means that they will play only one game at home between October 7 and November 16.

More from Philadelphia Eagles

But even more imminently than that, the Eagles travel to face the Atlanta Falcons in prime time in Week 2. And you can bet that the Falcons will be primed for their home opener on national TV.

Don’t forget that Atlanta won the Super Bowl three seasons ago; at least I assume they did because I turned the game off when they were up 28-3. They remain a top competitor in the NFC. So the Eagles had better shake the rust off in Week 1, lest they find themselves staring at a potential 0-2 record before they even get going this year.

All of this brings us back to the Birds’ initial opponent, the Washington NFL franchise whose name should bring shame upon all who support them. The Eagles need to do their part to accelerate Washington’s renaming process following the game. And I just mean because Washington will strongly desire to distance themselves from the upcoming 53-10 beating that the Eagles are going to give them in Week 1 of the 2019 season.

Maybe that’s wishful thinking on my part, as I would be fine with a mere 30-point win. But my initial analysis stands; the Eagles really need to show how much better they are than the Redskins.

And yet, while the talent gap between the two teams is cavernous, that doesn’t always translate to wins and losses on the field.

You can almost picture Carson Wentz and the rest of the Eagles’ offense, fresh off a preseason where they saw little to no action, struggling to extend drives and move the chains. The longer this continues, and the Redskins are allowed to hang in the game, the more concerned we should be. Washington should not be allowed to get a whiff of being anywhere near the lead in the second half.

And so it is imperative that the Eagles get off to a fast start on both sides of the ball and win a sound decision over an inferior opponent. It would send a meaningful message to the rest of the division and conference.

Even though chaos often occurs in an NFL season and anything can happen, there really is no excuse for the Eagles not to win their division. Washington and the New York Giants are jokes. Meanwhile, even with Ezekiel Elliott and his bare midriff back in tow, I still expect the Eagles to finish a game or two ahead of the Dallas Cowboys this year.

Without engaging in the pointless exercise of skimming the schedule and marking down W’s and L’s that 94 WIP seems to get months of on-air content from, this sure looks like a double-digit victory season for the Eagles.

And it all starts on Sunday with a game against an underwhelming, Case Keenum-led division rival who doesn’t belong on the same field as the Eagles. Still, the games aren’t played on paper, and the Eagles need to be ready against an opponent who is no doubt already feeling disrespected.

The Eagles must make sure that the disrespect is well-founded by outplaying and outclassing Washington this week. When you only have 16 games to prove yourself, good teams take care of business at home against lesser opponents.

The Eagles’ schedule is far from a cakewalk. In addition to some of the road contests already mentioned, they will face stiff opposition at home later in the season against the likes of the Chicago Bears and the New England Patriots. They have to bank easy wins like this weekend’s game should be.

In addition to the base satisfaction that each “W” provides, an impressive win on Sunday would also do wonders to calm nerves everywhere about Carson Wentz’s outlook for this season.

dark. Next. Carson Wentz is still objectively better than Jared Goff

The expectation should be that the Eagles start 2019 with a bang. Now it’s up to the team to deliver the anticipated results.

Home/Philadelphia Eagles