3 keys to a Philadelphia Eagles win over Washington

After 16 weeks of highs, lows, blowout victories, and demoralizing losses, the Philadelphia Eagles control their own playoff destiny.

It doesn’t matter who wins what or by how much, where the games are heald, or how many points are scored; if the Eagles win out even by a combined score of 4-0, they are in the playoffs, period.

That, my friends, is fantastic news. Factor in more than a few other scenarios where the Eagles only win one of two and still get in, and FiveThirtyEight has the team’s chances of earning a Wildcard berth at 68 percent, which is the seventh-highest mark of the teams that have yet to clinch a postseason spot.

But for the Philadelphia Eagles to jump that winning percentage up considerably and maybe even clinch a spot altogether, they first need to take care of business for the second time in two weeks against the Washington Football Team. If Nick Sirianni and company can address these three keys, it’ll go a long way to securing the W.

1. Run the ball, the Philadelphia Eagles.

I know it may sound obvious, but it needs to be addressed: Nick Sirianni has built a top-3 rushing offense.

The Eagles ran well against the then-top ranked New Orleans Saints defense, they ran well against the Denver Broncos, and when Washington came to town in Week 15, Philly put up another 200 piece on a Washington front with three of their four typical starting defensive lineman in place.

With Jordan Howard back at practice (more on that here) and Kenneth Gainwell just screaming for a breakout game (more on that here), the Philadelphia Eagles would be wise to attack Washington’s strength with their own like a pair of rams locking horns on a hilltop, especially if Jalen Hurts’ ankle still isn’t 100 percent.