3 keys to a Philadelphia Eagles win over Washington

2. Throw the ball to DeVonta Smith.

Washington’s front four has been one of the better units in the NFL at stopping the run. They’ve allowed only 4.2 yards per carry, which seems like a lot but is a top-10 mark, and have only surrendered the eighth-fewest rushing yards of any team in the league.

Their passing defense? Yeah, not so much.

With two games left to play, Washington has surrendered the third-most receiving yards of any team in the NFL so far this season and has backed it up with only 34 sacks, which is surely better than the Eagles’ 25 but only ranks 17th.

Needless to say, if the Philadelphia Eagles want to throw the ball and attack a pair of outside cornerbacks – Kendall Fuller and William Jackson III – who have combined to allow nine touchdowns so far this season, they have to scheme up a steady stream of targets to DeVonta Smith.

With only 91 yards needed to become the Eagles’ all-time leading rookie receiver and 179 yards needed to hit the 1,000-yard mark (more on that here), Smith will surely enter the contest motivated and will look to make up for his relatively down performance in Week 15 with a big showing in DC.

If you’re still alive in your fantasy football league, I would suggest playing DeVonta Smith in your playoff round.