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Quietly, the Washington Redskins have been one of the most underrated teams in the NFL. Washington is sitting at 3-2, but its two losses have been to the only two one-loss teams left. They have looked sharp in wins over the Rams and the Raiders, and did enough to win against a game 49ers team last week. This week, they will face one of the one-loss teams that previously beat them, the Philadelphia Eagles, and look to exact a small bit of revenge.
This contest in Week 7 of the regular season will go down Monday, October 23, 2017, at 8:30 p.m. ET at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
NFL Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Washington Redskins +4.5
Philadelphia Eagles -4.5
Over/Under 48.5
Odds Analysis
The Eagles opened as a 5.5-point favorite in this game, but the early action has moved against them. This spread dropped all the way down to 4 before settling to where it currently it is.
Philadelphia is 5-1 SU and 4-2 ATS this season. The Eagles are currently the favorites in the NFC after beating the Panthers in Carolina last Thursday night, and are a perfect 4-0 in conference. Their one loss this season was on the road in Kansas City, a tough place to play for any team.
The Redskins are just 2-3 ATS, but have been competitive in every game and look good on offense. However, Washington will be breaking in a new kicker in this game. Dustin Hopkins went on IR on Tuesday with a hip injury, and the Redskins brought in untested Nick Rose to replace him. Rose was unremarkable in two years as a kicker at Texas, hitting just 71.1 percent of his field goals.
Key Stat
Philly has one of the best offenses in the league, even though Darren Sproles’ season-ending injury somewhat limits its effectiveness on third down. The Eagles are third in the NFL in total yards at this point, averaging 383.2 yards per game, and are well-balanced with both the passing attack and the running game ranked in the top ten in the league too.
The emergence of Carson Wentz in his second season has been the difference maker between this year and last for the Iggles. Wentz is on pace to throw for over 4,200 yards with 35 touchdowns and eight interceptions this year, and has made some big-time throws. He doesn’t complete a high percentage of his passes like some quarterbacks do, but limits his mistakes.
Player to Watch
For the Redskins to pull off the upset on Monday night, they will need Kirk Cousins to put up some big numbers. Philadelphia has the best run defense in the league and gets incredible amounts of pressure with its front seven, but is weak in the back four and can be beat.
Cousins is a franchise quarterback, whether or not Washington believes it. He has been extremely efficient since earning the starting job in DC, and his numbers are remarkably consistent. Cousins doesn’t throw interceptions despite throwing the ball a ton in Jay Gruden’s offense, finishing with two percent or less of his passes picked off in each season since he became the starter. He won’t give the Eagles offense short fields to work with.
Free ATS Pick
Philly’s defense was key when these teams met earlier in the year. The Redskins were unable to get anything going on the ground and the Eagles forced three fumbles thanks to their relentless defense. Washington needs to come up with a way to protect Cousins in this one, as it will be unable to keep the defense honest by running the ball.
As much as you want to call it a trap game, this feels more like the oddsmakers still not believing in Philadelphia. Washington is a good team, but this line implies there isn’t much of a difference between these two sides. Fly Eagles Fly.
NFL Odds: Eagles 31, Redskins 20
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