Eagles vs. Redskins: Full Philadelphia Game Preview
The Philadelphia Eagles travel down to FedEx Field on Sunday, looking for their second win of the season and their first victory in the division as they take on the Washington Redskins.
Philadelphia is fresh off a much-needed victory over the New York Jets last weekend after starting the season with two consecutive losses. Philadelphia faltered under pressure and missed a late go-ahead field goal in its attempt to come back against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. Then the Eagles could not get anything going offensively in their home opener in a 20-10 Week 2 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys.
The season looked grim for Philadelphia due to the track record of teams that start out with two losses, but last week's win could breathe life into the struggling Eagles. The NFC East is still wide-open with every team full of flaws.
The Cowboys sit atop the division with two wins but have to weather the storm as Tony Romo and Dez Bryant will miss at least a month because of injuries. That leaves Philadelphia, New York and Washington each with only one victory.
While the Eagles come in with momentum, the Redskins come into the game following a loss to the New York Giants last Thursday. Both the Redskins and Eagles are trying to close the gap with the Cowboys and earn their first divisional win this season.
As these two inconsistent teams collide, here is all the info you need for Sunday afternoon's game.
Location: FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland
Date: Sunday
Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Week 3 Results and Recap
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The Philadelphia Eagles held on for their first victory of the 2015 season as they took down the red-hot New York Jets 24-17 at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
Philadelphia jumped out to an early lead with a field goal on the first drive of the game. Then soon after the start of the second quarter, Darren Sproles returned a punt 89 yards for the first touchdown of the game.
The special teams score sparked the Eagles offense into motion, which put up 21 unanswered points in the quarter. Ryan Mathews caught a 23-yard pass out of the backfield for a touchdown, and Sproles capped off a methodical drive with a one-yard touchdown run.
The Jets managed some success before halftime as Brandon Marshall caught a touchdown pass with only six seconds remaining in the first half. Philadelphia went into halftime leading by 17 points, but Chip Kelly's offense did not score another point in the second half.
Philadelphia failed to maintain possession in either the third or fourth quarter and became predictable when trying to run the clock down in the second half. The game came down to Philadelphia's defense and its ability to hold onto the first-half lead.
Marshall proved to be a problem for the secondary with 10 catches for 109 yards and a touchdown, but his efforts were not enough. The Jets managed one touchdown in the third quarter to Jeremy Kerley and a field at the start of the fourth quarter.
New York fought for a comeback, but Ryan Fitzpatrick's tendency to turn the ball over plagued the offense in the second half. The former Harvard quarterback threw three interceptions in the second half, thwarting potential scoring drives and killing New York's momentum.
Despite the Jets pulling to within seven points late in the second half, New York fell short as the clock ran out. The Eagles survived the second half and battled their way to their first win of the season.
News and Notes
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Philadelphia's roster suffered significant losses after their first win of the season as two starters were forced to end their season early because of injury.
The Eagles placed second-year kicker Cody Parkey on season-ending injured reserve after he suffered a tear of his groin in the pregame warm-ups before the game against the New York Jets. Philadelphia will also likely be without its starting right guard for the rest of the season, as Andrew Gardner suffered a Lisfranc tear in his right foot just before halftime on Sunday, according to the Daily News' Les Bowen.
Parkey suffered a groin injury in the preseason but claimed he was fully healthy before the regular season commenced. The news of the kicker's season-ending injury comes after he made a 30-yard field goal against the Jets but missed a 44-yard attempt that could have won the game against the Falcons in Week 1. However, the lack of leg strength seemed apparent following the injury, and Parkey also failed to earn a single touchback on his five kickoffs against the Jets this past weekend.
Philadelphia made moves this week to replace the injured players by signing former Miami kicker Caleb Sturgis and offensive lineman Julian Vandervelde, according to ESPN.com's Phil Sheridan.
Sturgis, 26, was a fifth-round draft choice from Florida in 2013 who never worked out as well as the Dolphins had hoped. He suffered some injuries and made just 77.5 percent of his field goals, compared to Parkey's 87.5 percent. Length was also a concern for Sturgis as he made less than half of his attempts from beyond 50 yards.
He joins the Eagles after rookie Andrew Franks earned the starling job for the Dolphins following training camp.
As for the change to the offensive line, Matt Tobin replaced Gardner in the game against the Jets and will likely fill in for the remainder of the season. The injury for Gardner comes shortly into his first season as the long-term starter for Philadelphia's offensive line. He also recently signed a three-year contract extension prior to the start of the season.
The 29-year-old started eight games for Philadelphia last season and won the right guard spot during training camp. The questions of offensive line depth come on the heels of the release of two veteran guards this offseason in Todd Herremans and Evan Mathis.
Latest Injury News
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| Name | Position | Injury |
| Kiko Alonso | LB | Knee |
| Riley Cooper | WR | Knee |
| Taylor Hart | DE | Shoulder |
| Josh Huff | WR | Hamstring |
| Mychal Kendricks | LB | Hamstring |
| Chris Maragos | S | Quadricep |
| DeMarco Murray | RB | Hamstring |
| Jason Peters | T | Quadricep |
| Cedric Thornton | DE | Hand |
The Philadelphia Eagles are cautiously optimistic about the return of Kiko Alonso after the inside linebacker had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee earlier this week.
Alonso injured his left knee, the same knee as his recently torn ACL, against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 2, but the Eagles believe he may return in a few weeks, according to ESPN.com's Phil Sheridan.
The Eagles also hope to see the return of starting linebacker Mychal Kendricks this Sunday against the Redskins. He injured his hamstring against Dallas but was listed as a full participant in practice for Wednesday by the team website.
Star running back DeMarco Murray was a game-time scratch last week against the Jets due to a hamstring injury he suffered in practice. Murray, Cedric Thornton and Jason Peters are all listed as limited participants in practice, so their prospects for this weekend are still in doubt.
Injury report courtesy of PhiladelphiaEagles.com.
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Key Matchup
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Kirk Cousins vs. Eagles Secondary
Jay Gruden made the decision that Kirk Cousins gave the Washington Redskins the best chance to win this season over Robert Griffin III, but the quarterback has struggled with turnovers so far this season.
The 27-year-old struggled last weekend with a 61.2 completion percentage, 39.7 quarterback rating and two costly turnovers. Cousins had similar stats in the first week of the season with one touchdown pass and two interceptions. Both of those games resulted in losses for the Redskins.
In the second week, Cousins played better, and Washington pulled out a victory over the St. Louis Rams. The Redskins possess one of the best rushing attacks in the league as they rank fourth in the NFL with 143.7 rushing yards per game so far this season. The difference for Washington from week to week is the play of the quarterback, and that determines the outcome of the game for the Redskins.
Philadelphia comes into Sunday fresh off its first victory of the season, and winning the turnover battle propelled the Eagles to success last week. Philadelphia notched three second-half interceptions when the Jets' Ryan Fitzpatrick had to force passes to attempt a comeback.
The Eagles have forced eight turnovers in total this season with five interceptions and three fumble recoveries. If Philadelphia can jump out to an early lead, Cousins will likely force passes downfield similar to Fitzpatrick last week.
The main concern for the Eagles secondary coming into this week is the health of DeSean Jackson. He burned the Eagles nine times for 243 yards and a touchdown when the teams faced off twice last season.
Gruden told reporters that Jackson may be able to return in time for this weekend's game, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Zach Berman. The wide receiver suffered a hamstring injury in the first game of the season.
If Jackson is able to play, he has the speed and ability to stretch the field vertically for the Redskins and force the Eagles to keep a constant eye on him. Safety Malcolm Jenkins acknowledged the way the former Philadelphia wide receiver can affect a game.
“I don’t know if the scheme changes much with him in or out,” Jenkins said, according to Berman. “I think it’s just the awareness of our deep defenders because he’s the one who can blow the top off the coverage the fastest. As a middle-of-the-field player, I’m always probably going to keep my eyes now here he is.”
Cousins' ability to limit turnovers and beat the Eagles through the air will be a major part of Sunday's matchup between the division rivals. The return of Jackson would greatly improve the quarterback's options in the passing attack.
Matchup X-Factor
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Eagles X-Factor of the Week: Jordan Hicks
The surprise story of the year so far for the Eagles has been the development of Jordan Hicks. Injuries to Kiko Alonso and Mychal Kendricks thrust the rookie linebacker into the light early, and he has delivered.
Hicks came in halfway through the game against the Cowboys and made the biggest play of day on the defensive side of the ball with his strip sack of Tony Romo, which also forced the quarterback out of the game.
The University of Texas product followed up that performance with an even bigger impact in his first career start. The 23-year-old led the team with 10 tackles against the New York Jets last weekend. Hicks also came away with two turnovers in the game. He recovered a Brandon Marshall fumble in the first half and intercepted a deflected pass in the second quarter.
The veterans on the team are taking notice of the rookie's stellar play, including fellow inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans.
"This kid is going to be good," said Ryans, who has taken to mentoring Hicks, according to NJ.com's Mark Eckel. "He is good. You saw what he did his first game and then again (Sunday). That was impressive. He's advanced. Sometimes I forget he's a rookie. He's a sharp kid; he's above where most rookies are."
With Alonso sidelined for at least a few more weeks, Hicks will likely continue to receive significant playing time. Kendricks will likely return this weekend, but Chip Kelly will have little incentive to rush him back while Hicks is performing at a high level.
Prediction: Eagles 20, Redskins 14
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Philadelphia did not start the season that way many people expected with two consecutive losses, but Chip Kelly and the Eagles got back on track last week with a win over the New York Jets.
The Redskins and Eagles come into Week 4 with the same overall and divisional record, but Philadelphia will carry in its momentum from defeating the New York Jets last week. While it looks like the Eagles could start to get on a roll, Washington looks inconsistent at best.
Philadelphia's defense has performed well in the past two weeks and is actually the steadying factor for the team up to this point. Meanwhile, Sam Bradford and the offense still look out of sync and need time to figure out how to integrate the new parts.
The Eagles finally got their running game going last week against the Jets behind the legs of Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles. Philadelphia hopes to see the return of DeMarco Murray this week as well to fully implement its three-headed monster in the backfield.
Turnovers always play a big part in football games, and both of these teams have struggled to hold onto the ball. So far this season both Bradford and Kirk Cousins have thrown four interceptions and fumbled the ball once in just three games.
Injuries are a big question mark for both teams coming into this game, but Philadelphia has the momentum as it heads to FedEx Field. The Eagles will continue to rely on the running game and a surprisingly steady defense to help them fight for their first divisional win of the 2015 season.
Prediction: Eagles 20, Redskins 14
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