Eagles-Redskins: The pick
Les Bowen makes his prediction for Sunday's game.
Again, I'm taking the Eagles, and again I have misgivings.
Pretty sure Mychal Kendricks isn't playing, and pretty sure that could be a big deal. Don't think 1 week of avoiding disaster means the new offensive line, with Dennis Kelly and Andrew Gardner starting, is a well-oiled machine now. In fact, I can see Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo wreaking havoc Sunday.
Also, I remember when I covered the Flyers, long ago, there was a pattern that nearly always held: If they won a game they were lucky to win, the next game was always really poor. It was like, "Hey, we got away with this once, so . . . " I saw the Eagles do the same thing late in the 2010 season, following the DeSean Jackson-Michael Vick miracle at the Meadowlands with an awful home loss to the Vikings.
So why am I picking the Eagles? Well, despite the way the Colts were able to scheme up a strong run game for a half Monday night, I don't think stopping the run will be a consistent problem for the Birds. (I'd be more sure of that if Kendricks were healthy, but what the heck?) And I don't think Kirk Cousins is beating the Eagles without a strong running game.
Also, I think at some point, it will all click for Nick Foles and his wideouts, maybe not to last year's level of efficiency, but better than we've seen the first 2 weeks. Some observers have said the league's highest-scoring offense would be averaging 70 points a game if Foles and his wide receivers were a little sharper. I don't disagree. This is a talented team.
These improbable comebacks won't last forever. At some point, the Eagles will have to figure out some stuff before halftime. Not too sure this is that point, though.
PREDICTION: Eagles 26, Redskins 17