Brandon’s World: Eagles Vs Washington Football Team Week 1 Preview
Football is back!
After all summer writing various column’s about MLB, WWE, the NBA and the NFL, it is FINALLY time to start writing game previews for my Philadelphia Eagles!
After almost nine months away, the Eagles will take the gridiron to begin the 2020 campaign Sunday!
The Eagles offseason was not a quiet one. The team had a goal to become younger, and they somewhat accomplished that goal. The biggest move in the offseason by far was releasing veteran safety Malcolm Jenkins. Jenkins, 32, was a locker room leader during his six year tenure in Philly. He will be replaced by former corner and Eagles’ 2016 seventh-round pick Jalen Mills.
The Eagles weren’t done making additions to the defensive side of the ball. They lured defensive tackle Javon Hargrave away from Pittsburgh in free agency, boosting up their defensive line. They traded a third and a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft to the Detroit Lions for Pro Bowl corner Darius Slay. Slay is expected to shadow the opposing team’s top wide receiver, something that will change the way the birds play defense in 2020. The team also added veteran Nickell Roby-Coleman to play nickel defensive back, Will Parks as a versatile safety and K’Von Wallace, a Jenkins-like player in the fourth-round of the draft.
Speaking of the draft, the Eagles shocked the world by selecting quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second-round (№53 overall) in April’s draft. With Carson Wentz seemingly attached to the Eagles hip even with his injury concerns, Hurts will be a factor for the Eagles this season one way or another according to head coach Doug Pederson.
The day before the Hurts pick, the Eagles went offense in the first-round of the draft, selecting TCU wide receiver Jalen Reagor with the №21 overall pick. The Eagles also added to the receiving room by drafting John Hightower and Quez Watkins in the sixth-round. The three wide outs will join veteran DeSean Jackson, last year’s hero Greg Ward, 2019 second-round pick J.J. Arceda Whiteside (and Alshon Jeffery?) as the Eagles look to solve their wide receiver problem.
However, you can make the case this Eagles team will go as far as how healthy they are. Before training camp, the team had already lost All-Pro right guard Brandon Brooks to a torn achilles. Right before training camp, Pederson caught COVID-19.
In training camp, the Eagles lost 2019 first-round pick Andre Dillard to a torn bicep, causing veteran Jason Peters to slide over to left tackle instead of replacing Brooks despite an apparent dispute from Peters. They also lost Reagor and Parks to injuries and have dealt with a multitude of injuries despite having a brand new medical staff.
In 48 hours, the Eagles will be in Washington to take on the Football Team led by new head coach Ron Rivera and second-year signal caller Dwyane Haskins. The Eagles will be putting their six-game winning streak against Washington on the line.
Week 15 last season, Haskins played against the birds for the first time, throwing for 261 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions, equaling a 121.3 passer rating, a respectable start.
The strength of Washington is their defensive line. The group includes Alabama studs Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, Matthew Ioannidis and Montez Sweat, and they added to their strength this offseason by drafting stud defensive end Chase Young out of Ohio State with the №2 pick in the draft. If the plethora of resources on the defensive line can get after Wentz, Washington has a shot to steal this game from the birds.
However, the Eagles have the overall better football team and should be able to get after Haskins and move the football on offense. Expect second-year running back Myles Sanders to have a huge role in the offense this year, beginning with Week 1.
Division games are always tough, and we don’t know how COVID-19 is going to affect the play on the field, but I do expect the veteran teams with good coaches to win a lot of games in 2020, and the Eagles fit that mold.
I’m ready to celebrate an Eagles victory Monday morning!
Score prediction: Eagles 30, Football Team 13
Brandon Lewis is a columnist, radio show host and podcaster. Check out his podcast, Brandon’s World, here, and follow him on Twitter @real_bworld. Columns will be out every Friday!
