Thanks to Hurricane Joaquin’s right turn, the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington know when and where they will be playing. Now they just try to figure out how to win the game.
Eagles vs. Washington 2015 live stream: Game time, TV schedule and how to watch online
After dodging Hurricane Joaquin, Philadelphia and Washington both need wins.
Concerns over the hurricane had the NFL considering moving the game to Week 8 -- when they both have a bye -- or playing it at a neutral site, such as Detroit’s Ford Field. The league has moved two games to Detroit since 2010 due to weather emergencies. However, with Joaquin heading out to sea, the game should be played under cloudy skies with the only problem being some wind.
That strong breeze won't help Sam Bradford or Kirk Cousins, who are having enough trouble without weather issues. The Eagles won for the first time this season last weekend, beating the New York Jets, 24-17, but Bradford didn't have much to do with it. He only went 14-of-28 passing for 118 yards, but he did throw a touchdown pass and didn't turn the ball over after giving it away five times in the first two games.
Bradford also got some help from his running game, which had been awful in the first two weeks. With DeMarco Murray out, Ryan Mathews stepped up to gain 108 yards and catch a touchdown pass. Murray's return from his hamstring injury this week is questionable, so Mathews might have to take the load again.
While the Eagles haven’t been great offensively, their defense has picked up much of the slack. They are eighth in the league with 5 yards allowed per play, and tied for third with eight takeaways. Those are both numbers that will worry Jay Gruden and Washington offensive coordinator Sean McVay -- their team has turned the ball over six times in three games, while only picking up one on defense.
Cousins has been given a simple, low-risk playbook -- he's only averaging 9.7 yards per completion -- but he has still thrown four interceptions in three games and fumbled once. As expected with that kind of system, two of his three touchdown passes have been to running backs and tight ends, with Jordan Reed quickly becoming his top target. Washington's wide receivers have been largely missing, with DeSean Jackson still out with a Week 1 hamstring injury and Pierre Garcon averaging only 9.5 yards per catch.
Alfred Morris looked like he would be able to help Cousins out when he rushed for 121 yards in Week 1 against Ndamukong Suh and the Miami Dolphins, but he only had 59 yards on 18 carries in the Week 2 win over St. Louis. In Week 3, he was barely part of the offense, carrying the ball six times for 19 yards.
Matt Jones got the bulk of the carries against the New York Giants, but didn't light up the stat sheet with 11 carries for 38 yards and he's also fumbled twice this season. That's not a promising stat line going up against a stout Philadelphia run defense.
How to watch
When: 1 p.m. ET
Where: FedEx Field, Landover, Md.
Network: FOX
Announcers: Dick Stockton, David Diehl, Kristina Pink
Online: NFL Game Pass
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