THE SPORTS ADVISORS
Philadelphia (3-2 SU and ATS) at Washington (2-4 SU and ATS)
Two teams coming off ugly losses will try to turn things around when the Eagles visit FedEx Field in Washington, D.C., to take on the Redskins in an NFC East showdown.
The Eagles made the cross-country trip to Oakland last week as 14-point favorites and came back with a 13-9 loss to the lowly Raiders. Philly had put up 22 points or more in every game this season until being stymied by the Oakland defense, finishing with just 283 total yards. While he didn’t have a TD or INT last week, QB Donovan McNabb threw for 269 yards and has 612 yards with five TDs and one INT in limited action this season.
The dysfunctional Redskins fell 14-6 at home last weekend to the winless Chiefs, failing as a 6½-point favorite. As a result, head coach Jim Zorn has had his play-calling responsibilities taken from him and given to recently hired assistant Sherman Lewis, but Zorn has been told he will remain the head coach at least through the end of the season. Washington’s offense has not scored more than 17 points in any game this season, averaging 13.2 points a game, the fourth-lowest total, in the NFL and it has failed to get in the end zone in two of three games at home, where the ‘Skins average 10.3 points and 301.3 yards per game.
Both squads have been strong defensively. Philadelphia yields 19.8 points and 282.8 yards per game (103.8 rushing ypg), while Washington gives up just 16 points and 286.5 yards per outing (117.5 rushing ypg). Both are particularly solid against the pass, with the Redskins ranking third in the league (169 passing ypg allowed) and the Eagles rating fifth (179 ypg). However, Philadelphia is tied for the league-lead with 11 interceptions, compared to just three for Washington.
The Redskins swept this series last season, winning 23-17 as 6½-point dogs in Philly in October and then prevailing 10-3 as a 4½-point home pup in December. The road team, and underdog, has won four of the last five games outright and Washington is 6-2-1 ATS in the last nine series clashes.
Philadelphia has failed to cash in nine of its last 12 roadies against teams with losing home records, but otherwise is on ATS surges of 10-4 against the NFC, 13-6 on the road, 5-1 on Monday and 4-0 following both a SU loss and non-cover. Meanwhile the Redskins are on a plethora of negative ATS runs, including 3-9-2 overall, 1-8 at home 1-3-1 as a home ‘dog, 4-9-1 in October and 1-5 in Week 7 contests.
The Eagles went over the total in five straight games before last week’s contest at Oakland stayed low, but the team is also on “under” runs of 5-2 on the highway, 13-6-3 on Monday, 42-20-5 as a favorite and 21-10-3 against losing teams. Washington has stayed under the total in five straight games and is on additional “under” streaks of 19-6-1 overall, 18-7-2 at home, 9-1-1 after a non-cover, 6-0-1 in October and 5-0 against teams with a winning record. In this rivalry, the under is 8-2-1 in the last 11 meetings overall and 5-2-1 in the last eight at FedEx Field.
Finally, the “over” is 17-5-1 in Monday Night Football games dating to last season (6-1 this year).
ATS ADVANTAGE: OVER
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