The NFL is back and we’re going to take a look at the best bet of the week. For Week 1, we’re going to the NFC East for an old school rivalry between the Washington Redskins and Philadelphia Eagles. Both teams will be looking to bounce back this season although their ceilings are quite different.

Philadelphia Eagles Vs Washington Football Team

Sunday, September 13th, 2020 – 1:00 PM EDT at FedEx Field in Landover, MD 

Washington is Better Than Last Season

The Washington Football Team is better than they were last year. We can say that without seeing them playing a single down because of the most important offseason move that they made. By hiring Ron Rivera, Washington has automatically improved their overall culture as a team on the field and organization in general. In 9 seasons with the Carolina Panthers, Rivera won 3 division titles, made the playoffs 4 times, and led his team to Super Bowl 50.

As for this season, don’t expect anywhere close to that level of success on the field. It will take a for Rivera to get this organization back to the playoffs and it might be asking too much to expect him to get it done in his first season. This team does have talent though, especially on the defensive end which is a big plus since Rivera is a defensive-minded head coach. The problem for the Redskins is on the other side of the ball, where they are probably the worst offense in the league. That is why the NFL odds for the week have this game currently listed at Eagles -6.5 on the spread.

Eagles Looking to Bounce Back After Tough Season

Even though the Eagles may have won the NFC East and made the playoffs, they did not have a successful season by their standards. This group looked far removed from the Super Bowl championship team from a few years ago and if they can stay healthy, there’s no reason they can’t bounce back. The first order of business for that to be possible is for Carson Wentz to stay healthy. The talent isn’t the question with Wentz, it’s his ability to stay healthy. Availability is one of the most underrated qualities of a franchise QB and so far in his career, that has been Wentz’s biggest flaw.

That’s why when the Eagles drafted Jalen Hurts, regardless of Wentz’s feelings, he has to at least understand where his team is coming from. After missing out on their Super Bowl victory a few years ago due to a season-ending injury, Wentz finally got his opportunity to play in the postseason last year. Unfortunately for him, he lasted all of 8 plays before having his season ended with a concussion in a game the Eagles would go on to lose 17-9 to the Seattle Seahawks.

There have been questions over Wentz’s ability to lead at times but this is far from a one-man team here. Let’s start with Philadelphia’s offensive line that has been the best in the league for quite some time. While they might not be as good this year with a few missing pieces (Brandon Brooks looks to have a season-ending injury and a few players have moved on). Regardless, this will be one of the best units in the league, and line of scrimmage dominance on both sides of the ball is how they became Super Bowl champs in the first place. Add to that a good group of wide receivers and a young running back with a lot of potentials.

Eagles Will Cover Spread Here

As mentioned earlier, the spread for this game is Eagles -6.5 which is a fantastic number for an opening week matchup. It won’t be easy to cover the spread because the strength of the Washington Football Team is their defense, especially the front seven. Where the Eagles can exploit the Redskins defense in the secondary which is most definitely the weakest part of the defense. On the other side of the ball, they really don’t have too many weapons on top of the fact that their QB is still basically a rookie with the strange season he had to endure last year.

Add to all of that the Eagles pass rush which on paper is still one of the best units in the league and it’s hard to imagine Washington being able to stay within a touchdown of an Eagles team with this much talent to go along with the continuity they’ve been able to build during the Doug Pederson era.

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