Eagles vs. Redskins Game Preview: 6 questions and answers with the enemy

The Philadelphia Eagles (8-7) and Washington Redskins (7-8) are set to play on Sunday at FedEx Field. In order to preview this Week 17 matchup, I reached out to our enemies over at Hogs Haven. The sharp Scott Jennings (@HunterLoganX) took the time to answer my questions about the upcoming game. Let’s take a look at his answers.

1 - Do Washington fans really care about the team playing spoiler to the Eagles in this game? Would they rather Washington lose and get a better draft pick?

I personally care about the Redskins playing spoiler to the Eagles and putting the final nail in their season, and other fans definitely do too. There’s a small segment of psychos that would rather see the Eagles go to the playoffs than the Kirk Cousins-led Vikings.

And there is the growing number of fans that want to see 0 Redskins fans in the stands on Sunday. Just a sea of green jerseys and a home blowout to embarrass Dan Snyder, and lead to Bruce Allen’s ouster.

2 - On a scale of 1-10 (10 being most confident), what’s your level of confidence in Josh Johnson heading into Sunday’s game? And what’s Washington’s long-term outlook at quarterback given the uncertainty of Alex Smith’s status?

I’ll give him a 5 going into this game. He’s been able to move the offense better than Mark Sanchez, so he’s got that going for him! He will make plays, but he’s a limited QB who has been a career backup for a reason. He’s also working behind an offensive line with injured tackles and 7th and 8th string guards.

The long-term QB situation is not good. Alex Smith needed multiple surgeries to fight infection after his initial surgery for his broken tibia and fibula. Many people think he won’t play again, but I expect him to return later in the year next season. That will leave Colt McCoy as the starter, and probably Josh Johnson and a mid/late round QB as backups. The draft won’t give them a long-term QB in the 1st round, so trading down this year, and loading up for 2020 makes sense.

3 - Should Washington fire Jay Gruden?

They won’t this year, they need to fire Bruce Allen and bring in a GM to run the show and decide Gruden’s fate. We all know that’s a pipe dream under Dan Snyder so they’ll stay the course for another year. Gruden can maintain an average team until he becomes the next scapegoat in a year or two.

4 - If you had to game plan against Washington’s defense, how would you attack them?

The secondary is playing backups, rookies, and street free agents. Their best safety [D.J. Swearinger] was just cut, and their #3 [Montae Nicholson] was put on ice for the rest of the year for being arrested for a fight. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix has not been great and he’ll be paired with career backup/special teamer Deshazor Everett. The ILBs have been exploited in the passing game, so [Eagles] TEs should feast again.

5 - If you had to game plan against Washington’s offense, how would you try to stop them?

Stop Adrian Peterson, and make Josh Johnson try to beat you. When AP is shut down, the Redskins offense has not been good. Johnson is mobile and will make plays outside the pocket, but he’s not going to kill you with his arm.

6 - What’s your prediction for Sunday’s game?

The Redskins were handling the Titans, but ultimately let Blaine Gabbert beat them last week. I’ll never predict an Eagles win over the Redskins, but I’m not betting on Washington this week.