Eagles are 6 point favorites against Football Team in Week 1

In about five days from when I’m typing the words in this article, the Philadelphia Eagles will be playing a real, live football game. How cool is that? The game, that is, not the typing part.

Indeed, the Eagles will be opening their 2020 NFL season this Sunday with a Week 1 matchup against Washington Football Team. Or just Football Team for short. Totally normal team name.

The Eagles originally opened as five-point favorites against Washington when the NFL schedule was revealed back in early May. That line has since shifted to the Eagles being favored by six points ahead of this week’s tilt.

It’s obviously no surprise that the Eagles are favored in this scenario. They’re coming off an NFC East title win while Washington is coming off picking at No. 2 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. Football Team might actually have some long-term hope with Ron Rivera and Chase Young in place. But their short-term outlook is still sketchy due to the overall lack of talent on their roster, including at quarterback.

Yeah, I know that Dwayne Haskins had success against the Eagles late last season with a 121.3 passer rating in Week 15. But the Eagles’ defense was also banged up and they potentially have an answer for Terry McLaurin now in the form of Darius Slay. Take him away and it’s not like Football Team has all that much else to work with. Maybe Antonio Gibson can make an immediate impact but that’s a guy who only logged 77 offensive touches in college before going though a limited NFL offseason.

I’m not going to tell you that the Eagles are a lock to cover. The Birds weren’t that far off from losing to Washington twice in 2019; they needed comeback efforts in both games. They also needed a fumble return touchdown on the final play to cover the spread in Week 15 last year.

Washington’s strong defensive line figures to provide a challenge for an Eagles offensive line that’s hardly been settled and operating at a high level in camp. Plus, who even know how much in sync Philly’s offense is going to be with the limited offseason. Then again, you could say the same about Football Team, which installed an entirely new system.

I do feel pretty good about the Eagles winning this game. I just don’t know how comfortable it’ll be. What say you?