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Redskins: 3 Keys to victory for Monday Night Football against the Eagles

By Jacob Camenker

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 10: Robert Kelley #20 of the Washington Redskins gets tackled by Philadelphia Eagles in the four quarter of play at FedExField on September 10, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 10: Robert Kelley #20 of the Washington Redskins gets tackled by Philadelphia Eagles in the four quarter of play at FedExField on September 10, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /
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LANDOVER, MD – SEPTEMBER 10: Chris Thompson #25 of the Washington Redskins celebrates his touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second quarter at FedExField on September 10, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD – SEPTEMBER 10: Chris Thompson #25 of the Washington Redskins celebrates his touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second quarter at FedExField on September 10, 2017 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

2. Generate some sort of rush offense

The Eagles are not an easy team to run on. In fact, they have the best run defense in the entire NFL. Coming into Monday night, they are allowing just over 60 yards rushing per contest. That is not a number that the Redskins will like to see.

Much of the Redskins success this season has come from running a balanced offense. They have taken pressure off the passing game by establishing the run in each of their victories. Cousins is one of the best play action passers in the league, so keeping opposing defenses honest has really been beneficial to their offense.

In Week 1 against the Eagles, the Redskins were unable to generate much run offense. The team only generated 64 rushing yards, and 30 of them came on Cousins scrambles. The team needs to ensure that their running backs actually get going in this contest, and they do have a chance to do that.

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Rob Kelley is set to return from the ankle injury that was bothering him in recent weeks. Kelley is the best runner on the Redskins roster, and his strong, physical style is a bit asset for the Redskins. The Eagles have a big, physical front of their own which will combat Kelley thanks to the pressure of Timmy Jernigan and Fletcher Cox. Still, if Kelley can grind out yardage on early downs, that will help the Redskins.

On Monday, the Redskins also may want to experiment with some two back formations to see if those can generate any push. If they play the physical Kelley with the explosive Chris Thompson, the Eagles may have a tougher time matching up with both runners. The Redskins could then pick and choose which matchup to attack, and they could try to find open space for Thompson or just go straight at the Philly defense.

Overall, the run game is going to be important for the team. They couldn’t beat the Eagles in Week 1 without a strong performance and they won’t win this week without it. Hopefully they will be able to get that.

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