By Darragh Holland

Sunday, Jan. 3 at 8:20 PM ET

NBC

SPREAD: Washington, -2.5

Finally, some team is going to claim the NFC East crown, or the NFC Least as it has been referred to. The New York Giants and the Washington Football Team have both shown signs throughout the season that they could get their act together and take control of the division, but both teams then fell back into their self-destructive tendencies.  The champion of the NFC East could even be a case of whoever has the healthiest quarterback wins, with Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys), Daniel Jones (New York Giants), and Alex Smith (Washington Football Team) all missing games due to injury, and in Prescott’s case, the entire season. Carson Wentz is the only one with no real excuses for his poor performances and it looks like he’s in for a long offseason.

The division has nearly just become about which quarterback can stay the healthiest the longest as each team has had problems at the position. Washington has probably had the biggest issue as they just cut their first-round pick from the 2019 draft in Dwayne Haskins. For them to give up on him so quickly shows they really didn’t like what they saw and it will be very interesting to see if he gets another opportunity in the league. Ignoring COVID-19 regulations and partying in strip clubs isn’t what any team expects out of their star quarterback.

Washington will need a win Sunday night against the Eagles to clinch the division, but no matter what happens, every team has some serious work to do over the offseason. But for now, a win Sunday night means Washington will have a home playoff game, and it looks very likely that they’d play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

So while Tampa is starting to hit their stride and will have the GOAT at quarterback you just never know what could happen in playoff football. But first, the Washington Football Team needs to take care of the Philadelphia Eagles, as nothing can be taken for granted in this division.

Finally, some team is going to claim the NFC East crown, or the NFC Least as it has been referred to. The New York Giants and the Washington Football Team have both shown signs throughout the season that they could get their act together and take control of the division, but both teams then fell back into their self-destructive tendencies.  The champion of the NFC East could even be a case of whoever has the healthiest quarterback wins, with Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys), Daniel Jones (New York Giants), and Alex Smith (Washington Football Team) all missing games due to injury, and in Prescott’s case, the entire season. Carson Wentz is the only one with no real excuses for his poor performances and it looks like he’s in for a long offseason.

The division has nearly just become about which quarterback can stay the healthiest the longest as each team has had problems at the position. Washington has probably had the biggest issue as they just cut their first-round pick from the 2019 draft in Dwayne Haskins. For them to give up on him so quickly shows they really didn’t like what they saw and it will be very interesting to see if he gets another opportunity in the league. Ignoring COVID-19 regulations and partying in strip clubs isn’t what any team expects out of their star quarterback.

Washington will need a win Sunday night against the Eagles to clinch the division, but no matter what happens, every team has some serious work to do over the offseason. But for now, a win Sunday night means Washington will have a home playoff game, and it looks very likely that they’d play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

So while Tampa is starting to hit their stride and will have the GOAT at quarterback you just never know what could happen in playoff football. But first, the Washington Football Team needs to take care of the Philadelphia Eagles, as nothing can be taken for granted in this division.

Washington Football Team

The biggest issue Washington has had all year is with their starting quarterback. It seems Dwayne Haskins has been trying his best to ruin his career before it even starts by going to strip clubs after games and twice ignoring COVID-19 protocol. Surely when you are fighting for your NFL life you would be getting your recovery done and studying in the film room after games. The last place you should be is a strip club.

Ron Rivera finally had enough of Haskins after going 14-28 for 154 yards and two interceptions as well as losing a fumble against the Carolina Panthers last week, and he cut Haskins during the week. With Haskins’ contract demands, he could very well be done in the NFL after just two seasons.

The other side of the quarterback saga in Washington is easily the NFL comeback story of the year, with Alex Smith giving Washington a chance at the division with his veteran leadership on offense. Despite their record, if Washington wins, the history books will state that Alex Smith came back from a terrible injury to win a division title, and that would be an incredible story. The other bright spot with Washington is the impressive displays from their defense. They currently rank 3rd against the pass and 12th against the run as they are being led by the favorite for Rookie Defensive Player of the year, Chase Young. The number 2 pick in the 2019 draft has 6.5 sacks so far this season and 4 forced fumbles, one of which he returned for a touchdown.

Washington Offense

While Washington’s backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke did well for himself last week against the Carolina Panthers by going 12 for 19 for 137 yards and a TD, the success of this offense really comes down to Alex Smith being fit. For such an important game Washington needs their veteran quarterback ready to go. It looks like it is going to be a last-minute decision as Head Coach Ron Rivera was very confident on Monday, but Smith didn’t practice fully on Wednesday so he’s obviously still struggling.

Washington Defense

This is where Washington excels and it is what has kept them in the hunt all season. With the offense having such a turbulent week, Ron Rivera really will be looking to his defense to deliver the goods on Monday night. This defensive unit is the only exceptional unit in Sunday night’s game, so Washington is really relying on their defense to step up big yet again and dominate the Eagles to give them a real chance of winning the NFC East and a home playoff game.

Philadelphia Eagles

While Carson Wentz hasn’t behaved as poorly as Dwayne Haskins, his performances on the field have led to him being replaced at quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. Wentz started in 12 games, and things seemed to go from bad to worse. His replacement, Jalen Hurts, has shown more than enough to prove that he is at least worth a shot at being a starter. Despite 3 poor turnovers in the fourth quarter last week against the Dallas Cowboys, Hurts has shown off his great mobility to move around the pocket and great accuracy on deep throws. Against Chase Young and this very impressive Washington defense, Hurts has an opportunity to prove his worth for next season Sunday night.

Eagles Offense

With an offense that ranks 31st in pass completion, Hurts has been able to come in and use his mobility to get the Eagles’ offense going. So far Hurts has run for 267 yards in his four games, including 106 yards in a big win against the New Orleans Saints. It is looking increasingly likely that he will remain the starter for next season, which will make for some difficult decisions for the Eagles regarding Carson Wentz’s contract situation. The Eagles rank 9th in total yards rushing and will be looking to build on that as the foundation for next season. The Eagles will hope to build an offense similar to that of the Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks, both of which have mobile quarterbacks similar to Jalen Hurts.

Eagles Defense

Ranking 20th against the pass and 24th against the rush, there really isn’t anything this unit can say they excel at. As they are coming up against such a poor Washington offense it really will be a case of who can step it up the most in the season finale.

The Prediction

While Giants and Cowboys fans may disagree, it would be great to see Alex Smith come back and help the Washington Football Team win the division for the first time since 2015. With everything on the line for Washington, and so little on the line for the Eagles, the easy assumption would be for a Washington victory here, but the NFC East has been anything but predictable this season.

The last time these teams met was way back in Week 1 when Washington won 27-17 and Dwayne Haskins and Carson Weintz were starting quarterbacks, so a lot has changed. With all that has happened in Washington this week with Dwayne Haskins being cut and Alex Smith being doubtful, this game is wide open for the Eagles to ruin Washington's party. I’m going to lean on Jalen Hurts having a big game and the Eagles pulling through in this one.

DARRAGH’S PREDICTION: Eagles 27 - 20

ROBBIE’S PREDICTION: Washington 21 - 17

Darragh is a sports writer for La Tonique.