NFL preview: Philadelphia Eagles out to keep hopes of another Super Bowl alive against Washington Redskins

Malik Ouzia @MalikOuzia_5 December 2018

The Philadelphia Eagles’ hopes of becoming the first team in more than a decade to defend a Super Bowl title hang by a thread ahead of Monday night’s crunch divisional game against the Washington Redskins.

Not since the New England Patriots in 2004 has a team won back-to-back Super Bowls, and with a record of just five wins and six defeats from 11 games, the Eagles have rarely looked like bucking the trend.

However, no team has stamped its authority on the NFC East, and victory over the 6-5 Redskins at Lincoln Financial Field would move the Eagles into second place, just one game behind the 7-5 Dallas Cowboys, who they face next week.

Defeat however, would leave Doug Pederson’s side trailing both the Redskins and the Cowboys by two games, with only four remaining, and even faint hopes of a wildcard spot in ruins.

AP

Philadelphia, led by star quarterback Carson Wentz, have shown flashes of the brilliance that took them to an unlikely title last season, but with no sort of consistency, having not won back-to-back games all year.

Injuries have played a significant part, not least in losing British running back Jay Ajayi to an ACL injury. In the Londoner’s absence, rookie RB Josh Adams has burst onto the scene, but he too is a slight injury doubt ahead of Monday’s crunch clash.

The Redskins have injury problems of their own though, having lost QB Alex Smith to a broken leg three weeks ago, and are yet to win without him.

With a tough schedule that includes the playoff-bound L.A. Rams and Houston Texans, the Eagles must make sure that run continues, or else risk their defence of the Super Bowl ending before the post-season has even begun.

ESPN brings UK fans extensive coverage of the NFL regular season, playoffs and the Super Bowl, including game highlights, breaking news, interviews and in-depth analysis, on ESPN.co.uk and the ESPN app.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in