- 4 weeks ago
The NFL season kicks off tonight in Seattle, but everyone in the DMV will be patiently waiting until Sunday afternoon for Washington’s opening game against Philly. The Sports Junkies dive through all the top storylines ahead of Sunday’s divisional matchup! What’s your prediction for Sunday’s big game?
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00:00Is the game on Sunday, head up I-95, they face the two-time defending NFC East champion
00:06Philadelphia Eagles, of course they win back-to-back division titles, commanders of course, disappointing
00:165-12 season, shocked the world really in 24 in Jaden's rookie year, looking to bounce
00:23back, I think the roster is noticeably better this year than it was in 2024, but it remains
00:29to be seen, they've got to prove it on the field, I do have some interesting nuggets on
00:34the game, I like nuggets for gambling purposes, this is kind of fun, so they've played, they've
00:41opened the season in Philly five times, lifetime, Washington actually holds a 3-2 edge in those
00:47five previous week one meetings in Philly, last time they won in Philly to open the season
00:54was 2019, that game was, Terry McLaurin's first NFL action,
01:00Case Keenum, I believe it, yeah, Case Keenum, he was exactly right, he was a quarterback,
01:04he hit Terry for five passes for 125 yards in the beginning of a wonderful career,
01:09remember he also, almost off the fingertips, like his second, it would have been a long
01:14second touchdown, literally it was like two inches off the end of his fingertips, it would
01:19have been like close to a 200 yard receiving day, now they ended up losing, a fantasy guy
01:23would have to remember that, they ended up losing 32-27 in a close one, they've played
01:2911 times total in week one, right, so between here and there, the Commanders actually hold
01:36a 6-5 edge in that matchup, Cakes, in week one, the last time, 2020, you know who the
01:45quarterback was?
01:46For the Commanders?
01:47Yes.
01:47Hold on, 2020, I heard, I heard Grant and Danny going through the litany of bad quarterbacks
01:52for the Commanders over the last 30 years, 2020, I don't think that was Heineke, it was
01:58pre-Heineke, it was at Haskins, Dwayne Haskins, 17 of 31, 170 yards and one touchdown, Peyton
02:07Barber scored two rushing touchdowns and McLaurin had five catches for 61 yards, they've actually
02:13met lifetime 90 times in Philadelphia, what do you guess the record is out of 90 matchups?
02:23For the Commanders in Philly?
02:2540 and 50.
02:2645 and 45.
02:2835 and 55.
02:2944 and 44 and two ties.
02:34Wow.
02:34Literally 500.
02:35Okay.
02:36They've just split exactly.
02:39And we're going back 90 years or whatever.
02:41Yeah, but I mean, it just shows you, you can win anywhere.
02:44Yeah.
02:45Maybe not 90.
02:4690, probably twice a year.
02:48But obviously, big, big matchup, you know, trying to figure out what we're going to see
02:54here, people, I know the guys have talked about, you know, to reporters that they haven't
02:59seen anything yet, that, you know, none of the stuff, I know John Kine's been talking
03:04about this, none of the stuff that they're running in practice have they really shown.
03:08Uh, in, uh, even, uh, the controlled scrimmages, they just really haven't shown anything yet.
03:13So they're, they're excited.
03:15Uh, I heard, uh, AP tell the story to one of the guys where, uh, he was like, yeah, you
03:20don't want to miss week one because you haven't seen, uh, nobody has seen what we're going
03:24to do.
03:25So they're, they're quietly confident.
03:27It looks like they're going to be healthy.
03:28Uh, I think the biggest question mark at this point is, is OA, but OA was there for the
03:34walkthrough.
03:35I think they were off yesterday and a full go today, I think.
03:40So it'll be interesting to see, uh, what, what the update is.
03:43And even though it's just the first game of the season, you know, a long way to go, but
03:47it's division game.
03:48So it's, it's pretty big.
03:49It's big.
03:50I mean, the first couple, right?
03:51Cause after this week they've got Dallas got to try to find a way to win one of the
03:55two.
03:56If they can, Dallas is going to be challenging.
03:58Obviously there are different challenges.
04:00Philly's big challenge will be their defense.
04:02Uh, Dallas is big challenge will be controlling that offense.
04:09Uh, the Philly offense.
04:11There's some question marks there, right?
04:12They've got a new offensive coordinator, no more AJ Brown, but they still have Saquon.
04:18They still have Devante Smith.
04:20They still have a Dallas Goddard.
04:23So, uh, you know, that's, it was still likely to be somewhat productive.
04:29They had a first round rookie in Makai Lemon at wide out.
04:32Supposedly he hasn't had an unbelievable camp.
04:34I think he's been battling.
04:35He's dealing with a hamstring injury, I believe early in camp, but I think he's going to be
04:39close to full health for week one.
04:41Now, defensively, this is where it really gets interesting.
04:44Uh, Jalen Carter, probably the most important player in this matchup.
04:48He can absolutely wreck your interior.
04:51He can dominate the game.
04:52Dominate, especially when the narrative all off season is, what are you going to do at
04:56center since you decided to move on from Tyler Biotish?
05:00Uh, the team seems like, feels like they're comfortable and they can, they'll be fine with
05:04Nick Allegretti.
05:05Well, we'll find out.
05:06Uh, you're not going to find a more difficult matchup than you're going to have in week
05:10one.
05:10Then of course you have Jordan Davis, uh, a Jomo Moro, a Jomo cakes.
05:17Yeah.
05:17He's one of the guys here.
05:18Yep.
05:19Uh, then you've got, uh, Zach Braun, John Campbell, uh, just so many guys there.
05:25Their secondary is legit.
05:26I mean, they just, they just have a great defense, uh, led by Vic Fangio.
05:31So I think most people think it's, you know, we're five to five and a half point dogs in
05:37this game, I don't think anybody thinks it's going to be a shootout, right?
05:41Uh, best case if you, if you can eke out a win is probably a lower scoring game.
05:47Although I did hear a stat yesterday that I believe Jaden is undefeated when you hold,
05:56let me see, is it when they scored 24 or more points, they scored 24 or more points.
06:00I think, I think that's right.
06:03Right.
06:03I think the implied team total for the commanders is 20 and for the Eagles is 24.
06:09Hence it's right on the number of 44 and a half.
06:11Right.
06:12Right.
06:12So.
06:12Right.
06:13Would be nice if that was flip flop.
06:14Yeah.
06:14I mean, they're not expecting, they're not expecting an overwhelming offensive game.
06:19Right.
06:19But we'll see.
06:20Got to stay close early.
06:22Yeah.
06:22There's so many questions.
06:23You can't, you know, we, we can't dig a big hole.
06:25So much to see, Cakes.
06:26Like we do like every opening kickoff where teams just go down there and score always trailing
06:32after the first quarter.
06:34That was a terrible situation last year.
06:37You know, Bill's going to be established.
06:40You got to see Rashad White catch some balls out of the backfield Cakes.
06:44They did come out.
06:45It is kind of interesting with their official depth chart.
06:49Let me see.
06:50I make sure I have this is official now.
06:52Yeah.
06:52They came out with their official depth chart.
06:54Oh, I thought.
06:55Okay.
06:56I thought it was already official, but I guess not.
06:58Well, I think they came out with it yesterday.
07:00Now, darn it.
07:01Where did I put it?
07:03Okay.
07:03Here it is.
07:04A couple of interesting things.
07:05That receiver, obviously you've got Terry and Steph on, but then the third guy listed
07:12as a starter essentially is Trelon.
07:14Trelon Burks seemingly or Antonio Williams.
07:17A lot of people thought Antonio Williams might be that third guy, but it looks like Terry,
07:22Steph, and Trelon are your top three receivers in the moment.
07:27Pretty much everywhere else there offensively, no surprises.
07:31Brandon Coleman, Chris Paul, Nick Allegretti, Sam Cosby, and Josh Connolly Jr.
07:36That's your offensive line.
07:38Tight end Chig, John Bates.
07:40I think they've actually got, if you look at it, 12 guys listed because they have the
07:43two tight ends and three receivers.
07:45Of course, Jaden, Marcus Mariota, and AK is your third quarterback, Cakes.
07:50I'm sure it'll be inactive.
07:52I drafted Bill and Rashad White on the same team in one of my leagues.
07:56A little handcuff action.
07:57That's okay.
07:57Well, I just didn't know.
07:58See how it works out.
07:59I assumed Bill was going to be the starter, and he is, but I don't know.
08:02I mean, Rashad, I mean, if there's an injury, then I've got the backup.
08:06Or what if Rashad White is just better?
08:07Or if he's better, right?
08:08He might just be better than Bill.
08:09We don't know at this point.
08:10We don't know what that's going to look like.
08:12One guy you didn't mention, EB, as you were going through the Eagles, is Jalen Hurts.
08:16And it's interesting.
08:17Jalen Hurts is a guy who's been scrutinized, particularly by the national media.
08:22And last year, obviously, he had some sort of falling out with A.J. Brown.
08:26A.J. Brown gets dealt.
08:29There seems to be some pressure on Jalen Hurts.
08:32He's had a lot of success against Washington.
08:347-3 in 10 starts, 14 touchdowns, only three picks.
08:38What is interesting, though, is that apparently he's had an up-and-down camp.
08:44Reporters have said that he's thrown more interceptions than ever in camp,
08:48trying to acclimate himself to the new system.
08:51So it would be interesting to see how that plays out.
08:56Do they kind of shift gears and do things that more cater to his talents?
09:02Or are they going to kind of stay tried and true with this?
09:04You know what?
09:05It would be a great spot for a Rasul Douglas pick in this game.
09:09He's got a nose for the football.
09:10It would be nice to see that.
09:11But if the depth chart is any indicator, they've got Amik Robertson over him.
09:16Now, he'll be out there, of course.
09:18But I kind of like Rasul Douglas over Amik Robertson.
09:22I like him just because he's bigger.
09:24I mean, Robertson's kind of slight.
09:26Yeah.
09:27And I just want a bigger corner.
09:29So that's kind of where the question mark is defensively.
09:32When you look up front, especially when you start with the depth chart,
09:35no surprises.
09:37Payne settle.
09:38Ken Law, your top 3D lineman.
09:41Then your linebackers, you've got, you know, maybe.
09:43I think this is also promising.
09:44They have Adafi Owe listed, obviously, outside linebacker.
09:48And then your interior guy, Sonny Stiles, Frankie Louvoo.
09:51And then KC is your other outside linebacker.
09:53So I like that core there.
09:56As long as Owe can suit up.
09:58Remember, Owe was dominating early on in camp before he went down.
10:03And they've been very careful with his calf injury.
10:06See, I think defensively they've got questions at every level.
10:10Because Owe gets a lot of money, has potential.
10:15But will he live up to it?
10:16Like, to me, and I know there's more than just sacks.
10:19But he's got to get 12, 13, 14 sacks.
10:21Well, they say he's very excellent at setting the edge against the run.
10:24So I think you're going to see an impact there.
10:26I think you'll see him in the backfield.
10:28I think he's going to make a lot of plays.
10:29I don't think they have guys on paper who can do it.
10:33But they don't have proven guys at every level.
10:36Whether it's at linebacker, because Sonny Stiles is a rookie.
10:39Whether it's on that defensive line.
10:41I know they list.
10:43You don't think Payne, Seth, or Kim Law are fairly established?
10:47They're fine.
10:48They're fine.
10:49But I know Owe's listed as a linebacker.
10:53But he's going to be on the line.
10:55He's going to be, hopefully, their primary pass rusher.
10:59As is K-Levon Chason.
11:01And I don't know that they're proven guys in terms of double-digit sacks and being game wreckers.
11:06Well, I have more confidence in them than I do the back end.
11:09And the back end's unproven.
11:11Yeah, I think they have questions at every level.
11:13That's where I have questions.
11:14What they can allow to happen is what Barkley's done, at least rushing-wise, in the last three matchups.
11:20146, 150, 132.
11:22Yeah, massive numbers.
11:23That number has to be much, much longer.
11:25Does that even include the championship game?
11:27These are just regular seasons.
11:30Remember the NFC Championship game?
11:32That was the last time I watched a football game in Honor Brewing.
11:34Hopefully, this weekend's is a much more fun watch.
11:38Well, listen, the whole point of the offseason was to basically get bigger, stronger, faster, younger on defense.
11:43And I think, on the whole, they did that.
11:45So, let's see.
11:46Let's see how the younger, faster group fares against Saquon coming off a not-so-great year for him.
11:54They should be better on paper.
11:56I'm just saying there's questions at every level.
11:59I have less questions than you do.
12:01But I think Sonny Stiles is a question of his impact early on.
12:04But Frankie is pretty well established in this league.
12:07Last year was a down year for Frankie Lube.
12:08Last year was a down year.
12:09But they write that off as not putting him in his best position.
12:13Hopefully, Durante unlocks him.
12:15Getting back to McLaurin, just looking at some of the FanDuel numbers.
12:19But for three-plus receptions, it's too big of a number.
12:23What is it?
12:24It's minus 450.
12:26But for five-plus receptions, it's plus 132.
12:30I mean, I can see McLaurin having five catches.
12:33Sure.
12:33That's not a ton of catches.
12:34He needs to get off to a good start early.
12:35Can't be one of those games where, like, right before halftime, he's got no catches.
12:38I mean, if he has three for 42 yards, I mean, that's just an awful game.
12:42That's a dud.
12:43Can't have that.
12:44But I could see him having five or six catches for, you know, 82 yards.
12:50That'd be great.
12:50Hopefully an end zone trip.
12:52So I'm going to throw so many prop bets in this, player props.
12:55Just remember, even when we talked about it earlier in the week,
12:59even when Washington, you know, won 12 games in 2024 in Jaden's rookie year,
13:06I think he only threw for 300 yards once in the regular season.
13:10And they scored, like, 29 a game.
13:13Super prolific.
13:14So, you know, don't necessarily expect him to light it up and throw for 300-plus yards,
13:19especially against his defense.
13:20But he could run for 63 yards.
13:22Now, somebody was also making the point.
13:24I listened to the guys I was driving in today saying that in all of camp,
13:28and he was at, like, every practice, he saw Jaden take off and run, like,
13:33five times or less, like, a real point of emphasis seemingly was made on staying
13:40in the pocket, making your reads.
13:43And by all accounts, Jaden had an outstanding camp.
13:49So let's see.
13:50Let's see if he says.
13:51Do you have any questions on how he'll play, or do you think he'll play pretty well?
13:54I think he'll play pretty well.
13:56Yeah.
13:56I mean, I think I always expect him to play well.
13:58When he plays poorly, when he throws an interception or, you know,
14:02has a bad series or something, that's always surprising to me.
14:06Always.
14:07I always expect him to play well.
14:09As long as those big monsters in the middle for Philly aren't disrupting his rhythm
14:13all game long, I feel like he's going to have a good game.
14:16Yeah.
14:17If they're bum-rushing him and he has one and a half seconds to throw
14:20and he's getting swallowed up by the pass rush, especially early,
14:25it's going to be an alarming sign.
14:26Well, then you need to pound the football.
14:28You're going to have to establish a run somehow.
14:30It's going to be very difficult.
14:31It is a huge challenge, especially going up against that defense.
14:34But I can't wait to see what Blau, what they pull out.
14:38Yeah, how much different it looks.
14:39I just can't wait to see the different packages, the different formations,
14:42under center, the play action, all of that.
14:45And really, I know it's rare to say this around here because our defenses
14:50have been so bad.
14:50I'm excited to see the defense and to see what Durante brings
14:53and where the pressure comes from.
14:56That, to me, is the most exciting part of watching our defense play.
15:01We're going to have, on paper, and by all accounts,
15:05a defense that kind of resembles the old Greg Williams defense cakes
15:09where they bring pressure from everywhere.
15:11I like the aggressive nature of this defense.
15:13That's what I'm excited about.
15:15The narrative on this team is that they're just going to get boat raced.
15:19It's a team in turmoil that had a rough, certainly a rough end to preseason.
15:27But I'm going against it, man.
15:29It could be completely flipped.
15:31I think they're going to show up.
15:32And, of course, how they handle Saquon.
15:35When Saquon's out there catching balls, running routes,
15:38who's going to be covering them?
15:39Is it going to be Sonny?
15:40Is there going to be another DB?
15:41Just, look, make a couple big plays against Saquon,
15:44force Jalen to beat you through the air.
15:47That's a pretty good formula.
15:48He's done it before, though.
15:49He's capable.
15:50Done it seven out of ten times against Washington.
15:52He's capable.
15:53Odyssey sports coverage of opening week on 106.7 The Fan
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15:59Just step in and go.
16:01When we come back, let's dive into the opening matchup.
16:05Tonight, Super Bowl rematch.
16:07That's next here on The Junkies.
16:08The Junkies.