Eagles at Redskins

An NFC East battle from the Nation's Capital wraps up Week 10 of the NFL when the Eagles attempt to avenge an October home loss to the Redskins. Philadelphia looks to keep up with New York as the Giants are rolling atop the division. Washington, meanwhile, tries to solve its quarterback issues coming off a disappointing loss at Detroit prior to the bye week.

Donovan McNabb has grabbed plenty of storylines since getting traded to the Redskins in April after 11 seasons in Philadelphia. The six-time

Pro Bowler beat the Eagles in his return to Lincoln Financial Field on October 3 as five-point underdogs, 17-12. Washington jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead, but scored only three points in the final three quarters. It didn't hurt the Redskins that Eagles' quarterback Michael Vick left the game with bruised ribs in the first half, opening the door for Kevin Kolb. The former Houston Cougar threw for 201 yards and a touchdown, but failed to convert a Hail Mary on the final play of the game.

Fast forward to two weeks ago when the Redskins lost in a Halloween massacre to the Lions, 37-25, as Detroit scored 17 points in the final three minutes to shut the door. The loss wasn't the story for McNabb and the Redskins; instead it was the quarterback getting pulled in the final two minutes by head coach Mike Shanahan because McNabb "couldn't run the two-minute offense effectively." The explanation a day later from the two-time Super Bowl winning head coach was McNabb wasn't in good condition due to a hamstring injury.

McNabb is set to start on Monday night, ending any kind of short-lived controversy between him and Rex Grossman. Meanwhile, Andy Reid has been at the center of a revolving door at quarterback between Vick and Kolb. The latter started the season against the Packers, but was eventually replaced by Vick. The former number one pick stepped into the starting role in Week 2 at Detroit and led the Eagles to a 35-32 victory, but Philadelphia failed to cover as 6 ½-point favorites. Vick is as elusive as ever by making defenders miss when he scrambles, while tossing seven touchdowns and zero interceptions.

The Eagles are a solid 3-1 on the road with the lone loss coming without Vick in Tennessee back in Week 7 as three-point underdogs. The 'over' has been a strong play in Philadelphia road games, riding a 3-1 clip as the only 'under' came in a Week 3 blowout of Jacksonville. Reid's Eagles own a pedestrian 3-5 ATS record this season, while going 2-3 ATS when laying points.

Washington does not disappoint from an entertainment standpoint in its home contests with all four games being decided by six points or less. In fact, three of those games have come down to a field goal with the Redskins falling twice to the Texans and Colts. The Redskins' offense hasn't made many strides since McNabb's arrival, scoring 17 points or less five times this season, while the veteran signal-caller is the 25th in the league in quarterback rating (76).

Philadelphia has compiled a 9-3 ATS mark in divisional road contests since 2006, including a pair of wins as away 'chalk' last season at New York (45-38) and Washington (27-17). The victory at FedEx Field last October came on a Monday night, as DeSean Jackson scored on a pair of big plays by scoring on a 67-yard touchdown run and hauling in a 57-yard pass from McNabb. Philadelphia covered as hefty nine-point favorites despite a late Washington touchdown to make the score more respectable.

The Eagles are listed as a three-point road favorite, but you will have to pay some juice to lay the field goal. The number is slowly moving up to 3 ½ at some spots with the standard $1.10 juice. The total is set at 42 ½ across the board after opening the week at 43 ½. Kickoff is at 8:30 PM EST from FedEx Field and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.

Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood:

-- The home teams dominated the early kickoffs on Sunday afternoon, including big victories by the Dolphins and Bears. Miami was down to third-string quarterback Tyler Thigpen following injuries to Chad Pennington and Chad Henne, as Thigpen's late touchdown pass to Anthony Fasano put away a 29-17 victory over Tennessee. Chicago overcame a few Jay Cutler miscues to beat Minnesota, 27-13 as one-point home underdogs. The Bears bring their 6-3 record to South Florida on Thursday night to take on the Dolphins.

--Jacksonville may have saved its season and put a major dent in Houston's after David Garrard's Hail Mary pass to Mike Thomas to pull out a 31-24 victory. The Texans started the season at 2-0, but are now 4-5 in spite of the offense receiving a big day from Andre Johnson (9 receptions, 146 yards, and a touchdown). Jacksonville moves to 5-4 and is hanging around the AFC playoff race as it hosts an improving Cleveland squad next week.

Congratulations go out to the Buffalo Bills, who finally broke through the win column with a 14-12 triumph over Detroit. It wasn't all great for Bills' backers as Calvin Johnson's late touchdown gave the Lions a backdoor cover, lifting Detroit to a 7-1 ATS record (as opposed to a 2-7 SU mark).

Published by: vegasinsider.com