Washington heads to Philadelphia the night after Christmas in a must-win NFC East showdown for both teams in the NFL betting lines, set to kick off at 8:25pm Eastern time from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The Redskins (7-7) are coming in with a chance to clinch the division with a win. The Eagles are favored by 3.5 points, and the over/under total is 47 points.
Coach Shurmur: I have a great deal of respect for DeMarco Murray. We need him to play at his best.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 22, 2015Why should you pick the Redskins (+3.5)?
The Eagles did shock the New England Patriots on the road a couple weeks ago, but they just came off a 40-17 shellacking at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals. There is no joy in the City of Brotherly Love, as tailback DeMarco Murray spent his plane ride home from New England talking to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie about his lack of playing time. Last week, Ryan Matthews got the bulk of the work at tailback, picking up 58 yards on 11 attempts. Quarterback Sam Bradford went 28 for 41 for 361 yards and two scores, but he also threw two interceptions. The Redskins appear to be hitting their stride (if a 7-7 team can be said to be doing so) in their win last week against Buffalo, as Kirk Cousins went 22 for 28 for 319 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-25 win. The fact that they are one win away from a division title should motivate them to take care of business against one of their hated rivals.