Pregame primer: Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles

The stakes

For DeSean Jackson, the stakes are obvious. In just the third week of the regular season, he has an opportunity to get revenge against the team that cut him after six years because, in Eagles coach Chip Kelly’s words, “we wanted to get bigger at the wideout spot.” Though Jackson is officially listed as questionable, Redskins coach Jay Gruden said his ability to play will mostly be a question of pain tolerance. If that’s the case, there’s no way Jackson sits this one out. And that’s important, because the Redskins will certainly need him. The first divisional game for both teams is also a meeting of what many analysts consider its two best teams. A win in Philadelphia would go a long way toward establishing the Redskins as a contender, and proving that this year will not be a repetition of 2013.

Offensive key: QB Kirk Cousins

An obvious choice this week, but true. With Robert Griffin III sidelined because of a dislocated left ankle, Cousins will assume that starting quarterback role this week — and the heaps of pressure that come with it. He is a diligent worker, so there are few concerns about whether he will be prepared for what the Eagles’ defense will show him. But one of his greatest challenges will be adjusting to those looks on the fly. Depending on the play and protection scheme, Cousins will sometimes need to read the defense and call for his offensive linemen to change accordingly. He failed to do this on at least one play last week, when the Jaguars overloaded one side of the line and recorded a sack. Cousins will need to have a high completion percentage and be smart in his decision-making for the Redskins to move the ball. But it is also this aspect — managing the game and making adjustments before the snap — that will help determine his success.

Defensive key: LB Keenan Robinson

There is not one individual player on the Redskins’ defense who will be responsible for slowing down Philadelphia’s vaunted screen game. It takes a full defensive effort to sniff out those screens and shut them down. But Robinson is one of the players who will have a large role in this respect. Last week, the first-year starter talked about his mental routine before every snap. He identifies the offense’s formation and scrolls through a list of potential plays it could run out of that formation in his head. That ability to diagnose and predict specific play calls will be particularly important this week, and could be particularly disruptive to Philadelphia’s screen game.

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Scouting the Eagles:

Defensive lineman Jason Hatcher, on Philadelphia’s screens and short passes:

“You know, they just wear you down. They run screens, sweep. McCoy’s a great back. He can get into space. They throw the screens to him, and they just kind of wear you down with a lot of plays, you know? You have your defensive linemen running down screens, and then late in the game, you don’t have no gas. So you know, we’ve just got to focus, keep the anxiety out of it and just play one snap at a time.”

Inside linebacker Keenan Robinson, on what makes McCoy so difficult to tackle:

“He tries not to get tackled. Some guys will concede and take a tackle, just put their head down and get yards. But he’s a guy that he won’t quit. If he can reverse field and get five yards, he’ll do it. So he’s a guy that doesn’t give up until the whistle’s blown.”

Cornerback DeAngelo Hall on Darren Sproles:

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“You don’t want to put a corner on him. You don’t want to really put a safety on him with him being a running back. So nine out of 10 times, when he lines up in the box, a linebacker’s going to be out there covering him. That’s a match-up problem instantly. I think the good thing about us is we have some pretty athletic linebackers, so we’ll be able to put our guys on him, but as you guys saw against the Colts, man, he’s able to make a lot of plays downfield, as far as short plays, just getting downfield and making it into a big gain or so. You’ve always got to account for him.”

Wide receiver DeSean Jackson, on how to stop his former team:

“I’m very familiar with their offense. They do some great things – high speed, high tempo. The biggest thing I can tell these guys is keying in on certain plays – what their characteristics are, what they like to do. Everything they do over there, I know. As far as what I can tell my guys here to help them out, I’ll do the best I can. At the same time, they’ve still got to go out there and stop it.”

Prediction: Philadelphia 24, Washington 13

Look for another strong outing by the Redskins’ defense but a sputtering performance on offense. Cousins may have torched the Jaguars last week — but they were the Jaguars. The offense will not run as smoothly this time around.