Philadelphia Eagles’ Haason Reddick: ‘Sack Alert’ Vs. Washington Commanders

Is Philadelphia Eagles star Haason Reddick on ‘sack alert’ in NFC East showdown vs. Washington Commanders?

PHILADELPHIA – Five things to watch for the Philadelphia Eagles’ first dip into NFC East waters against the Washington Commanders on Sunday…

Haason Reddick gets a sack. As predicted last week, Reed Blankenship got his first interception of the season which was, in turn, the first pick of the season for Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Well, this week it will be Reddick who notches his first sack of the season. He had his thumb cast removed earlier in the week and is due. Washington quarterback Sam Howell is no stranger to sacks, having gone down 19 times already this season.

Book it. Reddick will get one. Maybe two.

More Reddick. He will be matched up against Andrew Wylie, who kept Reddick from getting a sack in Super Bowl LVII. Reddick was vocal about the bad field conditions in Arizona for that game. Now, he will get a chance to show what he could have done against Wylie had the field conditions not been so poor.

D’Andre Swift. The league’s top-ranked rushing offense shouldn’t skip a beat, led by Swift, who is coming off back-to-back games with more than 100 yards rushing for the second time in his career. He’s never had three games in a row with more than 100. This could be the time he does it. 

Washington’s run defense, even with four former first-round picks on the defensive line, is ranked 22nd against the run.

D'Andre Swift / © Bill Streicher, USA TODAY

Pass defense. The Eagles were ranked next to last just two weeks ago but have climbed to 25th at the moment. A lot of work to do here, but more alarming is they have allowed more touchdown passes than any team in the league, surrendering eight.

Three teams have given up seven – the Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, and Houston Texans. They are a combined 1-8, so it’s a high-wire without a net the Eagles are walking right now.

“This is the NFL,” said defensive coordinator Dean Desai. “Sometimes they're going to get you on one. Not that that's okay. We never want to give up any points on defense. But we have to have that next-play mentality and be able to recover from a play we might have given up.”

Red-zone offense. The Eagles entered the red zone five times against Tampa and scored one touchdown.

“It’s about finishing drive and scoring points,” said quarterback Jalen Hurts. “It’s our job to execute whatever’s called. We’ve had a number of opportunities to get it done, we just need to put it in the end zone.”

PREDICTION: Eagles 23, Commanders 16