Each Friday, the guys will take a shot at predicting what we’ll see in that week’s Eagles game. This Sunday, the Birds head south for the weekend to take on the Washington Football Team.

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John: The lack of preseason games and OTAs are going to result in turnovers, missed tackles, and high scores for the first few weeks. The reluctantly-rebranded Washington Football Team has been a disaster this offseason. A slew of allegations against the front office should result in Dan Snyder selling the team. It is unknown how this trickles down to new coach Ron Rivera and his WFT, but the instability plays into the Eagles favor.

By having a core of players and coaches that have succeeded together for a number of years, Philadelphia has an early advantage over its NFC East opponents. Look for Carson Wentz to light up Washington’s secondary with a healthy dose of tight end (and favorite security blanket) Zach Ertz. One long touchdown to DeSean Jackson will give Eagles fans something to cheer for in Week 1. Eagles 37, Washington 24.

Offensive Standout: Zach Ertz

Defensive Standout: Fletcher Cox

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Joe: I’m going to go the other way and say that scores will be artificially depressed the first couple weeks; I know teams have been practicing, but without preseason games, I don’t know that any scrimmage can accurately replicate that game day environment and the speed at which an NFL game is played. Also, how will Carson Wentz (and every other quarterback in the league) respond to actually getting hit for the first time since January? It’s the opposite of knocking the rust off; it’s knocking the “oh, yeah, football” in.

The Eagles tend to start out by giving us all a good, solid halftime freakout right out of the chute, and this season won’t be any different. Remember last year’s opener? I expect something similar on Sunday: a win that doesn’t make anyone feel all that great afterward. The WFT has had a lot of WTF over the last few months, but I suspect that the opportunity to just go out and play football for a few hours will give the home team some spark. Not enough to win, but enough to keep things interesting for the entirety. Eagles 20, Washington 16.

Offensive Standout: Miles Sanders

Defensive Standout: Jim Schwartz