Brian Westbrook explains how the Eagles can win the NFC East
By Scott Rogust
The legendary Philadelphia Eagles running back reveals what the team needs to do (and not do) to win the NFC East.
If you wanted the perfect embodiment of the year 2020 in football form, look no further than the NFC East. Each team has their own myriad of problems and struggles on the field, resulting in the division being the laughingstock of the NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles hold first-place with a 3-4-1 record after defeating the Dallas Cowboys 23-9 on Sunday night. Even so, the win was far from pretty, leaving many believing that the Eagles can find a way to blow it.
In an exclusive interview with FanSided, legendary Eagles running back Brian Westbrook revealed what the team has to do to win the NFC East. The answer was simple — get healthy and stop the turnovers.
“They have to get healthy and they have to be able to stop the turnovers,” said Westbrook. “They have to not turn the ball over offensively and get some turnovers defensively. When they do that, they’ve not a terrible team. They’re actually pretty decent. But you have to be able to do that every single game.
“And talking about consistency, you need consistent play from your quarterback, number one. But everyone else kind of falls in line with that. And if you can do that, the you win the NFC East.”
Eagles have been burned by turnovers and injuries
Like the rest of their division, the Eagles have been burned by injuries. That all started before the regular-season kicked off at the most crucial part of the team — the offensive line. Brandon Brooks and Andre Dillard were ruled out for the season with a torn Achilles and a torn biceps, respectively. Things only got worse once the season kicked off, as right tackle Lane Johnson has been unable to stay on the field for full games this year due to ankle and knee issues.
As if that wasn’t troubling enough, the Eagles’ skill position players have also been banged up. Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, Miles Sanders and Zach Ertz, primary weapons for quarterback Carson Wentz, are on the sidelines with injuries.
While it’s hard for a quarterback succeed with his supporting cast banged up, Wentz hasn’t done himself any favors in terms of ball security and decision-making. Through eight games this year, Wentz has thrown 12 interceptions and fumbled the ball seven times, four of which were lost. To further add to the misery, the quarterback has had 23 turnover-worthy plays this year, per Pro Football Focus. No signal caller has more than 13. That’s a problem.
If the Eagles can find a way to keep the turnovers down, Westbrook said it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they can earn an upset win in the playoffs. With 2020, anything can happen, especially on the 31 others teams in the league.
“It’s always going to be any given Sunday,” said Westbrook. “Who knows what happens, especially with the COVID situation, with injuries, things like that. Who knows what happens in that case. You just go out there and try to win a game. Once you get into the big dance, once you get into the tournament, then you allow the chips to fall where they may.
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