I’m not that worried about the Redskins.

Are you?

They’re bringing Case Keenum to Lincoln Financial Field with a second year running back who didn’t play his rookie year due to an ACL tear (Derrius Guice). The receiving corps is extremely inexperienced and the offensive line just ain’t the same without Trent Williams on the left side. On paper, the Eagles are the better team by far, and they’re playing in front of their home fans in the season opener.

Still, there are some good pieces on this Washington team, Ryan Kerrigan among them. God is he annoying. He’s just one of those dudes who seems to play well every time he lines up against the Birds, and when you go through his career splits against Philadelphia, it looks something like this:

  • 16 games
  • 11.5 sacks
  • 58 tackles
  • 13 tackles for loss
  • 20 quarterback hits
  • 1 interception
  • 1 defensive touchdown
  • 2 passes defended
  • 6 forced fumbles
  • 2 fumble recoveries

Kerrigan is 31 years old but coming off his third straight Pro Bowl and his numbers really haven’t declined at all. In fact, he’s put up more sacks in the last four years (46.5) than the first four years of his career (38). Same thing with QB hits, as he posted 54 in the first half of his career and 73 in the second half of his eight NFL years. It’s really impressive, and he’s actually played 128 straight games for the Redskins, which means he’s tied for 5th among active players, sitting behind Philip Rivers, Brandon Carr, Glover Quin, and Matt Ryan. Quin retired this offseason, so Kerrigan will jump him when he hits the field on Sunday afternoon. He’s been incredibly durable over the years.

Today Doug Pederson was asked what Redskins players concern him the most, and Kerrigan was the second name mentioned:

Obviously we know Josh Norman, he’s going to follow Alshon, which he has the last couple of seasons. That’s obviously something we want to continue to monitor, watch and check out during the game.

Kerrigan is a guy that can – he picks his spots. He’s talented. He can rush and get after the passer. He’s a good player and they move him around a little bit. I think with him and (Montez) Sweat now on either side, this is a pretty good pass-rush on defense. That’s obviously something we got to watch out for.

Offensively they get Derrius back, a tremendous running back. He’s a big, powerful guy, a guy we liked coming out. We know the quarterback. We faced him a little bit and he can get the hot hand and get going.

Depending on what happens with their tight ends, who plays, these guys can be as good as our guys and sometimes even better. That’s who they are. So there’s enough guys to keep your eye on. This is a good football team. It’s just going to take a good week of preparation to be ready.

Here’s what Lane Johnson recently had to say about going up against Kerrigan:

“It’s a guy that you know is relentless and doesn’t stop. That’s the mentality I’m going against.”

Eagles 27, Redskins 13 – that’s my guess. Something like that. Washington has some nice defensive pieces but I can’t see their offense doing much damage. The Birds extend their lead in the third quarter for a week one win, but at some point in this game we’ll be sitting there mumbling something about Ryan Kerrigan under our breath.