Who plays on Sunday Night Football tonight in Week 17? The Washington Football Team heads to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in the NFL regular season finale to see who finally clinches the NFC East title.
Here is more information on where, when, and how you can watch tonight’s NFL game. We also provide a preview and prediction of tonight’s tilt and a 2020 Sunday Night Football Schedule breakdown. For more info on the current playoff race, look no further than Pro Football Network!
Who plays on Sunday Night Football tonight?
- Game: Washington Football Team at Philadelphia Eagles
- Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Lincoln Financial Field
How to watch tonight’s game | Start time, TV channel, and live stream
- Date: Sunday, January 3rd
- Time: 8:20 PM ET
- Channel: NBC
- App: NBC Sports App
Sunday Night Football tonight Week 17 | What to expect from Washington and Philadelphia
Utter chaos coming to a close
Who plays Sunday night football tonight? The NFC East finally settles itself with a showdown between the Washington Football Team and Philadelphia Eagles. The NFC East has been tumultuous, to say the very least. Up until last week, every single team still had a path to the division crown. Had Washington won last week, they would have a chance to go .500 for the season.
However, the loss to Carolina in Week 16 means a win will put them at 7-9. It would also make them the first team with a losing record to make the playoffs since the 2015 Carolina Panthers, who went 7-8-1. The good news for Washington is that they have one of the greatest commodities in football for a contender — a solid defense.
Washington’s stellar defense fuels its playoff hopes
The front four of Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, and soon-to-be NFC Defensive Rookie of the Year Chase Young is wreaking havoc across the league. Those four alone are responsible for 19.5 of Washington’s 44 sacks this season. They also account for just over a third of Washington’s 91.5 tackles for loss.
Their linebackers are also in on the action, and DBs Ronald Darby and Kendall Fuller anchor down the secondary for this stout defensive unit. The issues come on the other side of the ball, where QB has been the most unstable position this season, one of the worst commodities in football for a contender.
QB Alex Smith has been practicing this week after missing the last two games with a calf strain, but it’s still not a guarantee that he plays. Washington cut ties with QB Dwayne Haskins last week after a week of nightmares for the young signal-caller, ending in a poor performance in Week 16. Should Smith not be ready come game time, Washington will turn to former Old Dominion QB Taylor Heinicke, who was solid during clean-up duty last week.
Will Jalen Hurts be able to continue his magical run?
While it hasn’t necessarily resulted in wins, rookie QB Jalen Hurts has impressed so far during his four-week starting stint in Philadelphia. He’s thrown for 971 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions, while also adding 320 yards on the ground. It has been an injection of life into a struggling Eagles offense, but this is shaping up to be his toughest test of that stint.
The New Orleans Saints have a fantastic defense but came up as a dud in their Week 14 matchup against Hurts and the Eagles. With a playoff berth on the line, Washington will not be taking Philadelphia lightly. Couple that with how athletic this Washington defense is, and it doesn’t seem as likely for Hurts to find the same success he did against New Orleans.
Score Prediction: Washington wins 20-14
While Washington’s offense is struggling, this game is going to come down to who’s available. If WR Terry McLaurin and RB Antonio Gibson are good to go, then Washington should rely on the ground game and defense to will them this win.
Sunday Night Football Schedule: September
- Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams – September 13th
- New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks – September 20th
- Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints – September 27th
Sunday Night Football Schedule: October
- Philadelphia Eagles at San Francisco 49ers – October 4th
- Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks – October 11th
- Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers – October 18th
- Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals – October 25th
Sunday Night Football Schedule: November
- Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles – November 1st
- New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – November 8th
- Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots – November 15th
- Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders – November 22nd
- Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers – November 29th
Sunday Night Football Schedule: December
- Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs – December 6th
- Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills – December 16th
- Cleveland Browns at New York Giants – December 20th
- Tennessee Titans at Green Bay Packers – December 27th
January 2021
- Washington Football Team at Philadelphia Eagles – January 3rd