Sunday’s contest at the Linc finds 6-4 Philadelphia hosting 3-7 Washington in a game where Vegas favors the Eagles by -9. While not necessarily a “trap” game, I put no real credence in the odds on this one. The Eagles historically have had a hard time beating the Redskins. The two teams know each other inside out. Usually the personnel matchups even out to where the final score is often a close one, with the game being decided by one or more key plays in the second half.

Both teams have been plagued by key injuries and inconsistent performance on offense. Lately the Eagles’ offense seems to be getting better as a healthier Donovan McNabb is finding his best rhythm and coach Andy Reid is sending in more running plays to balance his attack. But Redskins’ QB Jason Campbell is still struggling with not only inferior protection from his battered line but also a running game that’s faltering due to injuries. I think Jason Campbell is a better QB than most fans realize, and someday he will be a very good QB. But right now, he’s struggling to find a way to score, and it hasn’t helped that head coach Jim Zorn and OC Sherman Smith have been second-guessed publicly by their owner over play-calling strategy and whether Campbell himself should be replaced.

According to Jason Reid of the Washington Post, the Redskins locker room is still a united one, despite the fact that the defensive unit is playing relatively well while the offensive unit takes the public blame for losses. DE Andre Carter said there was no possibility of a divided clubhouse going into Philadelphia, and WR Santa Moss publicly agreed. “We’re not a divided or dysfunctional team,” said Moss. “We’re going into Philadelphia with the intent to win. Even with a 3-7 record, we will go out there knowing we’re just a play here and there, a drive here and there, from being better than the Eagles. I think the last three weeks we’ve been coming together and playing decently…not decently enough to win some games we should have won, like the 7-6 loss to Dallas, but all we can do is build off that and try to knock off some teams ahead of us.”

It doesn’t help the ‘Skins that their top CB DeAngelo Hall and their premier DT Albert Haynesworth are questionable for Sunday. If Hall has to sit out the Eagle game due to his knee injury, then DB Carlos Rogers will join CB Fred Smoot in trying to stop McNabb’s best receivers DeSean Jackson and Jason Avant. And although Haynesworth’s ankle has improved this week, he’s still listed as questionable to play. Without Hall and Haynesworth in the lineup, McNabb may find it a little easier to get a quick start and get up early on the ‘Skins, which is what Philadelphia needs to do to establish a balanced ball-control game plan.

Zorn’s offensive line is still gimpy, with veteran tackle-guard Mike Williams trying to play on a bad ankle, and rookie guard Edwin Williams having to step up and play with the first team. Williams did a good job against the Cowboys when he had to fill in for Chad Rinehart last week after Rinehart suffered a season-ending knee injury. Other key players for Washington who are nursing injuries are LB H.B. Blades (knee) and TE Todd Yoder (toe). The loss of either player helps the Eagles’ cause, but I expect one or both of them to at least try to play as long as they can on Sunday.

The Eagles have their share of walking wounded, too. CB Sheldon Brown is still slowed by ankle and leg ailments, and I expect Campbell to test him on coverage early. CB Asante Samuel is plagued by one of those annoying neck-and- shoulder “stinger” injuries which can flare up on any given play. The Birds are also thin at LB, and will once again ask 2nd-year-man Joe Mays to step up and help out in the middle. A big key to McNabb’s success may be if LT Jason Peters can play the entire game with a foot that’s still mending, while RT Winston Justice maintains his current streak of strong performance on the right side of the line. If the O-line can hold up and give McNabb the time he needs, big plays to TE Brent Celek, WR Jeremy Maclin, Jackson and Avant should be available downfield.

The underlying drama of this game for the Eagles, of course, is the quest for a division title, which must go through the Redskins in order to keep pace with the rise of the 8-3 Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys beat Oakland on Turkey Day, while the Giants (6-5) lost to Denver. Despite the Eagles’ slow start and the agonizing loss to the Raiders earlier in the year, they’re still very much in the divisional title hunt if they can come out of Sunday’s game with a 7-4 record. A head-to-head matchup looms with Dallas as their final game of the regular season, which increasingly takes on an aura of destiny. But the immediate problem remains: getting by the Redskins is never a cakewalk for the Eagles.