Chip Kelly said he hopes the Eagles play their game in Washington as scheduled on Sunday afternoon. That’s all he and his team can do at the moment — hope that Hurricane Joaquin doesn’t alter everyone’s plans.
“We’re preparing to play on Sunday,” Kelly said. “We don’t have — there’s been nothing definitive about what’s going on. When they tell us what we’re doing, if the plan were to change, we’ll adjust accordingly. There’s been nothing told to us. We’re preparing and going out today. Today is a normal Thursday for us, just like we’re playing Sunday at 1 o’clock. If they make an adjustment, we’ll make an adjustment.”
Kelly said Eagles president Dom Smolenski has handled conversations with the league about contingency plans. There have been various reports about potential scenarios should the league choose not to play the game on Sunday as scheduled. The game could be pushed to Monday or moved to a neutral location. There was also a report that the NFL might play the game in Week 8. Both the Eagles and Washington have byes that week. Going with that option would essentially mean that neither team would have a true bye/rest week since they’ve already practiced and prepared for the upcoming game this week.
Jason La Canfora of CBS reported Thursday that both the Eagles and Redskins have been notified the game will take place in Week 4.
Another report Thursday from NFL Network's Albert Breer indicated the game could be moved to Ford Field in Detroit. The Lions are in Seattle this Sunday.
According to Weather.com, Hurricane Joaquin is “gaining strength” and is currently a Category 3 storm. At present, Weather.com models predict the storm could “directly or indirectly affect the East Coast,” though it’s uncertain whether Hurricane Joaquin will make landfall or turn to sea.
“If it does hit in some of the manner that it could hit, then it could really affect everybody — people attending the game and all that stuff,” Kelly said. “We’re big on, if we can’t control it — obviously no one can control the weather.”
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The Eagles are no strangers to weather-interrupted games. Several years ago, a game against Minnesota was moved to a Tuesday because of fear of considerable snowfall. That game — forever remembered for Joe Webb’s unlikely performance — didn’t go well for the Eagles. They lost. (But at least the Gov. got a book out of it.)
Two years ago, against Detroit at home, an unexpected snowstorm rolled in and buried both teams and the fans. It made for a memorable afternoon.
“I was told we were going to get a light dusting after halftime,” Kelly recalled with a laugh. “I remember going out at pregame and going ‘Wow, this is a little bit more than a light dusting. I don’t know what happened in that 15, 20 minutes we went into the locker room. We came back out, I couldn’t even see my feet. But you had to make do with it. No one can control it — Washington nor us can control it.”