The Eagles (7-2) host the Washington Commanders (7-3) in a battle for the lead in the NFC East on Thursday Night Football.

Here are some key matchups to watch:

Quinyon Mitchell vs. Terry McLaurin

The Eagles’ first-round pick was one of the best rookies in the NFL this season. Quinyon Mitchell hasn’t caught a pass yet, which will likely keep him from really being in contention for Defensive Rookie of the Year, but he’s been incredibly solid from Day 1. He will have a big test on Thursday.

Mitchell has been the Eagles’ right cornerback all season, which makes for a really fun matchup against Pro Bowler Terry McLaurin. Due to Kliff Kingsbury’s aerial attack, McLaurin doesn’t really move around the formation much. Here are McLaurin’s photos by position, per PFF, this season:

LWR: 392
RWR: 28
Slot: 89

So unless there is a major change in plan for Washington in a short week, we should see a showdown between the impressive rookie and the veteran, who leads the Commanders in receiving with 47 catches for 711 yards and 6 touchdowns. McLaurin ranked third in the NFL in receiving yards behind only Ja’Marr Chase (981) and Justin Jefferson (831). The Commanders’ second leading receiver is old friend Zach Ertz; the tight end has 381 yards this year.

Vic Fangio vs. Jayden Daniels

It appears the Commanders made the second pick in this draft when they selected Jayden Daniels out of LSU. The 23-year-old is having a stellar rookie season. He has completed 68.7% of his passes for 2,147 yards with 9 TDs and 2 picks and has rushed for another 464 yards and 4 TDs. You have to keep an eye on him to pull the ball on zone reads. The Eagles need to keep an eye on him and that’s why having good linebacker play from Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean is so helpful.

He leads one of the best offenses in the NFL under Kingsbury, who did interview for the Eagles’ job this offseason. The Commanders are averaging 2.96 points per drive this season (which ranks first in the league) and they are second in EPA/play behind only the Ravens. And Daniels is a big reason why.

The Eagles have given up a lot of points on defense in recent weeks, but Daniels hasn’t coughed up the ball. He has just two interceptions and hasn’t thrown one since Oct. 6, and he hasn’t fumbled in the last nine games after coughing it up three times in the opener. It will be a tough test for the Eagles defense to take the ball away from him in this game.

Eagles run defense against Brian Robinson Jr.?

While the Commanders rank fourth in the NFL in rushing, Daniels is their leader in that category. Their top defender this season is Brian Robinson Jr., who has 461 yards in seven games. This offense is a pass-first offense, but they obviously still want to run the ball effectively. Robinson missed the Commanders’ Week 10 game with a hamstring injury and was listed as limited to start the week. So we’ll have to see if he can go on Thursday. If Robinson can’t go, the Commanders’ best defender is Austin Ekeler, who had 44 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Steelers in a tough loss on Sunday.

After some early struggles against the run this season, the Eagles have really turned it around. They are now among the top five in run defense this year and have dropped their yards per carry to an average of 4.4. The Eagles have given up just 78.2 rushing yards per game since the bye week. While some of those games were blowouts that shut down the opponent’s offense, that’s still pretty impressive. The Eagles are getting solid play against the running forwards from guys like Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Milton Williams and it keeps their linebackers clean. Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean were able to clean up and didn’t miss any tackles.

Eagles Edges vs. injured tackles

The Eagles have started Nolan Smith in three of the last four games opposite Josh Sweat. While Sweat tends to rush against left tackles, Smith lines up defensively on the left to face right tackles. This matchup also includes Bryce Huff, who has been limited in recent weeks. You remember Andrew Wylie from Super Bowl LVII. He was the Chiefs right tackle who would be the weak spot Haason Reddick had to cover. But Wylie did well in that game and the field conditions certainly didn’t help as the Eagles struggled to put pressure on Patrick Mahomes. Wylie is now in his second season with the Commanders as their right tackle. He has been solid this year, but has given up 14 pressures in nine games. He missed the Steelers game due to a shoulder injury, but was able to make limited starts this week, so there’s a chance he could return for this.

The Commanders have dealt with several injuries on their line this season, including left tackle Cornelius Lucas, who had limited starts this week with an ankle injury that has kept him out of the past two games. So both of the Commanders’ starting tackles are entering this week due to injury issues. Look for Sweat to pounce in his matchup with Lucas at left tackle or his replacement Brandon Coleman.

Overall, the Commanders have only given up 21 sacks as a team and their 30.6% pressure rate is quite good. That’s the 20th highest pressure rate in the NFL. But with a few backups, the Eagles might be able to get to Daniels a bit. But Daniels gets the ball out quickly, averaging 2.73 seconds on his time to throw.

Saquon Barkley vs. Commanders carry out the defense

Barkley needs just nine more rushing yards to reach 1,000 this season. Even on what was a slow day for him last week, he still had 78 scrimmage yards against the Cowboys on Sunday and was able to play because of a left forearm injury he suffered in the first half. The really good news about Sunday’s game is that Barkley only had 15 touches in that game, following a 30-touch performance against the Jaguars a week earlier. So as long as his arm is fine, Barkley will be fresh enough for this quick turnaround.

The Commanders’ defense was clearly their weaker unit this season. They rank 28th in run defense and 29th in yards per attempt against at 4.9 yards. They have given up more than 100 yards in all but one game this season. As dangerous as the Commanders offense has been, this could be a game where the Eagles use Barkley and stay away a bit. Of course, that’s not to say the Commanders don’t have solid players in their back seven. Future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner runs the show in defense of Dan Quinn and continues to play at a high level. They’ve paired Wagner with Frankie Luvu at linebacker and also have Jeremy Chinn there at safety.

AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith vs. Commanders cornerbacks

The Commanders told you what they thought about their cornerbacks when they traded for Marshon Lattimore at the deadline. Lattimore came to Washington with a hamstring injury and was unable to play against the Steelers on Sunday. He was a DNP starting this week, so chances are he won’t be ready for this match either. If not, the Eagles should have an advantage. If Lattimore goes out, you can assume Benjamin St-Juste, Mike Sainristil and Noah Igbinoghene will be the starters. Here’s where these three players rank on PFF’s top 109 cornerbacks of 2024:

68. Sainristil
102: Igbinogheen
105. St-Juste

The Eagles feel like they have an advantage almost every week with AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith and this week will be no different. It’s also a bit of a revenge play for Jahan Dotson, who was traded from the Commanders to the Eagles in August. Dotson hasn’t hit many targets, but he has had some explosive catches over the last two weeks.

Jordan Mailata, Lane Johnson vs. Dante Fowler

As a team, the Commanders have 27 sacks this season, which ranks ninth in the NFL. Their leader in that category is Dante Fowler with 8 1/2. Fowler also leads the team in total pressures with 31. He lines up on both sides of the defensive line so he will see right tackle Lane Johnson and the Eagles’ left tackle. There’s a good chance this is Jordan Mailata, who had his practice window activated on Monday after missing the past four weeks on IR with a hamstring injury.

The other side is veteran Dorance Armstrong, who played the first six years of his career with the Cowboys. So the Eagles know him well. Armstrong has 3 sacks and 26 pressures this season.

A few weeks ago, the Commanders lost Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen before the season to a pectoral injury. But they still have big Daron Payne clogging up the middle. Second-round rookie Johnny Newton has become a starter since the Allen injury.

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