In a showdown to determine the best team in the NFC East, the Eagles left no doubt.

After a slow start and three missed Jake Elliott kicks, the Eagles pulled away in the second half and rode a monumental defensive performance against rookie phenom Jayden Daniels and the Commanders to a 26-18 win over their lone division challenger in the Linc. The Eagles scored three points in the first half, 23 in the second.

Eagles 8-2.
Commanders 7-4.

Washington needed a Zach Ertz touchdown with half a minute left to make the score look respectable. But this was a hit.

That’s six wins in a row since a 2-2 start. This team is HOT.

They meet again on December 22 in Landover, Maryland. It doesn’t matter.

1. For me, this game came down to three plays midway through the fourth quarter. Washington, trailing 12-10, had a 2nd-and-1 at the Eagles’ 25-yard line. In second place, Jalen Carter and Nakobe Dean filled Brian Robinson without a win. Combination tackle from Georgia. On third down, BG and Zack Baun held Robinson off again for a loss of one. Dan Quinn decides to go for it on 4th and 2 and again Baun makes the stop while Reed Blankenship races across the field to support him. Eagles ball. It’s one thing to play that kind of defense against the Browns or Giants or Jaguars or Cowboys. But to do it against Washington and their fourth-ranked offense? Just huge.

2. It was such a consistently efficient stretch for Jalen Hurts that it was certainly disheartening to see him struggle for much of the match. He had just left. Especially on big moments, big third downs, key plays. The Commanders have a good secondary, but Hurts struggled to get into any kind of rhythm. And then… again… he woke up. Hurts went 10-for-19 for 101 yards in the first half and then 8-for-9 for 120 yards in the second half. That’s the kind of rebounding we’ve come to expect from Hurts. Things weren’t always pretty on Thursday nights, but when he had to make plays, Hurts made plays. We see it again and again. Whatever goes wrong early, Hurts fights through it and makes plays when he has to. Hurts’ final numbers weren’t special, but he eventually finds a way. And that’s all that matters.

3. I’ll tell you what: holding the Commanders to 18 points and 264 yards is more impressive than anything this defense has done in the last five weeks against second-tier teams and low-octane offenses. This is the fourth-ranked offense in the NFL, averaging 29 points per game, and the defense has been tremendous. Gave up a touchdown on a 58-yard drive on Washington’s second possession and then held the Commanders to three points and 151 yards on their next eight drives. Once again the coverage was next level. The pressure was excellent, with the Eagles getting sacks from Nolan Smith, Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat. Other than a few big plays that Austin Ekeler made in the passing game, they handled it well. Amazing Quinyon Mitchell held Terry McLaurin to one innocent catch. And Jalen Carter, my God, he’s a monster. I don’t care if it shows up in the stats, but his ability to disrupt offensively is scary. This defense has no obvious weakness, and they only held one of the top offenses in the NFL to 209 yards and chased Jayden Daniels to his worst game as a pro: 13-for-21 for 146 yards, a 62.8 passer rating and passing his third interception of the season – a Reed Blankenship shout with five minutes left. This defense is scary good.

4. Saquon Barkley is a beast. My goodness. After three quarters, I scribbled down Barkley’s stats: 20-for-69. That’s a modest 3.5 yards per carry. It just wasn’t his day. I was surprised the Eagles couldn’t get him going against a pretty weak 28th-ranked Washington defense. So what happens then? Barkley is the best end-of-game running back I’ve ever seen. He’s just getting stronger and stronger as the game goes on, and the Eagles’ offensive line is only weakening the defensive lines. In the fourth quarter, Barkley runs six times for 77 yards and two long touchdowns — 23 and 39 yards 20 seconds apart after Blankenship’s interception. He finished 26-for-146 and another monster game. Not to mention 52 receiving yards for 198 scrimmage yards. Flat beast. Here’s what I love: Even when the running game isn’t working, Kellen Moore stays with it. Keeps harping on it. We’ve seen our fair share of coaches in this region simply give up on the running game if it doesn’t produce immediate results. Ultimately, with this back and this o-line, it’s only a matter of time. As a team, the Eagles finished with 39 carries for 229 additional yards and three touchdowns. You can’t stop them.

5. I also thought it was a great job by Kellen Moore to change and give Kenny Gainwell a ton of carries on that third quarter touchdown drive. Barkley hadn’t gotten going yet and was only averaging 3.5 yards per carry, but from a 1st and 10 at the Washington 38, Gainwell gained 14, 13 and 7 yards to set up the go-ahead touchdown, a Hurts keeper. to make. Gainwell is a talented back who has backed up three Pro Bowl running backs in his four-year career, and he knows how to stay ready, and he gave the offense a dimension of speed and elusiveness that Washington wasn’t prepared for. As a play caller, you need to have the flexibility that no matter how big of a star someone is or how much he or she gets paid, if a small change can help, you do it. Gainwell finished with 43 yards on just four carries, but they were four huge carries. And after Gainwell’s little run, Barkley came back and took over.

6. One of my favorite plays was Nakobe Dean’s tackle on Jayden Daniels on a 3rd and 5 at the Washington 12-yard line late in the first quarter. Daniels is a big, fast, strong runner and difficult to take down on his own, but Dean wasn’t fooled by a few Daniels punches and made a sure solo tackle, stopping Daniels ten feet short of the sticks. That was a situation where Washington was already up 7-0 and if they convert there after the Eagles pinned them back on their own 4-yard line, who knows what happens next? But Dean made sure no one found out. It’s easy to overlook Dean’s play because the other linebacker, Zach Baun, has been so good. And on Thursday he was incredible again. But Dean’s patience for the Eagles while he was a rookie and injured last year is paying off. In year 3 Dean was great.

7. Jayden Daniels is having a great rookie season and is shaping up to be a great quarterback. But this was a welcome-to-the-NFL game for the 23-year-old kid. The final stats were inflated by that late drive, but the Eagles gave him nothing. Their coverage was impeccable. Again. Austin Ekeler converted a few short passes into big gains, but Daniels didn’t complete a pass to a wide receiver for more than 10 yards, averaged 5.9 yards per pass attempt, managed just 18 rushing yards on seven carries and got just never go anywhere. These Eagles secondary are playing at such a high level right now – all of them – that there simply aren’t any open receivers on the field. Mitchell absolutely shut down McLaurin, and he is Daniels’ favorite target. When Daniels called time, they fired him. And Blankenship became just the third player to pick him this year. The scary thing about this secondary is that they have only played six games together. Cooper DeJean replaced Avonte Maddox before the Browns game, so this is a young group that keeps getting better and that won’t stop.

8. Are you getting tired of me writing about Zack Baun? I don’t care, I’m not going to stop. The man is currently playing at an insane level. I ran into Malcolm Jenkins before the game, and Jenkins and Baun were teammates in 2020 and 2021 with the Saints, and Jenkins said he could see Baun’s athleticism right away. “Demario Davis is one of the most athletic linebackers I’ve been around, and Baun reminded me a little bit of him just because of how athletic he was. For Zack, it was just a matter of getting into the right system and dealing with coaches who know how to use him, and he certainly has that now, and it was fun to watch. What this guy is doing now is amazing. Play after play after play. He’s playing his way into the NFL Defensive MVP conversation.

9. One game at a time and all that nonsense, but I don’t care – let’s look at the rest of the season. The Eagles are 8-2 and taking care of business against the Panthers, Cowboys and Giants will give them 11 wins. Their other opponents: The Rams Sunday night in Inglewood, the Ravens, Steelers and Washington again. Go 2-2 in that four and you’re at 13-4. Would that be enough for the No. 1 seed? The Lions are 8-1 and have some tough games on the schedule – Packers, Bills, 49ers, Vikings – along with the Jaguars, Colts and Bears twice. The Lions are very good and have won seven in a row since losing to the Bucs. But I really think the No. 1 seed is within reach. I know we’re not supposed to get that far ahead, but if the Eagles can beat the teams they’re supposed to beat and surrender the Lions somewhere along the line, the Eagles can certainly lay claim to that top seed. The Lions are currently the favorite, but not exactly. The 7-2 Vikings are also in the mix, but I think the Lions are the team the Eagles should face.

10. No idea what’s going on with Jake Elliott, but he certainly doesn’t seem like himself lately. This season, he was the ninth-most accurate kicker in NFL history at 87 percent (minimum 100 attempts), and he had made 16 of his last 18 from 50 yards going back to 2020. But he’s just been bad this season. year. With Thursday night misses of 44 and 51 yards and a missed PAT — as well as shots of 21 and 33 — he is now 14-for-19 on the year and 0-for-4 from 50 yards and out after shooting 71 percent of his 50 made. -yarders in his first seven seasons. His five misses this year are equal to his total of misses from 2022 and 2023 combinedwhen he was 50-for-55. He now has as many misses in the last six games as he did in his previous 43 games. And at 73.7 percent, he ranks 29th among the 31 kickers who have made at least ten field goals this year. That’s the last place you’d expect to see him. He is one of the best in NFL history. But he’s human and it happens. It’s just never happened to him before. My feeling is that he is doing well. But this was ugly.

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