Quinyon Mitchell didn’t know how many times he faced Terry McLaurin.

But the rookie cornerback was aware of one number from his breakthrough performance in the Eagles’ 26-18 win over the Commanders.

“I knew,” Mitchell said, “that I wasn’t really being targeted.”

How about never? Zero. Zilch. Nada. Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels did not target McLaurin on the 20 routes his top wide receiver ran when he played against Mitchell on Sunday night, according to NextGen Stats.

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On paper, Mitchell’s night didn’t look special. No fitting breaks. No turnover. Only one assist tackle. But for those who witnessed him lock up his side at Lincoln Financial Field, for the Eagles fans who watched knowingly on television, and for the millions who caught their first glimpse on the national broadcast, Mitchell was extraordinary.

He is no longer a local secret. The rest of the country now knows, along with the rest of the NFL: Mitchell is playing as well as any cornerback in the rookie class. He might be playing as well as any freshman defensive player.

“He’s a good corner,” McLaurin said. “I think he’s playing well. He doesn’t really play like a rookie.”

Mitchell failed to single-handedly close down McLaurin, who caught just one pass for 10 yards. It was a collective effort, just as Daniels – another standout rookie – and the Washington offense kept control for most of the 60 minutes.

The Eagles’ defensive front sacked the quarterback three times and pushed him out of the pocket multiple times. The off-ball linebackers kept the mobile Daniels from looking for big gains. And Mitchell and the subordinates held McLaurin and Washington receivers from explosive catches.

“This is a team effort defense right here,” Eagles cornerback Darius Slay said. “For the time I’ve been here, it’s been a D-line driven defense. But right now I feel like we have a great front, great linebackers and great back four and we’re all playing together as one.

Vic Fangio’s defense has gotten better and better every week since the bye. There was often a ‘but’ after praising the unit.

But the crimes they targeted were weak. But the quarterbacks they stifled — aside from Joe Burrow — were inferior. But… but… but…

But what about the Eagles’ defense? Washington entered with one of the league’s most efficient offenses. Daniels played like a smart veteran and not a rookie. McLaurin had 47 catches for 711 yards and six touchdowns through the first 10 games.

Surely Fangio’s young group would wither?

That didn’t happen. Until the Commanders’ final possession, Daniels was averaging just 5.9 yards per pass attempt. His receivers had just two catches combined for 13 yards. He was lured to check-down after check-down as the defensive backs denied opportunities down the field.

“We knew he was great at that,” Slay said of Daniels. “He has a strong arm, very accurate, as you saw on film. So if a quarterback is good at that, just do your best to take it away from him. And that’s why you saw him investigating it.”

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It was a masterclass from Fangio and it was his much-imitated plan at its best. If necessary, limit explosives with two high security grenades. Accepts runs against light boxes and short passes and trusts your outside linebackers to tackle the ball.

There were some early miscues. Linebacker Zack Baun was late to cover Austin Ekeler after a pair of catches out of the backfield. A few defenders struggled to bring down running back Brian Robinson.

But Fangio didn’t panic, even if the Eagles’ offense remained stagnant or Jake Elliott missed field goals. He stuck to his plan, which was to keep Daniels in the pocket and force him to throw short and into the middle of the field.

“Let him play quarterback,” Eagles safety CJ Gardner-Johnson said, “and understand that when he becomes an athlete, he becomes very dangerous. And I think we did a great job tonight of letting him play quarterback.”

Daniels was essentially a non-factor on the field. He ran for just 13 yards on six carries before Washington’s final meaningless drive. Fangio didn’t assign a defender to spy on the quarterback, Baun said, but the linebackers did keep their eyes on him in their drops.

And yet, with the Eagles holding a 12-10 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Washington was just one yard away from another set of downs at the Eagles 25. But defensive back Brandon Graham and Baun teamed up to drop Robinson for a loss in third place.

And when Commanders coach Dan Quinn nailed a 44-yard field goal and went for it on fourth down, the Eagles got the stop. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter darted into the backfield as Daniels bobbled the snap, safety Reed Blankenship forced the quarterback to the sideline and Baun was there to mop up.

“We’re an athletic defense that flies around and hits,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “As that play expanded, you could see the effort of the football and also the athleticism of the football to make that play.”

The Eagles scored on their ensuing drive when running back Saquon Barkley drove into the end zone from 23 yards out. And when Daniels finally threw downfield on his next pass, Blankenship made a diving interception to essentially seal the outcome.

It was only the second pass the quarterback threw that traveled more than 15 yards. Fangio favored his deep grenades. He also mixed in some men’s reporting. But he kept going back to one particular zone.

“There was definitely one call that we leaned on more than most in the zone,” Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean said before declining to provide more details. “We were just trying to adjust their routes in our zones, with the guys underneath creating tight windows. And then there were a few more rides where we mixed a good dose of man.’

Mitchell said the secondary only reported on McLaurin a few times. But mostly he played the receiver, who played for more than 100 yards four times in 10 previous meetings against the Eagles, straight up. McLaurin’s only catch came with DeJean in coverage, but the final corner was almost Mitchell’s game.

The two rookies were a revelation. The Eagles went years without using high-draft picks on corners. That might partly explain why they smoked mostly in the latter rounds. But they selected Mitchell and DeJean in the first two rounds in April, and early returns suggest they got both.

“Their ceiling is so high,” Slay said.

Neither is in the spotlight.

“My approach remains the same every day: come to work, study alone, study with the coaches,” Mitchell said. “I feel like everyone on the team is really hard on me. They expect better from me, and I appreciate that.”

Mitchell is still waiting for his first interception. Earlier this season, he dropped a few potential picks. Before the game, he had a long conversation with future Hall of Fame cornerback Richard Sherman, who was part of the Prime Video broadcast crew. What did he say?

“To catch the ball,” Mitchell said.

He didn’t get many chances this evening. And that was a good thing.