It felt like a playoff environment Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field with first place in the NFC East on the line and the Washington Commanders in town. In a Salute to Service game, the Eagles played that kind of gritty, physical, pounding and efficient football, beating Washington 26-18 and winning their sixth straight game.

The Eagles are now 8-2, two games ahead of Washington (7-4) in the loss column. It was a great football game, a knock-down, drag-em-out NFC East Division game, and the Eagles played their brand of football: no giveaways, a suffocating defense and a fourth quarter to cherish.

Here are some observations after Thursday night’s thrilling primetime win…

1. This Eagles defense played its best game of the season

We’ve seen the Eagles make huge leaps forward defensively this season, and what they did against a Washington offense that averaged 29 points per game was beyond impressive. It was dominant. The Eagles, in their first look at quarterback Jayden Daniels, were physical, well-tackled, had great discipline and played with incredible intensity. The stop on fourth-and-2 midway through the fourth quarter, when Daniels bobbled a short and then tried to run around the right edge but was stopped by linebacker Zack Baun — with help from Reed Blankenship and others — was the highlight. But the defense simply dominated all night – Daniels had just 18 rushing yards on 7 carries, Washington gained just 93 yards on 28 carries, and wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who has had big games against Philadelphia in the past, had 1 catch for 10 carries. meter on 2 targets. Washington gained just 264 total net yards, 70 of which came during the final score when the score was 26-10.

“Great team defense,” said safety Reed Blankenship, who had his third fourth-quarter interception of the season. “We were well prepared, played as a team and were good at our assignments. A lot of respect for that attack, but we just played as one tonight.”

2. The fourth quarter belonged to the Eagles – as it has for much of the season

It took a while, but once the Eagles got going, they didn’t stop. Philadelphia outscored Washington 20-8 in the fourth quarter, with touchdown drives of 11 plays, 76 yards, then 5 plays and 74 yards, and then 2 plays and 46 yards, and the defense came up with a stop on downs and then the Blankenship interception. Want a great song? The Eagles have outscored opponents 88 to 43 in the fourth quarter of games this season. Speaking of finishing strong…

3. Wash, Rinse, Repeat – Saquon Barkley is a special, special player

We see it every week and it’s becoming more and more amazing to watch: Saquon Barkley is as good as it gets. More numbers: Barkley had 26 carries for 146 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including the 39-yarder that was just a cut and a sprint to the end zone to put the Eagles ahead 25-10, and a 23-yarder to the right side corner that fell earlier in the fourth quarter. Barkley now has 1,137 rushing yards this season, a wowwowow number, and he is averaging 5.8 yards per carry with eight rushing touchdowns. Oh, and Barkley had two receptions for 52 yards, putting him a whopping 198 yards from scrimmage tonight. Barkley has 23 receptions for 210 yards and a pair of touchdowns as a receiver.

“With those guys (the offensive line) up front, it’s easy to get stronger because they take a lot of the load and lean on those guys and just continue to trust them, continue to trust the plan and try to make it right .” read because they do a great job,” Barkley said.