It wasn’t always pretty, but the Eagles pulled off another win against the Washington Commanders in prime time on Thursday, rallying to a 26-18 win.

By securing a 1.5-game lead over the Commanders in the NFC East to start the weekend, it’s a win that will come in handy in a few weeks as the playoff picture begins to emerge.

Here’s what we learned:

NFC turns into a two-horse race?

We’re still a few weeks away from a true playoff picture coming into focus, but it’s safe to say the Eagles are starting to separate themselves in the NFC as a whole with their win over the Commanders.

Outside of the dominant Detroit Lions, there aren’t many NFC teams with a resume that can match the Eagles through 10 games. The Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Falcons have the strongest cases, with Atlanta actually having proof of beating the Eagles earlier this season to lean on. Still, the Eagles have adjusted their ceiling enough since Week 2 to feel good about a potential rematch with the Falcons and already have a win against the Packers this season.

The Vikings’ record – and their defense – puts them in a similar stratosphere to the Eagles, but there are some signs of regression to the mean after a fast start. And according to tankathon.com, Minnesota has the ninth toughest schedule compared to the Eagles coming in at 21st.

Returning to the present, the sample size of the Eagles’ last six games has now eclipsed the 2-2 start, with an international trip one of three road games in four weeks. Even looking at the season as a whole, this team entering the weekend ranked second in the conference in point differential and third in the NFL at +88. Detroit leads the NFL, and the conference could very well be through Ford Field, but the Eagles have started the race in earnest with their win.

» READ MORE: Eagles-Commanders stock guard: Saquon Barkley, defense lifts Eagles to win

Carter becomes a star

You might be interested to hear what Zach Ertz had to say about one Eagles defensive player in particular after the former Eagles star and current Washington Commanders tight end played in Philly for the first time against his old team in unfriendly colors.

“Jalen Carter is going to be one of the best defensive players in this league for a long time,” Ertz said. “He is, in my opinion, the most important cog in that defense.”

This Eagles defense is dominant enough for a handful of players to lay claim to the “key cog” label. Quinyon Mitchell has become a rarity: a rookie cornerback who opponents are hesitant to even test because he so often breaks up passes or covers the league’s best wide receivers. Zack Baun has become the engine in the middle of the team’s defense, covering the space to break up passing lanes, make key tackles and force turnovers on an almost weekly basis.

» READ MORE: Commanders’ Zach Ertz scores TD in ’emotional’ homecoming in Philly: ‘I really wanted this one’

But the anchor of the defense, perhaps the true “key cog,” as Ertz suggested, could be the player who is sometimes the hardest to quantify based on the latest stats. Carter had four solo tackles, another three combined, one for a loss. What won’t show up is the attention the second-year defensive tackle is starting to get, how often he dives into the backfield and how often he shows up for the defense in key moments of the game.

There was Carter, closing in on Commander Jayden Daniels’ quarterback late in the fourth quarter on the crucial fourth-and-2 to flush the rookie signal caller to the outside, where Baun was eager to tee off on the former LSU standout. A few plays earlier, Carter was the one to quickly get rid of a one-and-one block and drag Brian Robinson to the ground on second-and-1, right in front of the sticks.

» READ MORE: How Lane Johnson became Jalen Carter’s unlikely mentor with the Eagles

These are the kind of actions that make the opponents talk about you in the locker room after the game. These types of plays create a reputation, which puts you at the center of opposing game plans, creating opportunities for everyone else. Carter is on a roll, even if the stats don’t always suggest as much.

Appropriate game analysis

I’ve used the word “arrhythmic” more than once this season to describe the Eagles’ passing game, but it just seems to stick.

Zero turnovers is the stat that matters most (more on that later), but the inconsistent nature of the passing game was noticeable for most of Thursday night. Jalen Hurts finished 18-for-28 for 224 yards with a handful of missed opportunities, either because Hurts passed on open receivers or didn’t see them at all. Hurts tended to get nervous in the pocket and lower his eyes last Sunday against the Cowboys before settling for a solid performance. He never really came to a solution against the commanders.

He missed DeVonta Smith on a shallow crossing route on the Eagles’ second drive, seemingly while preoccupied with the rush, and had a few other miscues when AJ Brown and Smith broke free in the intermediate areas of the field. Hurts also struggled with accuracy at times, sailing a third-down pass to Brown near the sideline in the second quarter.

Which version of the Eagles passing game will emerge as the stakes rise – the opportunistic version that can leverage Saquon Barkley’s gravity for explosive downfield shots, or the uneven version on display against Washington – is one of the few lingering questions about how this team will fare. There’s still plenty of time to figure it out and provide evidence of what it might look like, but Thursday wasn’t a step in the right direction.

Up-down-drill

On, Grant Calcaterra: Remember back in the early summer when it took some legitimate projection to project Calcaterra as the Eagles’ No. 2? Calcaterra has quickly become a glue man for the offense, doing much of the dirty work in the run game, making timely plays in the passing game and being there to dive on Dallas Goedert’s fumbles to stop the Eagles’ scoring drive. to rescue. Don’t get me wrong, Calcaterra isn’t immune to defeat as a blocker in the run game, but he plays with an edge that is noticeable even from the all-22 corner or from the press most weeks. For a star-laden offense that needs role players who will play hard even with limited touches, that has real value.

Below is the use of DeVonta Smith: For the second week in a row, Smith was lightly featured in a game plan that revolved more around Barkley and Brown. Smith had six targets against the Commanders, but managed four catches for 29 yards, one week shy of logging two for 14 yards. The Eagles have typically corrected course in recent years when Smith has had a quiet game, and perhaps that comes after the mini-bye week.

» READ MORE: DeVonta Smith’s Goals Drop as Eagles Turn into a Running Team: ‘It’s Tough, but You Can’t Get Out of It’

On, Kenneth Gainwell: Gainwell had just four carries, but his 43 yards on those plays made the case for him getting a few more in support of Barkley moving forward. Especially considering Barkley had 28 touches in a short week, Gainwell’s ability to keep the shop in place will be an important development in the coming months.