November 13, 2024
On a short week and fresh off handing down a thrashing to the sinking Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles will return home to Lincoln Financial Field for another NFC East contest against the upstart Washington Commanders, this time for an outright hold on the division lead.
The Commanders have surprised a lot of people behind upstart rookie QB Jayden Daniels, but they just lost to the AFC North-leading Steelers in a down-to-the-wire finish.
The Eagles, meanwhile, are coming in as the winners of five straight, finally starting to look like the conference juggernaut they were expected to be on paper.
"And the beauty is that we still haven't scratched the surface," running back Saquon Barkley said after the win over Dallas on Sunday. "That's kind of the scary thing."
Will that lead into six straight and a spot alone atop the East?
Here's how our team is feeling...
TV: Amazon Prime (Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit, Kaylee Hartung)
RADIO: 94.1 WIP (Merrill Reese, Mike Quick)
| Sportsbook | Spread | Money Line | Total O/U |
| DraftKings | PHI -3 | WSH +145 PHI -175 | 49 |
| FanDuel | PHI -3.5 | WSH +150 PHI -178 | 49.5 |
| BetRivers | PHI -3.5 | WSH +140 PHI -175 | 49 |
| BetMGM | PHI -3 | WSH +140 PHI -165 | 49.5 |
| bet365 | PHI -3.5 | WSH +150 PHI -180 | 49 |
The Eagles have faced some quarterbacks this season who have some mobility, like Jordan Love, Baker Mayfield, Deshaun Watson, Daniel Jones, and Joe Burrow, but none of those guys have anything close to the dynamic athleticism possessed by rookie phenom Jayden Daniels. The Commanders can put points on the scoreboard, and Daniels will pose a unique challenge for the Eagles' defense, both with his arm and his legs.
However, the Commanders are an uneven team. They're ranked 25th in defensive DVOA (20th pass, 24th run), and have glaring issues at cornerback, which they rightfully acknowledged by acquiring Marshon Lattimore at the trade deadline. It doesn't look like Lattimore (hamstring) will be quite ready to make his Commanders debut, as he was unable to practice on Tuesday. We'll see.
The Eagles, meanwhile, have been the more complete team, especially of late. During their five-game winning streak, they are allowing just 200.8 yards per game and 13 points per game. Offensively, they're averaging 380.6 yards per game and 29.4 points per game.
Both teams can score. They've proven that. But I trust the Eagles' defense to get more stops.
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I was told by Shamus Clancy not to overthink this. And so I won't. The Eagles are better than the Commanders, and they are comfortable playing under the bright lights and national spotlight of primetime. I think the solid play continues for a few more weeks with the unimpressive Rams next week in L.A. The Eagles win and cover the spread here and a somewhat-rested Barkley (the first team offense got the fourth quarter off last week) helps them ice it.
Let's make some ultra-lukewarm Eagles predictions: A.J. Brown will top 100 receiving yards. Saquon Barkley will top 100 rushing yards. Jalen Hurts will rush for a touchdown at the goal line. Zack Baun will force a fumble. The Birds will win and stay atop the NFC East.
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The Commanders are improving and I think they're going to give the Eagles a decent fight. But I also think this is going to be a clear reality check for them in the schedule, on top of being the point where the Eagles clearly assert themselves as one of the NFC's best
Saquon Barkley didn't have a particularly big game against Dallas, but I can see that translate into him carrying the workload for the Eagles' offense here in another 100-plus yard performance, which will get them across the finish line and to six straight wins.
MORE: Eagles 'still haven't scratched the surface' of how good they can be
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