Game Preview – PHI at WAS

Just another game. The NFC East title might be on the line this week, but Nick Sirianni is preaching to his team that this is just another game. Focus on beating Washington and don’t worry about the trappings around the game. Winning the division is certainly a goal, but Sirianni wants his players living in the moment. Beat Washington. Be the best team on Sunday and the season will take care of itself.

Washington is 9-5 and on a 2-game win streak. That follows a 3-game losing streak. They are light years ahead of last season, but still highly inconsistent. Their offense has been very good this season. They rank 6th in scoring and 5th in yards. The Eagles held them to 264 yards and 18 points in the first meeting. It will be interesting to see if Jayden Daniels and his coaches are able to make adjustments from that game.

Daniels ran for 18 yards against the Eagles. In the three games since then, he’s run for 184 yards and 2 TDs. His legs could be much more of a weapon this time around, whether by design or Daniels just tucking the ball and running. The Eagles must do a good job of rushing under control and tackling well when Daniels is out in space. Nakobe Dean had a highlight moment like that in the first game.

Nakobe Dean makes the open field tackle on Jayden Daniels to get the defense off the field. pic.twitter.com/kX2TQovF5E

— Shane Haff (@ShaneHaffNFL) November 15, 2024

The Eagles won the first game 26-18. It was 26-10 until a late TD. And remember that Jake Elliott missed 2 FGs and an extra point. The Eagles could have had a huge lead. They were sloppy and that kept Washington in the game.

One thing the Commanders did well in the first game was get the ball to Austin Ekeler in space. He had 8 catches for 89 yards. Zack Baun struggled on some of those plays. You can bet Washington will try to do that again. Baun will be better prepared this time, but stopping Ekeler in space is easier said than done.

Terry McLaurin was a non-factor in that game, going just 1-10. Kliff Kingsbury will have to move him around more if he wants to get McLaurin more involved. Quinyon Mitchell locked him up. Kingsbury prefers to be static so things move faster. I think the need to get McLaurin involved will force him to mix things up.

OG Sam Cosmi did a good job against Jalen Carter back in November. Cosmi has been dealing with an illness this week, but he did return to practice late in the week. If he’s less than 100 percent, that will make dealing with Carter even tougher.

The Eagles passing attack came alive last week. They could decide to keep throwing the ball and attacking up the field. They also could decide to get back to focusing on the run. Washington is 25th in rushing yards allowed and 28th in yards per rush allowed. The Eagles ran for 228 yards in the first meeting.

There is one key difference this time around. Washington will have CB Marshon Lattimore, who they traded for at midseason. He can be a lockdown corner when he’s at 100 percent. The Commanders could try to rely on their corners and then load up the box to play the run. It will be interesting to see how the Eagles counter this. Not many CBs shut down AJ Brown so the Eagles might go right at him.

No matter what the Eagles do, they need to get the ball to Saquon Barkley. You might remember him making some plays in the first meeting.

15) It quickly became the Saquon Barkley show to close out the game. There was nothing fancy here, but I think the Eagles had started to wear the Washington defense down and holes started to appear. Barkley is so so explosive in the open field and he turns on the jets to outrun… pic.twitter.com/n46OsR1D2Q

— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) November 18, 2024

Barkley had 198 total yards and 2 TDs back in November. He had TD runs of 23 and 39 yards. He had a catch and run for 43 yards that set up more points. Get that man the ball.

When the @Eagles get into the no-huddle run game the Commanders better lock in pic.twitter.com/xtEOmWSxZF

— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) December 19, 2024

Kellen Moore has run a lot of no-huddle this year and it has been pretty effective. The Eagles might use that a lot on Sunday to try and get Barkley going and Washington on its heels.

The Eagles have won 10 games in a row. You might think they would be having fun and living the good life. Nick Sirianni couldn’t have been more business-like at his press conferences this week. He was as boring as possible. I’m taking that as a good sign. Sirianni is trying to make sure his team is locked in and focused.

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