Game Preview – Playoffs – WAS at PHI

Posted: January 25th, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 2 Comments »

Another week, another rematch. Or would this be a re-rematch? The Eagles and Commanders will square off for the third time this season. This game will be slightly more important. Instead of bragging rights or gaining advantage in the standings, the winner gets a trip to the Super Bowl.

The teams split in the regular season so we don’t have to worry about hearing how hard it is to beat a team three times in one season. The Eagles had the better record in the regular season. They have more overall talent. But Washington has the hotter QB and that can make all the difference in the world. Rookie Jayden Daniels sliced and diced a battered Lions defense last week. WAS won the game 45-31. This is clearly a special player, rookie or not.

Coach Dan Quinn has been uber-aggressive all year and that has built in a lot of confidence in his team. They didn’t panic when the Eagles led them 21-7 in Week 16. They battled back and won that game 36-33. WAS didn’t panic last week when the Lions offense got off to a hot start. They matched score for score until they broke the game wide open. Quinn’s team believes in itself and that makes them dangerous.

The biggest storyline for this game will be Vic Fangio vs Jayden Daniels. You have the old coach against the young star. Does Fangio have some tricks up his sleeve that will get the best of the rookie? Is Daniels so special that he’s going to foil Fangio’s plans, like the Roadrunner vs Wile E. Coyote?

I re-watched the Week 16 game to see how Washington was so good. They had 14 points at the end of the third quarter. Daniels made huge plays and the Eagles made key mistakes down the stretch. It also hurt that CJGJ wasn’t in the game. He had been ejected earlier. It is still mind-blowing that he was kicked out for words. Buddy Ryan must have rolled over in his grave at the thought of that.

Daniels killed the Eagles with his legs, going 9-81 on the ground. He ran for 5 yards on 4th & 4. That hurt. He ran for 29 yards on 4th &11. That was a killer. The pass rush was disciplined. Daniels just made plays.

Fangio might try to use a spy. At the least, he’ll tell the second level defenders to focus more on Daniels as a runner. In the first game, Daniels had a rib injury and wasn’t the same as a runner. He only went 7-18 in that meeting. He was very different in the rematch and it seemed to catch the Eagles off guard. Sometimes you have to experience a player’s elusiveness and speed to truly appreciate it. Maybe that’s what happened.

The Eagles must limit big plays. They gave up a 32-yard TD pass to Terry McLaurin, a 49-yard TD pass to Olmaide Zaccheaus and the 29-yard run to Daniels. That run led to a short TD. Three big plays, 21 points.

The McLaurin play came on a blitz. Daniels was under pressure and made a sensational throw. Quinyon Mitchell guessed the pass would be at the sticks instead of deep and his biting up on the route left McLaurin wide open deep. The Zaccheaus TD was a botched play. The Eagles had confusion about who was supposed to be on the field. Darius Slay ran off and Oz was wide open.

I expect the Eagles to be better prepared this time. They have seen WAS at their best. They know what that offense is capable of. CJGJ won’t get ejected. He’s toned down his talking and emotions since that incident. He’s still making plays so it hasn’t hurt his game.

WAS had success with getting the ball to Austin Ekeler in the first game. He was 8-89 as a receiver and proved to be a tough matchup for the LBs. WAS has been using empty sets effectively in recent weeks. They will give the Eagles different groupings and looks to stress the defense.

WAS runs far and away the most no-huddle in the league. That can stress a defense. It can also tire the pass rush. Jalen Carter is playing more than 90 percent of the snaps. You wonder if Carter will wear down. Will he be as effective late in the game?

The Eagles pass rush must win their share of battles.

Rushers must stay under control. The one place you don’t want to be is behind Daniels. That gives him space and he will take off. Rushers need to play with good lane integrity. LG Sam Cosmi is out. We think Trent Scott will replace him. There was talk of possibly moving other linemen around, but the guess is Scott at LG. That will be a tough matchup for him since that is Carter’s spot. WAS will double Carter as much as possible. That means Milton Williams will have chances to make plays. The edge rushers will need to contain Daniels and pressure him.

We know coverage and rush work hand-in-hand. The corners will need to come up big. Mitchell did a number on McLaurin in the first game so WAS moved him around more in the next game. I think WAS will also try to get Ekeler and Oren Burks matched up in space. Ekeler is a tough matchup for all the Eagles LBs. Old friend Zach Ertz is key on third/fourth downs and in the red zone. The Eagles must have a good plan for him in those situations.

Commanders RBs haven’t had much success vs  the Eagles this season, going 36-107. Take away their long run of 18 and you have 35 carries for 89 yards. The Eagles need to keep that kind of defense up. It puts more pressure on Daniels. If the defense can take away something, it makes things that much easier on them.

The Eagles aren’t going to shut down WAS. They just need some key stops. WAS has one punt in the last two games. They move the ball really well and go for it on fourth down a lot. The Eagles must tackle well in this game. Every yard you give up to them can hurt. You want tough situations where Quinn can’t go for it.

The other storyline in this game is Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense. Hurts injured his knee in the win over the Rams. He will play on Sunday. You just wonder how good he will be. If you take away his mobility, Hurts isn’t the same QB. Hurts doesn’t need to be 100 percent to win this game. He’s a tough, competitive player. He knows the season is on the line and will do everything he can to help his team win.

Hurts was 18-28-221 in the win over WAS. He was 1-4-11 in the rematch, before being knocked out of the game with a concussion. He did run for 41 yards in that game. Kenny Pickett finished that game and was 14-24-143.

The Commanders faced the second fewest pass attempts this season. They gave up the third fewest yards. But they were 19th in opposing passer rating. Teams were able to run the ball effectively so they didn’t have to throw. WAS was 30th in rush yards allowed. They were 28th in yards per carry allowed.

Saquon Barkley was 26-146-2 and 29-150-2 in the two games vs WAS this season. The second game was odd, though. Barkley ran for 109 of those yards in the first quarter. With Hurts out of the game, the Commanders played the run very aggressively and dared Pickett to beat them. He couldn’t. WAS gave up 201 yards on the ground last week. The Lions got away from the ground game and that hurt them. Expect the Eagles to try to run the ball a lot.

The Eagles are going to have to throw to win this game. Every part of the passing game must be better than last week: play-calling, protection, passing, catching. Weather won’t be a major factor. This will be about execution.

AJ Brown only has 3 catches over the past two weeks. I’ll be disappointed if he doesn’t have that many in the first half against WAS. Kellen Moore knows Brown is the key to the passing game and the Eagles have to get him the ball. DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert will have favorable matchups and will need to win those.

Hurts must come through in this game. WAS will likely focus on stopping Barkley. That means Hurts has to beat the defense with his legs and his arm. Hurts can still be a high-level passer. He was 25-32-290 against the Steelers. He’s got to make smart reads and good decisions. And accurate throws.

Marshon Lattimore and Brown had a real battle in Week 16. Brown was 8-97-1 and drew three PI calls. But Lattimore did break up a pass in the end zone that proved to be crucial. Brown has a dinged up knee so we’ll have to see he can be as effective or if this levels the playing field a bit.

WAS has a defense that is at its best when making plays. They aren’t going to consistently shut down an offense. WAS gave up 521 yards and 31 points last week. They only gave up 284 yards to Tampa, but the Bucs scored on 4 of 7 possessions. The problem in that game is that the Bucs D couldn’t get off the field.

The Commanders have some good DL. Daron Payne is outstanding when he’s healthy. He is banged up this week so we’ll have to see how effective he is. Payne only has 1 tackle and 1 QB hit so far in the playoffs. DT Jonathan Allen is back. I’ve always thought highly of him. He had a couple of QB hits last week. Dante Fowler led the team with 10.5 sacks this year and is disruptive.

The guy that is the real key is Frankie Luvu. He is a LB/DE. He had 10 tackles, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits in the first game. Luvu then had 7 tackles, 2 TFLs and an INT in the second meeting. He also had the hit that knocked Hurts out of the game. Luvu is a disruptor. He can fly off the edge. He can make hustle plays. The pick was a well-executed play where he faked one way and got into the passing lane. Hurts better know where Luvu is on every snap.

This would be a great time for the OL to have a dominant performance and for Barkley to have another huge game. You want to put WAS on their heels and run at them over and over. They had no answer for outside runs by Jahmyr Gibbs last week. I have no idea why Detroit started throwing the ball and got away from feeding him. Barkley needs to be a busy man on Sunday.

I think the Eagles will run and throw well enough to put up points. WAS has some playmakers, but the defense needs more talent before they can be the kind of unit they really want to. That said, Hurts has to do his part. If he and the offense are sloppy, I don’t know that they win this game. WAS is going to score some points. It won’t be 45, but it also won’t be 7 or 10. The Eagles need to put up at least 24 points to feel comfortable.

WAS has used some creative fronts and aggressive looks to bother the Eagles. Jeff Stoutland and Moore can study the two games and the Commanders two playoff games to try to get a good feel for what they’ll do. They better have answers for the blitz.

Homefield advantage favors the Eagles. Experience favors the Eagles. Overall talent favors the Eagles. Defense favors the Eagles. But…WAS has Daniels and a team that believes. That is a dangerous combination.

It is possible that last week’s win over the Lions could have them over-confident. WAS controlled most of that game. That won’t happen this week. The Eagles aren’t going to turn the ball over 5 times and play bad defense. WAS will have a tougher time moving the ball and scoring points.

I think the Eagles are going to win, but the Commanders will be relentless. They already came back from a 21-7 deficit to beat Philly in December. They were down 26-10 in the first game and scored a late TD to cut it to 26-18. The Eagles had to recover an onside kick to put that game away. This feels like a 60-minute battle and a game that will be full of ups and downs.

Get ready for a wild game.

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2 Comments on “Game Preview – Playoffs – WAS at PHI”

  1. 1 The Linc - Saquon Barkley primed to feast on the Commanders’ defense - SportSourcio said at 11:04 AM on January 26th, 2025:

    […] Game Preview – Playoffs – WAS at PHI – Iggles Blitz […]

  2. 2 Eagles News: Saquon Barkley primed to feast on the Commanders’ defense – Zion Tech Group said at 11:41 AM on February 5th, 2025:

    […] Game Preview – Playoffs – WAS at PHI – Iggles BlitzI expect the Eagles to be better prepared this time. They have seen WAS at their best. They know what that offense is capable of. CJGJ won’t get ejected. He’s toned down his talking and emotions since that incident. He’s still making plays so it hasn’t hurt his game. WAS had success with getting the ball to Austin Ekeler in the first game. He was 8-89 as a receiver and proved to be a tough matchup for the LBs. WAS has been using empty sets effectively in recent weeks. They will give the Eagles different groupings and looks to stress the defense. WAS runs far and away the most no-huddle in the league. That can stress a defense. It can also tire the pass rush. Jalen Carter is playing more than 90 percent of the snaps. You wonder if Carter will wear down. Will he be as effective late in the game? The Eagles pass rush must win their share of battles. […]