January 22, 2025   3 MIN READ

NFC East Beasts

ITB: Mid-Week Look at Commanders Matchup

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The battle for a spot in the Super Bowl comes down to two NFC East teams in the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders, who took very different paths to get there.

On the latest episode of “Inside The Birds,” Geoff Mosher and Adam Caplan set the initial stage for the upcoming conference title game. 

Jayden Daniels

GETTY IMAGES: Washington Commanders QB Jayden Daniels has taken the team to new heights in his rookie season.

Jayden Daniels

Geoff Mosher: “He is basically asked to be the offense, and he has played like a guy who has been in the league for five years.”

Adam Caplan: “He is a cool customer. He beats the coaches in the lot early in the morning, he’s a special kid. These guys don’t come along a lot.”

Commanders D-Line

Caplan: “They do rotate eight guys. Here are the guys you are going to see: Johnny Newton, Sheldon Day, Da’Ron Payne and (Jonathan) Allen, Clelin Ferrell, (Dante) Fowler, Dorance Armstrong who had two sacks against Detroit. It’s sort of a pass rush by committee.”

Jalen Hurts

Mosher: “The left knee, that would be soft tissue if it’s ligament oriented. That’s going to be a big storyline here going into Sunday.”

Caplan: “It’s major to me because you don’t know how well he can throw and push off that left knee. It’s the plant leg for a right-handed passer, so that’s concerning.”

Sam Cosmi/Trent Scott

Mosher: “[The Commanders’] best offensive lineman Sam Cosmi got twisted up really badly in that game against the Lions and the worst fears were confirmed: he’s out with an ACL tear. They are going to go ahead with Trent Scott, who’s a veteran. I think the Commanders are just hoping that he’s not a turnstile.”

Caplan: “Scott is a backup guard/right tackle. He has had starts at both; he is going to start here at right guard. When you lose your best lineman, there’s a major drop-off.”

Zack Baun

Mosher: “Zack Baun is now wearing the green dot. It used to be Nakobe Dean who got everybody together, knew what to do, aligned and made calls. Now it’s Zack. You can tell there were some communication breakdowns and confusion at times between (Oren) Burks and Baun and you saw that in both the run and the pass.”

Caplan: “The guy I spoke with said it was very clear. There were times that some guys were not lined up.”

Eagles Offensive Line

Mosher: “I think the Eagles offensive line needs to have its best game of the season and certainly its best game of the playoffs. The Packers didn’t come after Hurts with a bunch of blitzes, but they did show zero pressure looks and they broke down Eagles protection schemes. The Rams were not afraid to send five or six, they really did come after Hurts.”

– Benjamin Paul is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.

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