The Champs’ Way

For the first time in 21 years, the NFC East has a repeat champion, as the Philadelphia Eagles (10-5) topped the lowly Washington Commanders (4-11), 29-18, in a game that was anything but aesthetically pleasing. Still, the Eagles would eventually settle in and bully a team that were clearly overmatched. The Eagles separated in the second half, building enough of a lead to pull the starters late in the game.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts, whose third quarter touchdown strike to tight end Dallas Goedert gave him 24 on the season, a career-high, completed 22 of 30 pass attempts for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Hurts added another 40 yards on the ground. Running back Saquon Barkley rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Wide receiver A.J. Brown led the team through the air, reeling in 9 of 12 targets for 95 yards.

GETTY IMAGES: Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns in the team’s 29-18 victory.

Defensively, the Eagles blanked the Commanders in the second half until a garbage time touchdown. With Mariota leaving the game early with an injury, the Commanders turned to veteran Josh Johnson, who was unable to generate much of anything outside of a 20-yard catch-and-run to wide receiver Deebo Samuel. Johnson’s third quarter interception to defensive back Cooper DeJean — his second of the season — felt at the time like it effectively ended the game. The results that transpired shortly thereafter supported that.

Inactive for the Eagles were OLB Josh Uche, QB Sam Howell (3rd QB), CB Mac McWilliams, RB A.J. Dillon, TE/FB Cam Latu, T Lane Johnson and DT Jalen Carter. Latu (stinger) came into the game listed as questionable.

Elevated from the practice squad this week were TE E.J. Jenkins and DB Brandon Johnson. For Jenkins, Saturday’s game was his second elevation of the season. He served as Latu insurance from a blocking perspective as well as on special teams. Johnson, an undrafted rookie from Oregon, made his NFL debut. The 23-year-old logged his first NFL defensive snaps with roughly three minutes remaining in the contest.

Let’s get to the observations.

*Rough start for the Eagles, as Commanders CB Mike Sainristil popped the ball loose from RB Will Shipley on the opening kickoff, returning possession to the Commanders at the Eagles’ 26. The Vic Fangio-led defense, fresh off a shutout of the Las Vegas Raiders, forced a three-and-out and Washington opted for a 20-yard Jake Moody field goal. Curious decision for a 4-10 team to not go for broke there on fourth-and-goal from the three-yard line and try to punch it in, but the Eagles survived the turnover without much damage. Still, the one thing you can’t do against an inferior opponent is turn the football over.

*Really liked how the Eagles approached the second offensive possession, which covered 63 net yards on seven plays. Jalen Hurts was decisive in the passing game, getting the ball into the hands of wide receivers Brown and DeVonta Smith. He even threw a perfectly placed pass to Smith in the left corner of the end zone, but the fourth-year wideout was unable to bring it in. Smith redeemed himself plays later, reeling in a 5-yard pass from Hurts as he drifted toward the right corner of the end zone to give the Eagles the early lead. Hurts in the running game has been a popular topic of late, especially after coming up lame shortly before exiting the Raiders game, but he looked spry on a 14-yard pickup. His running ability unlocks another facet of the offense.

*What a revelation Brandon Graham has been. The 37-year-old picked up a late first-half sack of Marcus Mariota, giving him 79.5 for his career. It was Graham’s third sack of the season, tying OLB Nolan Smith Jr.. Graham showcased plenty of juice playing from the interior, perhaps most notably on a late second quarter Jacory Croskey-Merritt run on second-and-4 that lost a yard. Graham’s penetration forced a misdirection and LB Jihaad Campbell was there to pounce.

*Momentum is a real thing, perhaps best illustrated on the Hurts miss to a wide-open Brown along the left sideline on a third-and-11, which brought on K Jake Elliott to attempt a 43-yard field goal. It hooked wide left and gave the Commanders possession at their own 33. Mariota then connected with WR Terry McLaurin, who gained a step on CB Adoree’ Jackson, for 40 yards down the left sideline to jumpstart the drive. Crosky-Merritt capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge to give the Commanders a 10-7 lead to recapture momentum. On the ensuing Eagles drive, on a second-and-3 with 35 seconds remaining until the break, Hurts was dropped by Jacob Martin for a 9-yard loss. Hurts recovered his own fumble, but the offense was reeling. Questionable end-of-half decision making aside, Elliott missed a pair of opportunities to even the score going into halftime.

*Challenging game from a special teams perspective. Shipley fumbled — and lost — the opening kickoff and hesitated on a second quarter return that was kicked a yard deep before deciding to bring it out, though only returning it to the 20.Elliott missed the 43-yard field goal in the second quarter, which gave the Commanders possession at their own 33 and fueled the aforementioned scoring drive. Elliott also later missed a 57-yard field goal attempt wide left, though it was erased due to a Commanders’ offsides penalty. Elliott had another chance, this time from 52 yards, but the attempt also hooked wide left. In terms of coverage, however, I thought S Sydney Brown had a particularly strong showing.

*It didn’t end up hindering the Eagles from reaching the end zone, but a couple critical penalties called against RT Fred Johnson, who was called for a first half false start from the one-yard line and then again later, on a third quarter 3rd and 5 from the five, when he was tagged for a holding penalty, erasing a Jahan Dotson touchdown. Johnson has performed admirably in place of an injured Lane Johnson but lapses like that can give any listless team life. It’s also worth noting that LG Landon Dickerson was called for a false start on the “push play” on a second-and-1 from the one-yard line.

*The Eagles didn’t utilize Goedert (three targets) as frequently as they have the past two weeks, but the veteran pass-catcher reeled in a beauty of a throw from Hurts in the third quarter for his tenth touchdown of the season, tying Pete Retzlaff for a team record for most touchdowns in a season by a tight end. Nice job by Hurts navigating the pocket, stepping up and delivering a big-time throw to Goedert there. That touchdown was No. 24 on the year for Hurts, giving him the most he’s thrown in a single season.

More notes for the Eagles: The third quarter interception byDeJean was his second of the season. On the fourth quarter drive capped by a determined Barkley touchdown, Barkley cleared the 1,000-yard rushing barrier for the second consecutive season.

*On the running game: It was more of a grind-it-out game for Barkley — aside from a 48-yard highlight-reel run late — but many of his yards were hard-earned. Sure, you’d like to see a vintage Barkley performance, especially against a team in the Commanders that came into the game with the NFL’s 28th-ranked rush defense, but there were certainly bright moments. Barkley, by the way, finished with 132 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.

*Divisional games tend to be chippy, and Eagles RG Tyler Steen was disqualified with a tick over four minutes remaining, after effectively fending off about five or six Commanders. When the dust settled, Steen and the Commanders’ Quan Martin and Javon Kinlaw were tossed. It appeared as though Sainristil had a heavy hand in instigating the dust-up.

*The Eagles committed five penalties (61 yards) in this one, giving them eight over the past two games. From a third-down effectiveness standpoint, the Eagles’ offense converted 4 of 9 attempts. The Eagles officially held the ball for 34:07.

— Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com