The last time Washington won its first three NFC East games, something the Commanders can achieve on Thursday at Philadelphia, the franchise went on to win a Super Bowl. It was another game against the Eagles, a Monday night in 1991 at RFK Stadium. Mark Rypien threw a touchdown pass to Art Monk and Earnest Byner had 95 yards and a touchdown in a 23-0 win.
Fast forward 33 years and Washington (7-3) has a battle for first place at Philadelphia (7-2) – a sentence few thought they’d be reading when the NFL released the schedule in May – on Thursday Night Football (8:15 p.m. ET, Prime Video).
“I’m excited to go to Philly in that type of atmosphere,” said superstar rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. “I heard they got very passionate fans so I can’t wait. I can’t wait to go out there and see that fanbase and just experience that. I know it’s going to be a great venue, a great site. Obviously, you know it’s going to be two teams that are playing each other for the first time, the records and stuff like that.”
Philadelphia’s 7-2 record includes a five-game winning streak. Only Kansas City (15) and Detroit (seven) have longer active streaks entering Week 11. The Eagles have found their identity and are looking to make a statement.
“We got to go out there and give our best,” said Daniels, who leads rookie quarterbacks in passing yards (2,147), rushing yards (464) and passer rating (101.7). “I know we’re going to get Philly’s best.”
Philly’s best figures to feature more of what brought the Eagles to this point, their second-ranked rushing attack (176.1 yards per game), especially against a Washington defense that ranks 28th against the run (allowing 142.7 yards per game). Saquon Barkley ranks second in the NFL in both rushing yards (991) and scrimmage yards (1,149), and should reach 1,000 rushing yards for the fourth time in his career (2018-19, 2022).
But Daniels and the Commanders have their own explosive offense. They’re tied for third in the league with 29.0 points per game and rank fourth with 377.0 total yards per game. Daniels is certainly capable of matching Jalen Hurts, although Rob Gronkowski said on the Up & Adams show that Hurts will be a nightmare for the Washington defense.
The Eagles get their first primetime game since a heartbreaking home loss to the Falcons in Week 2 but Philadelphia is a completely different team, especially on Vic Fangio’s defensive side of the ball. Since their Week 5 bye week, the Eagles own a share of the NFL’s best record (5-0) and rank first in scoring defense (13.0 points allowed per game), total defense (200.8 yards allowed per game) and passing defense (122.6), and rank second in rushing defense (78.2). They also have the reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week in Zack Baun.
Meanwhile, Hurts and the Philadelphia offense have outscored opponents by 82 points over that five-game winning streak. Building team chemistry has been the key, he said.
“I just think the constant communication and the effort in that department,” Hurts said, “from all of us and continuing to learn one another and build. I’m not satisfied by any means; there’s nothing to be satisfied about in my eyes because we’re still growing. We’re still a work in progress. There’s still so much more out there for us to accomplish. And so we just want to continue to challenge ourselves to operate at the highest level we can and be efficient and know the details and the ins and outs of what we’re doing.”
Philadelphia, which has won five of its last six games against Washington, has a 63-percent chance of winning Thursday, according to ESPN Analytics.
For more information on the Eagles and Commanders, visit the Philadelphia and Washington team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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