The only thing guaranteed for the Commanders is the team’s first winning season in eight years. So, don’t sleep on Washington. The franchise has too much at stake.
The Commanders (9-5) weren’t guaranteed a win last week when they took a 20-7 fourth-quarter lead in New Orleans, then endured a bit of end-of-game voodoo to survive the Saints, 20-19. And heading into their NFC East battle with Philadelphia (12-2) on Sunday at Northwest Stadium (1 p.m. ET, FOX), they’re not guaranteed a playoff berth. Geno Smith and the Seahawks (8-6) are poised to pounce on the NFC’s No. 7 seed should Washington lose.
Maurice Jones-Drew knows all about late-season upsets. In 2007, his Jaguars went into Pittsburgh and handed the Steelers a late-season 29-22 loss. The win springboarded Jacksonville to the divisional round of the playoffs. This week, he likes Jayden Daniels to end the franchise-record 10-game winning streak authored by Jalen Hurts and the Eagles.
“In the rematch, Daniels elevates his game and scores five total touchdowns (two rushing, three passing) to outduel Hurts and keep the Commanders’ playoff aspirations alive,” Jones-Drew predicted.
Daniels isn’t held back by the rib injury that limited him in teams’ first meeting a month ago, when the Eagles beat the Commanders, 26-18. He’s able to better push the ball downfield to his favorite target, Terry McLaurin, whose 857 receiving yards against the Eagles are the most in his career against a single opponent.
Daniels enters the game with 3,045 passing yards and 656 rushing yards. He’s the fourth rookie in NFL annals with at least 3,000 passing yards and 500 rushing yards, following former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III (2012), Kyler Murray (2019) and Cam Newton (2011). This week, he needs 44 rushing yards to join Griffin (815 in 2012) and Newton (706 in 2011) as the only rookie quarterbacks in NFL history to reach 700.
For more information on the Commanders and Eagles, visit the Washington and Philadelphia team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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