It wasn’t necessarily pretty on Saturday. But the Philadelphia Eagles are NFC East champions.
The Eagles rallied from a 10-7 halftime deficit against a Washington Commanders team playing without starting quarterback Jayden Daniels for a 29-18 win.
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With the win, Philadelphia clinched the NFC East title for a second consecutive season. And they officially eliminated the Dallas Cowboys from the playoff picture.
The Cowboys entered Sunday with long-shot hopes of rallying to the postseason. But they needed to win their remaining three games and have the Eagles lose out to overtake them for the NFC East title. Saturday’s Eagles win eliminated that scenario, and the 6-7-1 Cowboys don’t have a path to the playoffs as a wild-card team.
The Eagles, meanwhile, can celebrate a rare occurrence in the modern NFC East. They’re the first team since the 2004 Eagles to repeat as NFC East champions.
Eagles rally from ugly start for dominant win
A beleaguered Washington defense gave Philadelphia fits in a poor first half for the Eagles that was exacerbated by multiple missed field goal attempts from kicker Jake Elliott. And the Commanders built an early lead with backup quarterback Marcus Mariota playing for Daniels, who’s shut down for the season with Washington eliminated from the postseason.
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But Mariota left the third quarter with a hand injury as Washington maintained a 10-7 lead. The Eagles took a 14-10 lead on their ensuing possession and took over the game as third-string Commanders quarterback Josh Johnson struggled mightily against Philadelphia’s defense.
Johnson threw an interception on his first possession to set up another Eagles touchdown, and the rout was on. The only other notable action from there was a late-game scuffle that resulted in the ejections of Eagles guard Tyler Steen, Commanders defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and safety Quan Martin.
The late-game dramatics could set the tone for a rematch between these teams in Week 18. But they had no impact on the outcome of Saturday’s game as the Eagles won comfortably despite a late touchdown from the Commanders to close the gap.
Saquon Barkley continued his late-season resurgence to lead the Eagles offense with 132 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. Jalen Hurts had an efficient effort at quarterback, completing 22 of 30 passes for 185 yards with 2 touchdowns and no turnovers.
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Eagles-Commanders start time: 5 p.m. ET
Location: Northwest Stadium | Landover, Maryland
TV channel, live stream: Fox, NFL+
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more as the Eagles and Commanders face off in a Week 16 NFC East showdown.
Live29 updates
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 5:00 PM PST
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Sat, December 20, 2025 at 4:52 PM PST
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The game got chippy after the Eagles last touchdown. Eagles’ Tyler Steen and Commanders’ Javon Kinlaw and Quan Martin got ejected after the scuffle.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 4:49 PM PST
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Philadelphia running back Tank Bigsby finishes off the Eagles’ latest drive with a touchdown.
Saquon Barkley started the drive with a big gain before finishing off Bigsby’s touchdown with a two-point conversion.
Barkley has rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown so far in the game. The Eagles lead the Washington Commanders 29-10.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 4:44 PM PST
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Before the game, Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley rushed for 940 yards and six touchdowns this season.
Barkley has rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown so far on 21 carries against the Washington Commanders.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 4:38 PM PST
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The Commanders take possession of the ball after an Eagles punt.
The Eagles lead 21 – 10 against the Washington Commanders.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 4:26 PM PST
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Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley capitalizes after Cooper DeJean’s interception put the Eagles in scoring position.
Barkley has 76 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. The Eagles lead 21 – 10 against the Washington Commanders.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 4:23 PM PST
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The Washington Commanders are scoreless so far in the second half. Josh Johnson has come in at quarterback for an injured Marcus Mariota.
Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert scored the only points in the third quarter.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 4:17 PM PST
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Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean ended Josh Johnson’s first drive with an interception. It was DeJean’s second interception of the season.
Johnson was 1 of 4 for 20 yards. The Eagles lead the Commanders 14-10.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 4:12 PM PST
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39-year-old Josh Johnson is replacing Marcus Mariota at quarterback for the Washington Commanders.
Mariota cleared concussion protocol but is questionable to return with a right hand injury.
Mariota was 7 of 14 for 95 yards before he went down. Mariota was replacing Jayden Daniels, who is out for the rest of the season.
With Sam Hartman on the practice squad, Johnson is the only other quarterback if Mariota can not return.
The Eagles lead the Commanders 14-10.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 4:07 PM PST
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Despite multiple penalties backing up the Eagles after they got to the one-yard line, Philadelphia was still able to score.
Jalen Hurts threw it only where tight end Dallas Goedert could come down with it on a 16-yard touchdown.
The Eagles lead the Commanders 14-10.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 3:56 PM PST
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Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean is out for the rest of the game with a hamstring injury, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Dean has 53 tackles, 4 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in 10 games this season.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 3:50 PM PST
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After the drive ended for the Washington Commanders, quarterback Marcus Mariota went into the injury tent and went to the locker room. Mariota had a towel over his right hand.
Mariota is 7 of 14 for 95 yards.
Mariota is filling in for Jayden Daniels, who is out for the rest of the season. If Mariota can’t return, Josh Johnson will play quarterback for the Commanders.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 3:40 PM PST
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The Eagles have been unable to capitalize after a productive first half on offense.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts is 12/17 for 112 yards and a touchdown to Devonta Smith. Hurts has also run for 36 yards on four attempts.
Wide receiver AJ Brown has eight catches for 86 yards. Running back Saquon Barkley continues to have a slow start this season. Barkley has nine rushes for 40 yards.
The Eagles have missed out on a lot of opportunities to score. Eagles kicker Jake Elliott missed two field goals in the first half. Eagles running back Will Shipley fumbled on the opening possession, which led to a Commanders field goal.
Marcus Mariota is 6 of 10 for 71 yards. Three of his passes have been caught by Terry McLaurin. Bill Croskey-Merritt scored the team’s only touchdown of the game.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 3:29 PM PST
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Philadelphia Eagles kicker Jake Elliott has continued to struggle this season. Elliott missed two field goals in the first half against the Commanders.
Elliott only has an extra point in the game. Elliott has now missed field goals in 4 of the last 5 games.
The Commanders lead 10-7 at the half.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 3:13 PM PST
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After multiple attempts near the goal line, the Washington Commanders drive it in on Bill Croskey-Merritt touchdown.
The Commanders take a 10-7 lead late in the second quarter.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 3:02 PM PST
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Philadelphia’s drive was stalled by a missed field goal by Eagles kicker Jake Elliott. Elliott has now missed field goals in 4 of the last 5 games.
The Eagles lead the Commanders 7-3.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 2:51 PM PST
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Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham ends the Washington Commanders’ possession and the first quarter with a sack.
This was Graham’s third sack in his last two games. He had two last week against the Raiders. Graham, 37, came out of retirement in October.
The Eagles lead the Commanders 7-3.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 2:41 PM PST
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Devonta Smith made up for a dropped touchdown earlier in the possession with his six-yard touchdown.
Smith’s touchdown was set up by a Jalen Hurts scramble, multiple catches by wide receiver AJ Brown and a run by running back Saquon Barkley
The Eagles lead the Commanders 7-3 in the first quarter.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 2:29 PM PST
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Offensive holding takes back what would have been a first down for wide receiver Treylon Burks for the Commanders.
After the first down was taken away, a Marcus Mariota incompletion led to a punt for the Commanders. The Commanders have been heavily penalized this season.
Sat, December 20, 2025 at 2:21 PM PST
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The Commanders will once again be quickly getting the ball back after an Eagles punt.
On 4th and 1, the Eagles decided to punt rather than their signature tush push play, with them being backed up on their opponents’ side of the field.