They won and nothing else matters.
The Eagles have had plenty of ups and downs this year, but thanks to their 29-18 win over the Commanders Saturday in Landover, Md., they’re in the playoffs for a fifth straight year for only the second time in franchise history, and whatever it looked like, getting a win when they had to get a win is what Saturday was all about.
Just get in the tournament.
This team has really shown a lot of resilience this year, winning four straight after that ugly two-game losing streak to the Broncos and the Giants, and now winning two in a row to clinch the division after a brutal three-game losing streak.
Nick Sirianni is now only the fifth coach in NFL history to take his first five teams to the playoffs and these five years have included two Super Bowls, six playoff wins, three NFC East titles and a .700 winning percentage.
And a lot more football to play.
1. I thought this was a real character win because a lot of things went wrong for this team in a must-win situation. Right from the start, Will Shipley’s fumble on the opening kickoff set up a Washington field goal just 3 ½ minutes in. Then Jake Elliott missed two field goals. Then Washington took a 10-7 lead into the third quarter. Then a penalty wiped out a touchdown. It had to be frustrating, but one thing you always love about the Eagles is that they keep fighting and they keep grinding and it doesn’t always pay off, but they never stop, and that’s what happened here. A Jalen Hurts TD pass to Dallas Goedert with 3 ½ minutes left in the third quarter to cap a 17-play drive and then Saquon Barkley’s 12-yard TD run three minutes into the fourth quarter after Cooper DeJean’s interception. Deep sigh of relief. Just like that, a three-point deficit was an 11-point lead, Jayden Daniels was watching from the sideline, Marcus Mariotta was out of the game and the Eagles were Josh Johnson away from winning the division. There was a point a couple weeks ago where the Cowboys had a lot of momentum, the Eagles were struggling and you couldn’t help think back to the great collapse of 2023. That team didn’t fight back like this one. That’s the difference. If you keep fighting, good things generally happen, and that’s what we saw Saturday in Landover.
2. I know there’s a school of thought that the Eagles should rest guys until the playoffs, but as long as you have a chance at the No. 2 seed and the possibility of a second home game – or conceivably a third, like last year – you have to try 100 percent to win every game. You have to. If somebody is banged up? Sure. Get him the rest and rehab he needs. But rest for the sake of rest? And sacrificing the possibility of a game at the Linc in the conference semifinal round? No way. The Eagles are very good on the road, but they’re almost unbeatable at home. As long as there’s a chance at No. 2, you have to go for it.
3. How about that Brandon Graham. What a miraculous story. The dude retired, came back and now he’s making plays all over the place. He was an all-time Eagle before he came back. Now, the legend just continues to grow. After two sacks against the Raiders, he added a third Saturday, and his three total sacks are 2nd-most in a season by an Eagles history by a player 37 or older. In 1997, Hall of Famer Richard Dent had 4 ½. The only other NFL player 37 or older with three sacks in a season since 2020 is Calais Campbell, once each with the Falcons, Dolphins and Cards. B.G. is also the oldest player in Eagles history with three sacks in a two-game span. The oldest previously was B.G. – of course – at 34 years old in 2022 with three sacks against the Giants and none a week later against the Bears. He’s so much more than just a trash-talking rah-rah guy. Dude can still play.
4. This was a second straight efficient game for Jalen Hurts, who wasn’t spectacular but did exactly what he had to do. Move the ball, avoid turnovers, put points on the board. On the heels of his 12-for-15, 175-yard, three-TD game against the Raiders, Hurts completed 22 of 30 passes for 73 percent, 185 yards, two TD passes and no interceptions, good for a 111.1 passer rating. Since that four-interception, five-turnover game against the Chargers, he’s got five TD passes, no turnovers, completed 76 percent of his passes. He just looks in command of the offense right now, running at the right time, getting the ball down the field and avoiding trouble in the pocket. I wouldn’t expect anything less from Hurts than to rebound the way he has from the worst game of his career. You can’t shake his confidence. You can’t shake his belief. Dude is unshakeable. Once again, he made some plays with his legs, and that’s huge for this offense. Maybe we can take a week off for calling for him to be benched.
5. Don’t look now, but the Eagles actually have a running game. A good one. I know it’s only the Raiders and Commanders, but Saquon Barkley is on a nice little run here, and more than anything Nick Sirianni and Kevin Patullo aren’t getting away from the run like they were earlier in the year. They’re sticking with it, hammering Saquon for 60 minutes instead of abandoning the run. First seven games: 53 yards per game, 3.3 yards per carry. Last eight games: 88 yards per game, 4.8 yards per carry. He was never the problem. We’re seeing stability up front, we’re seeing better play calling, and it doesn’t hurt that we’re seeing weaker defenses as well. The Eagles ran for 207 Saturday and they’re at 175 per game over the last three weeks. The Eagles are going to head into the playoffs not only with a quarterback playing at a high level but with a hot running back. Barkley is starting to look like the guy who helped carry this team in the postseason last year. Barkley’s 132 yards Saturday gave him 1,072 for the season with three games left, making him the first Eagle with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons since LeSean McCoy in 2013 and 2014. And how about amazing Tank Bigsby cleaning up with 37 yards and a 22-yard touchdown on just four carries.
6. Another impressive day for Vic Fangio’s group. Until that final touchdown drive against the backups (and, wow, is Kelee Ringo bad), they held the Commanders to 10 points, 178 yards and 34 rushing yards. I still want to see it against a good team and a good quarterback, and they’ll get the chance on Sunday in Buffalo, but there is no weakness on this defense right now. Take your pick. Cooper DeJean makes every play that comes his way. Jordan Davis is a flat-out beast. Zack Baun is all over the field. Marcus Epps has calmed down that second safety spot. B.G. is still really really good. Jalen Carter is coming back soon. Heck, even Byron Young now has 2 ½ sacks. Will be fun to see what they can do against Josh Allen and that Bills offense, ranked 3rd in the NFL in yards, 1st in rushing offense, 5th in passing yards per play, 4th on third down and 4th in scoring. If you can maybe not shut down that offense but hold them to 20 to 23 points, you can play with anybody. Fun matchup Sunday.
7. It’s kind of crazy that the Eagles are the first team since the 2001 through 2004 Eagles to win the NFC East in back-to-back years, but the way they’re built, the Eagles are capable of going on a similar run over the next few years. Look at this franchise. They have the best owner in football, maybe in pro sports. They have the best general manager in football, maybe in pro sports. They have one of five head coaches in NFL history to reach the playoffs in each of his first five seasons. And they have a Super Bowl MVP at quarterback. They also have one of the youngest rosters in football and the youngest defense in football. Jihaad Campbell is 21, Cooper DeJean is 22, Jalen Carter, Jalyx Hunt, Quinyon Mitchell, Moro Ojomo, Tank Bigsby and Nolan Smith are 24. Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean and Tyler Steen are 25. Cam Jurgens, Jaelan Phillips and Reed Blankenship are 26. Now, Howie Roseman has to keep these guys and he won’t keep ‘em all. But this is a young, talented roster and when the Eagles lose someone, Howie figures out how to replace them. Two NFC East titles in a row is impressive. But don’t be surprised if they string together a few more. This team is not going away.
8. Funny to see Dallas Goedert drop the easiest touchdown of his life last week and then make a high-degree-of-difficulty leaping catch in the end zone Saturday on a perfect throw from Jalen Hurts to put the Eagles ahead for good at 14-10 late in the third quarter. This has been a heck of a run for Goedert. With his 10th touchdown catch of the year, Goedert tied Pete Retzlaff for the most touchdown catches in a season by an Eagles tight end. Retzlaff – who like Goedert went to South Dakota State – had 10 TD catches in 1965. Not bad for a guy who never caught a pass in college. The only Eagles with more TD catches in a season over the last 30 years are T.O. (14 in 2004) and A.J. Brown (11 in 2022). Pretty good company. That was a funky drive. A Jake Elliott field goal miss and a Jalen Hurts interception were nullified by Washington penalties, and a Jahan Dotson touchdown catch was nullified by an Eagles penalty. But when in doubt, throw it to Goedert in the end zone. He doesn’t catch ‘em all, but he doesn’t miss many.
9. Remember back when the Eagles just couldn’t get the football to A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith? Something else this team has worked through. Brown had nine catches for 95 yards Saturday and just like that he’s up to 73 catches for 935 yards and seven touchdowns. Smith had 6-for-42 in Washington and now has 72-for-931. With three games left, assuming they both keep playing, they’re both going to finish with over 80 catches and well over 1,000 yards. Brown’s numbers won’t be as impressive as his 1,400-yard seasons in 2022 and 2023 and Smith probably won’t reach his career-best 1,196 yards in 2022, but considering where the passing game was the first month and a half of the season? These are impressive numbers. And just like with Saquon Barkley, the Eagles are going into the postseason with both WRs producing in a big way and enjoying very good connections with Jalen Hurts. A lot of things are trending the right way on this team, and the passing game is a big one.
10. Let’s talk about Jake Elliott. Last nine games, he’s missed seven field goal attempts, going 11-for-18 during that span. His first miss Saturday was a pedestrian 43-yarder and his second was a 52-yarder after a penalty following a 57-yard miss. Three misses, two counted. He’s now the first Eagles kicker to miss seven field goals in a nine-game span since Chris Boniol from Week 2 through Week 10 in 1997. And his 61.1 percent accuracy since Week 7 is worst by an Eagles kicker in a nine-game span since Roger Ruzek was 6-for-12 in a nine-game stretch in 1992. Chris Boniol? Roger Ruzek? You don’t want to be mentioned in the same sentence as those guys. What’s most concerning is that Elliott is missing routine field goals. A 41-yarder in Minneapolis. A 48-yarder against the Chargers. A 43-yarder Saturday in Washington. Before this year, he was 92 percent inside 50 yards. This year, he’s 81 percent. League average is 91 percent. It’s bad when he misses the 50-yarders. But it’s really alarming when he can’t hit the chippies. And then when Nick Sirianni is going for it on 4th-and-7 instead of letting Elliott attempt a 56-yard field goal to tie … that’s bad. Elliott was 8-for-9 from 56 yards and out in his first seven seasons but is 2-for-8 the last two years. The Eagles converted the fourth down on a penalty, but it’s really bad when you just don’t have faith in your kicker to make a field goal he used to make routinely. I know he was a Super Bowl hero, but that was eight years ago. I know he was a Pro Bowler, but that was four years ago. Right now, Elliott is the worst kicker in the league. Do you let Elliott keep trying to work out of it? I’m not sure. As crazy as it seems considering his career, the Eagles have to consider finding another kicker. Not next year. Now.