This felt like one of those defensive performances where you finish the film thinking this Philadelphia Eagles defense is just getting better. The Washington Commanders don\u2019t have a great offense, and after Marcus Mariota went out, it became a bit of a silly game, but that almost doesn\u2019t matter. The Eagles played with a clarity and confidence that wasn\u2019t there earlier in the season. This was another defensive performance that looked organised, physical, and increasingly comfortable in Vic Fangio\u2019s structure.<\/p>\n
Early on, the run defense set the tone, and it started on the edges. I\u2019ve spoken a lot about the under center run game, and I thought I\u2019d include this as an example of why the simple shotgun read-option style run isn\u2019t as effective as it once was. Nolan Smith showed how modern edge play isn\u2019t about reckless crashing and flying upfield anymore, but it\u2019s about forcing the handoff, staying square, and then still having the explosiveness to close. When you combine that with Jordan Davis collapsing the interior, Washington had little margin for error. This type of run game isn\u2019t as dominant as it was a few years ago, which is why it\u2019s important to have variety.<\/p>\n
What really jumps off the film, though, is how clean everything looks on the back end. Andrew Mukuba is obviously more talented than Marcus Epps and has a higher ceiling, but I think Epps understands this scheme better right now. Should he start in the playoffs if Mukuba is healthy? It\u2019s an interesting debate to have. The communication in the secondary right now is outstanding. You see it snap after snap. The same thing is happening on multiple snaps. Quinyon Mitchell is essentially erasing the boundary, routes are being passed off seamlessly, and the coverage is rotating post-snap without panic. When Cover 6 (quarter-quarter-half) is executed this well, quarterbacks simply run out of answers. The margins to complete passes are just so small.<\/p>\n
That communication showed up again in match 3 here, where it\u2019s just perfect. Quinyon understands where his help is, so he lets the receiver go inside. Zack Baun knows when he can sit inside and leave the #3 to the safety, and there is nowhere to go with the football. When everyone is on the same page, pass rushers don\u2019t need to win instantly, and Brandon Graham was the beneficiary here, arriving late for another sack because the quarterback had nowhere clean to go with the football. The communication is so clean!<\/p>\n
That said, the film isn\u2019t perfect, and Washington did show something that better offenses will absolutely try to copy. So, it\u2019s worth highlighting here. By keeping Quinyon fixed as the boundary corner and using 3×1 formations, they forced Adoree\u2019 Jackson into isolated situations against Terry McLaurin with no safety help. That\u2019s a tough ask. Fangio\u2019s trust in his corners is admirable, but there may be moments where a change-up, such as asking Quinyon to travel, becomes necessary against elite receivers. We saw this early on in the season, but lately he has stayed as a boundary corner, and I\u2019ve explained why in the past. Good teams will try to attack this. As often in the NFL, you can\u2019t do the same thing for too long, or teams will catch on. That\u2019s why we love the game!<\/p>\n
An injury to Nakobe Dean forced some rotation at linebacker, and Jihaad Campbell\u2019s snaps were quietly encouraging. He was asked to do a bit of everything, and while it wasn\u2019t spectacular, it was competent and pretty good overall. Considering how little work he\u2019s had recently, not looking like a liability is a win, and there were flashes of why the Eagles value his versatility. I still enjoy him in coverage.<\/p>\n
As the game wore on, Jordan Davis just kept making play after play. This wasn\u2019t a two-series burst or a situational role; this was sustained dominance. He anchored against double teams, stayed light enough on his feet to close cutbacks, and didn\u2019t fade as the snap count climbed. The past month has been the best football of his career, and it\u2019s no longer just about \u201cpotential\u201d with him; he\u2019s actively controlling and dominating games. He\u2019s going to get paid, hopefully by us, and he deserves it.<\/p>\n
Washington also tried to manipulate Quinyon out of the action with motion, creating overloads away from him and essentially daring the Eagles to adjust. It worked occasionally, as you can see here. It\u2019s another reminder that smart offenses will try to take advantage of what the Eagles are doing on defense, and the Eagles will need answers when opponents start scrutinizing what the Eagles are doing with Quinyon.<\/p>\n
Even when things weren\u2019t perfectly aligned, Quinyon Mitchell still made plays that defy logic. He\u2019s outrageously good. The best cornerback I\u2019ve seen since I\u2019ve been properly writing about this team. There were reps where his leverage wasn\u2019t ideal, where he expected help that didn\u2019t materialise, and he still arrived on time to disrupt the catch. His timing at the catch point is absurd, and the way he recovers mid-route speaks to both elite athleticism and processing speed. Watching him and Cooper DeJean every week is a joy.<\/p>\n
This is a cool rep. Late motion forced him to adjust from press to off coverage in real time as Washington went from a 3×1 to a 2×2. Some lesser corners would panic in those moments. Quinyon is not one of those. He gained depth, stayed patient, and still exploded downhill to break up the pass. Awareness plus physical gifts is how elite corners separate themselves. He\u2019s as good as it gets.<\/p>\n
Both of the safeties deserve credit, too. Blankenship and Epps are not a spectacular duo, but they are usually in the right place at the right time. Fangio\u2019s run defense only works if the back end triggers decisively, and Reed Blankenship was excellent coming downhill. From depth, he closed the space quickly and finished strong. Those plays don\u2019t always show up on highlight reels, but they\u2019re foundational to everything else working.<\/p>\n
The interception late was something you only see when playing QB3s. It\u2019s a bad throw. However, Cooper DeJean has earned that moment. His coverage this season has been consistently excellent, and when you play that many good snaps, eventually the ball finds you. Josh Johnson looked uncomfortable all afternoon, and it\u2019s hard to blame him. Imagine having to come in during a game and face this defense. That\u2019s rough. Side note, and completely random, but I would love to see how Philip Rivers would attack this defense. I sort of wish we had to play the Colts. It would be fun to see.<\/p>\n
Jordan Davis capped the day with another reminder that he\u2019s not just an anchor. When he flies through gaps like this, beating double teams with quickness rather than power, it changes how offenses have to block him. He\u2019s not just a big anchor on the inside. Size plus lateral agility is a nightmare combination, and he\u2019s leaning into it fully right now. It\u2019s cool to see his development.<\/p>\n
The only real blemish came late, and it\u2019s a familiar one. I deliberated whether to include this, but I thought I would, largely to stop any conversation about Adoree Jackson getting beaten in this game. Kelee Ringo continues to struggle in isolated situations, and while it\u2019s never fun to single out one rep, the contrast between him and Adoree Jackson is becoming obvious. Jackson isn\u2019t perfect, but he\u2019s clearly the more reliable option heading into the postseason. This competition is clearly over.<\/p>\n
The big picture is encouraging. This defense communicates at a high level, plays with confidence, and has stars peaking at the right time. There are still schematic pressure points that elite offenses will look to attack (as with every single defensive scheme), but the fundamentals are very strong. With Jordan Davis playing like this and Quinyon Mitchell locking down his side of the field, the Eagles have a defense that can compete against anyone. The real tests are coming soon, but right now, this unit looks ready for it.<\/p>\n
Thank you for reading! I\u2019d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here<\/a>. If you would like to support me further, please check out my Patreon here<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This felt like one of those defensive performances where you finish the film thinking this Philadelphia Eagles defense…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":624209,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2069],"tags":[427,12132,7,6,84309,855,111,2480],"class_list":{"0":"post-624208","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-commanders","8":"tag-commanders","9":"tag-eagles-film-review","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-philadelphia-eagles-analysis","13":"tag-washington","14":"tag-washington-commanders","15":"tag-washingtoncommanders"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115773065605597330","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=624208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/624209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=624208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=624208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=624208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}