Eagles and Commanders meet in the biggest matchup in the NFC East rivalry series in nearly 30 years

PHILADELPHIA – Jayden Daniels’ budding NFL career is already ten games old, but the Washington QB responsible for the Commanders’ immediate transformation into a respectable franchise and, ultimately, winners, already knows when a big game is coming up. planning is in place.

“I think people just know it’s Philly Week,” Daniels said.

Oh yes, Commanders-Eagles, as serious as things get this time of the NFL season. As a bonus, the outcome actually matters to both teams for the first time in almost three decades.

Daniels has the Commanders (7-3) on the eve of their biggest regular-season series matchup against the NFC East rival Eagles (7-2) in decades.

Hyperbole?

No chance. Washington and Philadelphia meet — not just because their division lead is on the line — but both teams enter the game at least four games above .500 for the first time since 1996.

Terry Allen and Ricky Watters. Koy Detmer and Gus Frerotte. Norv Turner and Ray Rhodes.

Names forgotten in the history books until this week, when every element of the series’ rivalry has been resurrected as part of the anticipation for the primetime showdown at Lincoln Financial Field. The only downside to the game is that the short week — the Eagles won in Dallas and the Commanders lost to the Steelers on Sunday — has robbed the rivalry of a few extra days of hype.

Behind QB Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley – who ranks second in the NFL with an average of 110.1 yards per game, while Washington ranks 28th in the league defensively against the run, allowing 142.7 yards per game are – the Eagles are riding a five-game winning streak; the Commanders have won three of the four games.

The Eagles are 3½-point favorites, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

“I’m excited to go to Philly and that kind of atmosphere,” Daniels said. “I hear they have very passionate fans, so man, I can’t wait. I can’t wait to get out there and see that fan base and just experience that. And I know it’s going to be a great venue, a great location.” site, and we’ll just go there and see what happens.

Under Daniels’ leadership, the offense continues to score points week in and week out, even against stingy opponents like Pittsburgh, which entered Sunday allowing just 14.9 per game. The QB is building a strong bond with receiver Terry McLaurin, who topped 100 yards for the fourth time in the past eight games and collected 113 on five catches.

The Eagles, who have won by more than 20 points in three of their last four games, understand the challenge Daniels presents.

“A really good player who started off right away, so we have a challenge here this week,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “You know he gets to the right places with football, is accurate and knows what he can do if something goes wrong.”

With a win, Washington would move to 8-3, its best record through 11 games since, yes, 1996.

“If we take our show on the road and have another division fight on Thursday night in November, like come on, what are we talking about? Washington coach Dan Quinn said.

Shows war of attrition

While the Eagles had the first bye in the NFL in Week 5, the Commanders have the last in Week 14 and the injuries are piling up after a relatively healthy start to the season. Running back Brian Robinson Jr. (hamstring) missed the past two games, and right tackle Andrew Wylie (shoulder) and kicker Austin Seibert were out against Pittsburgh.

The short turnaround time doesn’t help, but Quinn tries to turn it into something positive.

“This is a very hard-nosed group, and so if you told them it was going to be on a Wednesday, they would be into it,” Quinn said. “Short weeks are hard, but it also benefits guys who say, ‘Hey man, I’m ready for the fight and I’m going to be ready for it and whatever it takes.’ And we have a lot of guys like that with a big, gigantic chip on their shoulder.

Run, run Jayden?

Daniels ran just three times for 5 yards in Washington’s 28-27 home loss to the Steelers, by far the starting quarterback’s fewest carries and impact on the ground this season. No. 2 LSU has been dealing with sore ribs for several weeks and has credited Pittsburgh’s defense with shutting down rushing lanes, and Philadelphia’s second-ranked unit presents a new challenge.

“Every game is different,” said Daniels, who has completed 56.4% of his passes in the last three games after completing 75.6% in his first seven. “It just depends on the coordinator. Just going out there and kind of adapting to what I’m seeing and what they’re doing.