PHILADELPHIA — The NFC East is expected to have a special champion for the 20th consecutive season, continuing the longest streak in NFL history. The contenders for the section name are the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders, as they battle for first field in the NFC East on Thursday night.
Washington (7-3) has been the wonder of the NFL this season. Led by freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels, the Commanders are off to their best start since 1996 and are poised to compete for their first section name since 2020. The Eagles (7-2) are sliding to the top with five instant wins , enjoying like some of the best teams in the NFL during the final stretch. A win for the Eagles on Thursday night would put them two games in the loss column heading into section supremacy. A victory for the Commanders gives Washington first place in the section heading into late November.
Philadelphia and Washington will meet again this season, but this is the most important tournament for all the teams of the week.
Where to watch Commanders vs. Eagles
- Age: Thursday, November 14 | Passed: 8:15 pm Eastern Time
- Location: Lincoln Monetary Garden – Philadelphia
- Current residence: Top video
- Notice: CBS Sports App
- Odd: Eagles -3.5, OU 48.5 (per BetMGM)
Take a look at the original BetMGM Promo Code to enter the tournament.
Is there a plan to prevent Jayden Daniels?
Daniels has been one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the league this season, as the rookie standout has been a league-wide chaos through 10 games, getting off to some of the best starts of any quarterback. in league history. He is the second quarterback since the 1970 merger with 200 rushing yards per tournament and 45 rushing yards per tournament in his first 10 professional games (Robert Griffin III was the first) and the third quarterback with the most rushing yards ( 464) in his first 10 occupation video games.
He has completed 68.7% of his passes for 2,147 yards with 9 touchdowns and 2 interceptions for a passer rating of 101.7, including 464 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns. The Commanders are 7-3 and are scoring on 58.3% of drives, the second-highest rate since the merger.
While Daniels has been a boost in his rookie season, the Pittsburgh Steelers eliminated his dual-threat talent by working the football. Daniels had a season-low five rushing yards in Sunday’s loss, the second this season in which he was limited to fewer than 20 rushing yards.
So what did the Steelers do to slow Daniels down? They pressed time on five or more defenders to eliminate their tournament of work. NFL TODAY analyst Nate Burleson reviewed what the Steelers did and whether the Eagles can mirror that.
“They can try to imitate the same thing,” Burleson said. “You always have to have someone spying on Jayden. A lot of times, whether they’re blitzing or not, one of those linebackers is a QB spy… What you’re going to see with a guy like that is you have a team that’s going to blitz to see if he can getting the ball out of their hands faster or a team that will try to spin up front with four or five guys and then put everyone else in coverage, in the zone area.
“So when Daniels is looking at the pasture through his progressions, he’s looking at other colored jerseys on the market and you’re forcing him to make some serious decisions. The Eagles may have a call to produce. I think they will.” “We’ll do a combination of both in the first half and determine what’s working and follow that tournament plan in the second half.”
The Eagles may need life to determine Daniels before they can leave him indisposed.
The good luck behind Jalen Hurts’ games
Hurts has arguably been enjoying the most productive football of his tenure during the Eagles’ five-game winning streak. He is the first quarterback in NFL history with a quick landing, a quick landing and a passer rating over 100 in four consecutive games. Hurts has completed 71.8% of his passes for 1,046 yards, 8 touchdowns and 1 interception for a passer rating of 126.1 over his last five games. That’s combined with eight rushing touchdowns down the stretch.
The Eagles quarterback is first in the NFL in total touchdowns (16), second in passer rating (behind only Lamar Jackson, who has 140.5) and second in yards per goal (10.2, behind Jackson’s 10.6).
Is Hurts’ good luck due to Kellen Moore’s offense? Are you preparing to understand it?
“It seems like they’ve found their rhythm and are balanced,” Burleson said. “There are games where they walk and carry that rock to watch the tournament. Saquon Barkley is the missing piece and he is in a month to have an occupation event.
“What defenses have to do when facing a healthy Saquon, they’re going to have to focus on him in the backfield. Sometimes they’re going to charge the box and blitz to keep him under control. This guy is running people, running between tackling and getting blitzes, that opens things up.”
Barkley leads the NFL with 556 rushing yards since age 6, averaging 5.7 yards per lift. He has 991 rushing yards and 5.8 yards per season lift, as the rushing yards are the most in Eagles history through nine games. Barkley’s 127.7 tournament-based scrimmage yards also dominate the league.
Hurts is playing the most productive football of his career, but Barkley has played a big role in that.
Prediction
This tournament will depend on how long the Eagles defense can contain Daniels and not allow him to enter the game. In the shorter future, the Eagles have the credit of playing at home with the entire offense healthy (Jordan Mailata is expected to return to the left position).
This tournament might speed up the Eagles a bit early on, but they have come out firing in the second half of the season. That is not expected to change this life.
Projected rating: Eagles 33, Washington 23
The selection: Eagles -3.5
Premium: SportsLine insider Larry Hartstein, who is on a 33-15-1 streak in Commanders games, is leaning low in Thursday night’s tournament, but who is he backing to defend? To find out right here on SportsLine.
