PHILADELPHIA — The NFC East is expected to have a different champion for the 20th consecutive season, continuing the longest streak in NFL history. The contenders for the division title are the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders, as they battle it out for first place in the NFC East on Thursday night.
Washington (7-3) has been the surprise of the NFL this season. Led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, the Commanders are off to their best start since 1996 and in position to compete for their first division title since 2020. The Eagles (7-2) are flying high with five straight wins, playing as one of the best teams in the NFL during the stretch. An Eagles win Thursday night would put them up two games in the loss column for the division lead while a Commanders victory gives Washington first place in the division heading into late November.
Both Philadelphia and Washington will meet again this season, but this is the most crucial game for each team to date.
Where to watch Commanders vs. Eagles
- Date: Thursday, Nov. 14 | Time: 8:15 p.m. ET
- Location: Lincoln Financial Field — Philadelphia
- Live stream: Prime Video
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Odds: Eagles -3.5, OU 48.5 (via BetMGM)
Check out the latest BetMGM promo code to get in the game.
Is there a blueprint to stopping Jayden Daniels?
Daniels has been one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the league this season, as the rookie standout has been a problem around the league through 10 games, having one of the best starts for any quarterback in league history. He’s the second quarterback since the 1970 merger with 200 pass yards per game and 45 rush yards per game in his first 10 career games (Robert Griffin III was the first) and the third-most rush yards by a quarterback (464) in his first 10 career games.
He’s completed 68.7% of his passes for 2,147 yards with nine touchdowns to two interceptions for a 101.7 passer rating, adding 464 rushing yards and four touchdowns. The Commanders are 7-3 and have scored on 58.3% of the drives, the second-highest rate since the merger.
Even though Daniels has been a force in his rookie season, the Pittsburgh Steelers did take away his dual-threat ability running the football. Daniels notched a season-low five yards rushing in Sunday’s loss, only the second time this season he was held to under 20 rushing yards.
So what did the Steelers do to slow down Daniels? They rushed five-or-more defenders to take away his running game. THE NFL TODAY analyst Nate Burleson looked at what the Steelers did and if the Eagles can replicate that.
“They can try to mimic the same thing,” Burleson said. “You gotta always keep somebody spying on Jayden. Often times when they show blitz or don’t blitz, one of those linebackers is a spy on the QB … What you’ll see with a guy like that is you either have a team that will send blitzes to see if he can get the ball out of his hands faster or a team that is going to try to do twists up front with four or five guys then drop everyone else into coverage — into zone area.
“So when Daniels is looking down the field going through his progressions, he’s seeing different color jerseys out there and you’re forcing him to make grave decisions. The Eagles will have a decision to make. I feel like they’ll do a mix of both in the first half and figure out what’s working and go with that game plan in the second half.”
The Eagles may need time to figure out Daniels before they can slow him down.
The success behind Jalen Hurts‘ play
Hurts has arguably been playing the best football of his career during the Eagles’ five-game win streak. He’s the first quarterback in NFL history with a pass touchdown, rush touchdown, and 100+ passer rating in four consecutive games. Hurts has completed 71.8% of his passes for 1,046 yards, eight touchdowns to one interception for a 126.1 passer rating over his last five games. This is combined with eight rushing touchdowns during the stretch.
The Eagles quarterback is first in the NFL in total touchdowns (16), second in passer rating (only to Lamar Jackson, who is at 140.5) and second in yards per attempt (10.2, trailing Jackson’s 10.6).
Is Hurts’ success a product of Kellen Moore’s offense? Is he starting to master it?
“It just seems like they have found their rhythm, and they’re balanced,” Burleson said. “There’s games they go on and they’re gonna tote that rock to open up the pass game. Saquon Barkley is the missing piece and he’s on pace to have a career year.
“What the defenses have to do when they face a healthy Saquon, they are going to have to focus on him in the backfield. At times they are going to load the box and send blitzes to keep him in check. This dude is running through people, running through tacklers, and picking up blitzes. That opens things up.”
Barkley leads the NFL with 556 rushing yards since Week 6, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He has 991 rushing yards and 5.8 yards per carry on the season, as the rushing yards are the most in Eagles history through nine games. Barkley’s 127.7 scrimmage yards per game also lead the league.
Hurts is playing the best football of his career, but Barkley has been playing a major role in that.
Prediction
This game will come down to how quickly the Eagles defense can contain Daniels, and not allow him to take over the game. On a short week, the Eagles have the advantage playing at home with the entire offense healthy (Jordan Mailata is expected back at left tackle).
This game may take the Eagles a bit to get going, but they have come out firing in the second half throughout the season. That isn’t expected to change this week.
Projected score: Eagles 33, Washington 23
The pick: Eagles -3.5
Bonus: SportsLine expert Larry Hartstein, who is on a 33-15-1 roll on Commanders games is leaning the Under in Thursday night’s game, but who is he backing to cover? Find out right here at SportsLine.
