The Eagles were back on a short week, hosting Washington on Thursday Night Football in a clash for first place in the NFC East.
Jordan Mailata made his return for the Eagles, coming off Injured Reserve after a hamstring injury he suffered in Week 6 against the Browns.
"Hamstring felt great. Just trusted in the rehab process, I knew that I had to put in a lot of work just to get to this game, so very happy how everything turned out," Mailata said at his locker after the game.
Here's how it happened:
First Quarter
- The Eagles got Jahan Dotson, who is facing his former team for the first time since being traded, involved right away with a quick pass out of the backfield. Dotson ran it to the Eagles' 38 for a gain of 8 yards. Two plays later, Landon Dickerson went down with an injury and needed to be helped off the field. Tyler Steen came in for him but Dickerson would return for the second drive at the 8:40 mark.
- Hurts found Brown on back-to-back passes – one for 7 and the next for 25 yards to set the Birds up at the Washington 23.
- The Eagles had to settle for a 44-yard field goal attempt that was missed to the left by Jake Elliott to close out their opening drive with 9:55 left in the quarter.
- Washington went three-and-out after Zack Baun got his hands on a pass from rookie Jayden Daniels on 3rd-and-4.
- "Really detailing in our preparation and CP (Christian Parker, passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach), Vic (Fangio) obviously has done a great job preparing me to know what's coming and then be comfortable in our scheme," Baun said.
- On the Eagles' second drive, Saquon Barkley reached 1,000 yards on the season after an 8-yard carry.
- The Washington offense got going after a 34-yard catch and run from Austin Ekeler went into Philadelphia territory. Brian Robinson finished off the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to open up the scoring. (Commanders 7 – Eagles 0)
- "Everybody's patting us on our back about how good we did but we know there was plays out there that we left on the table that we should have been on that we were close to. We're definitely going to take care of that," Dean said.
- On 3rd-and-6 for Washington, Daniels scrambled into the open field but Nakobe Dean was able to wrap him up to keep him short of the first down to give the Eagles the ball to close out the quarter.
Second Quarter
- Elliott missed his second field goal attempt to the left again – this time from 51 yards to give Washington the ball at the Philadelphia 33 with 11:35 to play.
- "It's uncharacteristic for me, for sure. So I gotta go take a deep dive and figure out what exactly was happening. But like I said, I'll take the weekend, take a dive into it, and fix it as fast as possible. I'm confident in the kicker that I am, confident the way that I'm hitting the ball this year, and I just got to kind of double down on my process," Elliott said.
- SACKS! Brandon Graham wrapped up Daniels for a loss of 4 yards on 1st-and-10 to back up Washington to the 37. The very next play, Jalen Carter rushed up the middle, forcing Daniels to scramble out where he would be met by Josh Sweat for a loss of 8 yards. The Commanders would punt it away on 4th-and-16.
- "You had to get to him (Jayden Daniels). Any quarterback who's out there that's making plays and scoring points. You got to get to them and make them uncomfortable. And I think up front, we did a good job of that, and we stopped the run," Graham said.
- Washington got onto Philadelphia's side of the field to the 46, but Dean helped tip a pass that would go through the hands of Ekeler. Washington punted to the Eagles, giving them the ball at their own 10 with 4:11 left in the half.
- The Eagles' offense got a needed boost after Hurts found DeVonta Smith on a slant route for 21 yards to get to the Washington 27 with 1:32 to play.
- FIELD GOAL! Elliott connected from 21 yards to get the Eagles on the board with 19 seconds left in the half. (Commanders 7 – Eagles 3)
- Hurts was evaluated for a concussion at halftime but was cleared to return to start the second half.
Third Quarter
- Ekeler had a 30-yard kickoff return in which he fumbled, but Washington was able to recover to keep the ball to start the half.
- Zane Gonzalez hit a 45-yard field goal to open the half for Washington. (Commanders 10 – Eagles 3)
- The Eagles got a much needed big play as Hurts hit Barkley in the middle of the field and he ran it 43 yards to the Washington 17 on 3rd-and-6.
- The Eagles, however, could not find the end zone once again after Hurts couldn't connect with Brown on 3rd-and-6. Elliott stepped in to hit a 31-yard field goal. (Commanders 10 – Eagles 6)
- SACK! Nolan Smith got around the left tackle to bring down Daniels for a loss of 8 to force a fourth down, giving the Eagles offense the ball with 2:27 left in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
- Hurts ran for 7 yards on 3rd-and-7, extending his arm out to pick up a big first down to begin the quarter.
- TOUCHDOWN! The Brotherly Shove struck after Barkley's 3-yard run was stopped short of the line the play before. The Eagles finally found the end zone to take their first lead of the game. Elliott missed the extra point, however, making it a 2-point game with 11:55 to play. (Eagles 12 – Commanders 10)
- "It really started with Kenny (Gainwell). Kenny got in there, got it going, and opened it up a little bit and the O-line, we just kept leaning on them and trusting them," Barkley said.
- Milton Williams left the game with a foot injury and was listed as questionable to return with just under 10 minutes to play.
- Baun and Reed Blankenship came up with a huge stop on 4th-and-2 as Daniels ran out to the right and Baun hit him to force him out of bounds. The Eagles took over with 7:55 to play from their own 26.
- Eagles fans held their breath as Hurts found Goedert for a 38-yard gain to get into Washington territory. Goedert fumbled at the end of the play but Grant Calcaterra was able to fall on it at the Washington 30.
- TOUCHDOWN! Barkley finished off the big drive with a 23-yard run into the end zone to extend the Eagles' lead. (Eagles 19 – Commanders 10)
- "Having those guys up front, it's easy to get stronger because they're doing a lot of the load and leaning on those guys and again just keep trusting them, keep trusting the scheme, and try and make the right read because they're doing a hell of a job," Barkley said.
- INTERCEPTION! Blankenship picked off Daniels for his third interception of the year, giving the Eagles the ball at the Washington 46.
- TOUCHDOWN! Barkley, again! Barkley cut inside and burst through the middle for a 39-yard touchdown run to make it a 16-point game. (Eagles 26 – Washington 10)
- Washington got on the board again with 31 seconds left after Daniels found Zach Ertz for a 5-yard touchdown. Daniels found Ertz again on the 2-point conversion. (Eagles 26 – Washington 18)
- Dallas Goedert recovered the onside kick. The Eagles took a knee and picked up the win to move to 8-2.
Key Stats
Passing Leaders
PHI: Jalen Hurts 18/28 for 221 yards
WASH: Jayden Daniels 22/32 for 191 yards and a touchdown
Rushing Leaders
PHI: Saquon Barkley 26 carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns (5.6 ypc)
WASH: Brian Robinson Jr. 16 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown (3.9 ypc)
Receiving Leaders
PHI: A.J. Brown 5 catches for 65 yards
WASH: Austin Ekeler 8 catches for 89 yards
Tackle Leaders
PHI: Zack Baun – 14
WASH: Jeremy Chinn – 12
It's Commanders vs. Eagles on Thursday Night Football to kick off Week 11 of the 2024 NFL season. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels has taken the league by storm. The Eagles are riding high with a five-game win streak. Winner seizes control of first place in the NFC East.