The Philadelphia Eagles pull away in the fourth to defeat the Washington Commanders, extending their winning streak to six

CNN
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The Philadelphia Eagles scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including two by star running back Saquon Barkley, to pull away and defeat the Washington Commanders 26-18 on Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field.

Barkley finished with 146 rushing yards and two scores as the Eagles extended their winning streak to six games and now have a 1.5-game lead over the Commanders for first place in the NFC East.

Washington opened the scoring in the first quarter with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels orchestrating a four-play, 58-yard drive to put the Commanders ahead 7-0. Daniels had completed a screen pass in the backfield to Austin Ekeler earlier in the drive to move Washington downfield, and the running back initially eluded the defender before being taken down for a 34-yard gain.

Meanwhile, Brian Robinson rushed for an 18-yard gain a few plays later before eventually catching an inside pass near the goal line for the touchdown.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts briefly left the game in the second quarter and was evaluated for a concussion after being tackled from behind by defensive back Quan Martin and another Commanders defender. As he fell forward, Hurts’ head was pressed into the turf by Martin’s chest.

The 26-year-old entered the blue medical tent and later jogged into the locker room at halftime with the Eagles trailing 7-3. Hurts was cleared by the medical staff and played the entire second half.

Hurts completed 18-of-28 passing attempts for 221 yards, adding 39 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

“What we talked about at halftime was this is going to be a dirty and gritty game and just keep going because we know we’re dirty and gritty,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said after the game. “We just kept going, that was the talk at halftime, like ‘Hey this is a street fight. It’s not about who’s tougher, but who’s tougher anymore.’

The turning point in the game came in the fourth quarter. Trailing 12-10, with the Commanders facing a fourth-and-two in field goal range, Washington elected to go for a first down. Daniels bobbled the snap before trying to scramble for the first down but was tackled along the sideline.

“It was big. It’s huge. It’s a turnover in our eyes,” Sirianni said of the fourth stop. “Jayden Daniels is obviously a really good athlete, a really good football player. It was good to string that thing out and get the stoppage. That was huge because we went down and made it a two-score game.”

After the turnover on downs, Barkley scored his first touchdown, breaking off for a 23-yard scamper to put the Eagles ahead 19-10. On the ensuing possession, Philadelphia’s defense picked off a Daniels pass on the first play of the drive, giving the Eagles offense the ball at the Washington 46-yard line.

Barkley, who nearly had a big play on the previous snap, turned on the Commanders defense again, hitting the open hole and sprinting up the middle of the field for the 39-yard touchdown to put the Eagles up 26-10 with 4:38 left. in the game.

Playing in his first season with the Eagles, Barkley eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards in a season for the fourth time in his career, accomplishing the feat 10 games into Philadelphia’s campaign—the fastest he’s ever reached that milestone.

The Commanders scored a touchdown on their final possession, with Daniels connecting with tight end Zach Ertz for a five-yard score, but it was too late for a comeback.

Daniels finished with 191 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception in the loss as the Commanders dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season.

The Eagles (8-2) will next play the Los Angeles Rams (4-5) on Nov. 24, while the Commanders (7-4) travel to Dallas to play the Cowboys (3-6).