Eagles pull away from Commanders in NFC East showdown

PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles extended their NFC East lead, scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter to beat the second-place Washington Commanders 26-18 on Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field.

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, while quarterback Jalen Hurts put Philadelphia ahead with a touchdown run to start the final quarter. The Commanders took an early lead in the first quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Brian Robinson Jr.

Here are the key takeaways from Thursday night for both teams:

The story of the Eagles’ season so far has been Barkley’s incredible play and Vic Fangio’s surprising performance. That continued in Thursday’s decisive division win over the Commanders.

On a night when Hurts struggled to get going, the defense held rookie quarterback sensation Jayden Daniels in check and came up with a key interception in the fourth quarter thanks to safety Reed Blankenship to help create a snowball effect in Philly’s favor. There were only modest expectations for the defense entering the season, but the Eagles entered the week ranked second in yards allowed per carry. game and tied for fifth in points allowed per match, numbers that will hold after Thursday.

Barkley scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns in a span of 20 seconds to turn what was mostly a nail-biter into a comfortable victory for Philadelphia, which has now won six in a row.

The Eagles’ chances to win the division increased from 63% to 81%, according to ESPN Analytics. They will enjoy their mini-bye before turning their attention to a Week 12 matchup against the Rams. It will be their last flight of the regular season.

Most Surprising Performance: The usually reliable Jake Elliott had a bad night, missing field goal attempts from 44 and 51 yards in the first half. He followed up with a missed extra point early in the fourth quarter after the Eagles took the lead. Elliott entered the game tied for the second-highest field goal percentage (90.9%) among NFL kickers with 80-plus attempts since 2021, but has now missed five field goals this season.

Promising trend: Barkley had his eighth game this season with at least 100 yards from scrimmage, the most in the NFL this season. He finished with 198 total yards (146 rushing, 52 receiving on two receptions). It was Barkley’s fourth straight game with 100 scrimmage yards vs. Commanders, marking the longest streak against Washington of his career. — Tim McManus

Next game: at Los Angeles Rams (8:20 p.m. ET, Sunday, Nov. 24)

The Commanders showed the NFL to be reckoned with through the first nine games of this season. But Thursday night proved they still weren’t good enough to challenge for NFC East supremacy, dropping their second straight game to fall 1.5 games behind Philadelphia.

The Commanders’ defense limited explosive Eagles receivers AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith for most of the game. But Barkley crushed them as a runner and a receiver, while the Commanders couldn’t match his offensive output against one of the NFL’s best defenses.

Washington has already won three more games than it did all of last season and is ahead of schedule in coach Dan Quinn’s first season. But the Commanders also showed that if they want to win the division, they need more firepower to combat the Eagles’ diverse and explosive offense.

The Commanders averaged at least 5.3 yards per carry. game in each of their first nine games. In the last two weeks, they averaged 4.1 and 4.2 respectively. It needs to improve for them to progress, which is a pleasant surprise this season.

Game RPM: On fourth-and-2 from the Eagles’ 26-yard line with 8:01 left in the game, Washington bypassed a field goal and potential 13-12 lead and tried to get more points to help a tiring defense. Instead, Daniels bubbled the shotgun, causing a delay on a QB sweep around right end. Eagles linebacker Zack Baun stopped him 2 yards from a first down to turn the ball over to Philadelphia, which scored touchdowns on its next two possessions. The Commanders had converted their first 11 fourth-down attempts this season, but have now failed on their last two.

Disturbing trend: The offense was held to less than 300 yards for the second straight game — albeit against two of the NFL’s best defenses in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Both defenses created problems for Daniels, but the Eagles also pressured him consistently. Washington converted just 3 of 12 third downs after going 5-14 a week ago.

QB breakdown: Daniels had a special start to the season, but Thursday was his worst game of his young NFL career. He wasn’t able to connect with his receivers Thursday — the wideouts combined for four catches and 28 yards. Daniels’ legs haven’t been a factor lately; he has rushed for 13 yards in the last two games as teams have done well to contain him in the pocket. Daniels threw an interception and didn’t really threaten the Eagles’ defense. — John Keim

Next game: vs. Dallas Cowboys (1 p.m. ET, Sunday, Nov. 24)