The Eagles’ spot in the NFC is coming into focus, and Jalen Carter is a talking point

It wasn’t always pretty, but the Eagles earned another statement win in primetime against the Washington Commanders on Thursday, with a 26-18 win.

Securing a 1.5-game lead over the Commanders in the NFC East this weekend, it’s a win that will come in handy in a few weeks as the playoff picture begins to come into focus.

Here’s what we learned:

NFC turning into a two-horse race?

We’re still a few weeks away from a true playoff picture coming into focus, but it’s safe to say the Eagles are starting to separate themselves in the NFC as a whole with their win against the Commanders.

Outside of the dominant Detroit Lions, there aren’t many NFC teams with a resume that measures up to the Eagles through 10 games. The Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Falcons have the strongest cases, with Atlanta actually having the evidence of beating the Eagles earlier this season to lean on. Still, the Eagles have adjusted their cap enough since Week 2 to feel comfortable with a potential rematch with the Falcons and have a win against the Packers already this season.

The Vikings’ record — and their defense — puts them in a similar stratosphere to the Eagles, but there have been some signs of regression to the mean after a fast start. And according to tankathon.com, Minnesota has the ninth-toughest strength of schedule back compared to the Eagles, who come in at 21st.

Coming back to the present, the trial size of the Eagles’ last six games has now overshadowed the 2-2 start that featured an international trip as one of three road games in four weeks. Even looking at the season as a whole, this team entering the weekend is second in the conference in point differential and third in the NFL at +88. Detroit leads the NFL and the conference may well end up going through Ford Field, but the Eagles have entered the race for real with their win.

» READ MORE: Eagles-Commanders stock watch: Saquon Barkley, defense lifts Eagles to win

Carter becomes a star

You might be interested to hear what Zach Ertz had to say about an Eagles quarterback in particular after the former Eagles star and current Washington Commanders tight end’s first time playing in Philly against his old team in unfriendly colors .

“Jalen Carter is going to be one of the best defensive players in this league for a long time,” Ertz said. “He’s the key cog in that defense in my opinion.”

This Eagles defense is dominant enough for a handful of players to bet on the “cog” label. Quinyon Mitchell has become a rarity: A rookie cornerback opposing offenses are hesitant to test themselves because of how often he breaks up passes or covers the league’s best wide receivers. Zack Baun has become the engine in the middle of the team’s defense, covering space to break up passing lanes, making key tackles and forcing turnovers on an almost weekly basis.

» READ MORE: Commanders’ Zach Ertz scores TD in ’emotional’ Philly homecoming: ‘I really wanted this one’

But the anchor of the defense, perhaps the true “cog” as Ertz suggested, can be the player sometimes hardest to quantify with the final stat sheet. Carter had four solo tackles, three more combined, one for a loss. What doesn’t show up is the attention the second-year defensive tackle is beginning to command, how often he knifes into the backfield and how often he shows up for the defense in key moments of the game.

There was Carter closing in on Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels on the key fourth-and-2 late in the fourth quarter to flush the rookie signal caller to the outside, where Baun was eager to tee off on the former LSU standout . A few plays earlier, Carter was the one who quickly threw a one-on-one block to pull Brian Robinson to the ground outside the sticks on second-and-1.

» READ MORE: How Lane Johnson became Jalen Carter’s unlikely mentor on the Eagles

It’s the kind of play that gets opposing teams talking about you in the locker room after the game. It’s the kind of play that begets a reputation, which begets being the fulcrum of conflicting game plans, which gives opportunity to everyone else. Carter is well on his way, even if the stats don’t always suggest as much.

Passed game analysis

I’ve used the word “arrhythmic” to describe the Eagles passing game on more than one occasion this season, but it just seems to stick.

Zero turnovers is the stat that matters most (more on that later), but the erratic nature of the passing game was glaring most of Thursday night. Jalen Hurts finished 18-for-28 for 224 yards with a handful of missed opportunities either due to Hurts passing open receivers or not seeing them at all. Hurts had a tendency to get nervous in the pocket and drop his eyes last Sunday against the Cowboys before settling in for a solid performance. Against the commanders he never really got a decision.

He missed DeVonta Smith on a shallow crossing route on the Eagles’ second drive, apparently while preoccupied with the rush, and had a couple of other mistakes as AJ Brown and Smith broke free in the middle areas of the field. Hurts also struggled with accuracy at times, sailing a third-down pass to Brown near the sideline in the second quarter.

Which version of the Eagles passing game will emerge when the stakes rise — the opportunistic version that can harness Saquon Barkley’s gravity for explosive shots downfield, or the uneven display against Washington — is one of the few lingering questions about how this team will manage. There’s still plenty of time to figure that out and evidence of what that might look like, but Thursday wasn’t a step in the right direction.

Up-down living

Up, Grant Calcaterra: Remember at the start of the summer when it took some legitimate projection to envision Calcaterra as the Eagles’ No. 2 tight end? Calcaterra has quickly become a glue man for the offense, doing much of the dirty work in the run game, making timely plays in the passing game and being there to dive on Dallas Goedert’s fumble to save the Eagles’ scoring drive. Don’t get me wrong, Calcaterra isn’t immune to getting beat as a blocker in the run game, but he plays with an edge that’s noticeable even from the all-22 angle or from the press box most weeks. For a star-studded offense in need of role players who will play hard even with limited touches, that has real value.

Down, DeVonta Smith’s usage: For the second week in a row, Smith was easy in a game plan that revolved more around Barkley and Brown. Smith had six targets against the Commanders, but managed four catches for 29 yards a week removed from logging two for 14 yards. The Eagles have typically corrected course when Smith has had a quiet game over the past few years, and maybe that will come after the mini-bye week.

» READ MORE: DeVonta Smith’s targets drop as Eagles turn into run team: ‘It’s tough, but you can’t get down on it’

Up, Kenneth Gainwell: Gainwell only had four carries, but his 43 yards on those plays made a case for him getting a few more in relief duty for Barkley going forward. Especially considering Barkley had 28 touches in a short week, Gainwell’s ability to hold up shop in his spot will be an important development over the next few months.