Can you feel the good vibes from Philadelphia?! The Eagles retained the number one spot in the NFC East with a 26-18 win over the Commanders on Thursday. Defeating Washington was a huge boost for the Birds’ postseason hopes, as they aim to both win the division and snag a high seed in the playoffs. Despite trailing 7-3 at the half, Philly’s phenomenal defense kept the game close and allowed the offense to find their rhythm. Stellar defense, team identity, and—who else? Saquon Barkley— are notable takeaways from Philadelphia’s divisional battle at the Linc.
Local Eagles fan Ray posed for a picture in his Eagles cap while taking care of some errands at the Hellertown Giant.
I think it’s time to say this Vic Fangio defense is legit. Even though the offense did their best to lose this game for three quarters, the defense never let up. They surrendered a touchdown following an abysmal punt from Brandon Mann, but were otherwise a dominant force. Most notably, Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate Jayden Daniels was made a non-factor. Daniels had only 18 yards rushing, under 200 yards passing, and, aside from the initial touchdown drive, appeared completely lost. To be fair to Daniels, the defense was giving him nothing. Quinyon Mitchell held Terry McLaurin to zero catches, and Daniels clearly struggled without his top receiver. Twenty-seven year-old Zack Baun, formerly a no-name signing from New Orleans, is having an All-Pro season here in Philadelphia. He broke up a pass over the middle to force a three and out on Washington’s first drive, then got half a sack the next drive. When the Commanders chose to go for it on 4th and 2 with under 10 minutes to play, Jalen Carter forced Daniels to scramble for the first down himself. He got leveled short of the sticks by Baun, and the Eagles took over. Even though the Eagles only took the lead in the 4th quarter, I never doubted they would win this matchup. The defensive had total control of the game.
What can’t Barkley do? While Baun and company clamped down on Daniels, Barkley wore down the Washington defenders. After a tough first half, Barkley blew the game wide open in the second. Facing a 3rd and 6 with seven minutes left in the 3rd, Hurts dumped the ball off to Barkley, who juked a defender and took the ball from the Eagles’ 40-yard line down to the Commanders’ 15. Barkley doesn’t just make this Eagles team better; he makes them more fun to watch. The highlight for Barkley came during a 15-second stretch of gameplay on Thursday. With five minutes left in the 4th, Barkley scored on a 26-yard run to put the Eagles up 18 to 12. Reed Blankenship’s interception gave the ball right back to Philly, and on the second play Barkley ran 39 yards for a touchdown. That’s 12 points in 15 seconds scored by one player! Even in slower games, Barkley is always good for one or two explosive plays. Thursday marked Barkley’s sixth game of the season with over 100 rushing yards.
Barkley and the defense provide ample reasons to believe in this Philadelphia team, but the Eagles’ offensive inconsistencies must be fixed. Every kicker has flukey games, but Jake Elliot, who is known for his clutch play and reliability, took 7 points off the board on Thursday due to three missed kicks. The 44-yard miss, which would have given the Eagles points on their opening drive, was hooked to the left. The miss would have been easy to overcome, but the kicking woes snowballed into two other misses wide left, one from 51 yards and another from 33. While the kicking game stalled, Hurts struggled to connect with his receivers. The energy was clearly off for Philadelphia’s offense until late in the third quarter. Drops, poor throws by Hurts, friendly-fire collisions—the self-inflicted wounds and painfully slow start may not have mattered against the Commanders, but those are issues that will seriously hamper the Eagles should they make a playoff run.
The win had plenty of Eagles faithful sporting their gear. Local fan Ray posed for a picture in his Eagles cap while taking care of some errands at the Hellertown Giant.
Lehigh Valley native Autumn shared her thoughts on Barkley following Thursday’s victory. “I’m so happy to see Saquon Barkley having this amazing year,” she said to me excitedly. “As a fellow Penn Stater then I watched him play in college, and even attended some of his high school games when he was at Whitehall. I wasn’t much of a fan of his back then though,” she laughed, “because I went to Parkland and we always lost to them!” Like many Lehigh Valley fans, Autumn has beloved memories of watching the Eagles train at Lehigh. “I was a big Eagles fan when I was little and went to their Lehigh training camp when (Donovan) McNabb still played, so it’s a nice full circle moment for me seeing someone local like Barkley thriving with the team I’ve rooted for since childhood.”
The Eagles look to secure another win against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday and improve their chances for a high seed in this year’s playoffs.
Helen Behe is an MFA candidate at DeSales University, where she is studying through the program’s poetry track for a degree in creative writing and publishing. Aside from her studies, Helen enjoys gardening, boxing and rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles. She is a resident of Bethlehem. Read more of Helen’s Then & Now series featuring local history-related topics here.
