Commanders @ Eagles
Final Score: Eagles 26 – Commanders 18
Writer: Brendan Boe (@BeeBoeFF on Twitter)
What was supposed to be a barnburner between two 7-win teams turned into a 1st-half snoozefest. Sure, the defenses were doing well, but the quarterbacks just couldn’t find their receivers. Luckily, Saquon Barkley got the memo that thousands of people showed up and millions were tuned into their TVs, shifting an otherwise lackluster matchup into a sensational performance by one of the best running backs in the game. Watch between the last 5 and 4 minutes of the 4th quarter, and you’ll see what I mean.
Two Up
- Saquon Barkley – Woooo doggy, this guy was the reason to watch! His 23-yard touchdown was the highlight of the game, and then he goes and rips off ANOTHER one for 39 yards! Phenomenal performance by an absolute stud.
- Commanders RBs – An effective duo, Brian Robinson was the workhorse on the ground, while Austin Ekeler had massive success as a pass catcher. Solid performances by both backs.
Three Down
- Commanders WRs – 10 yards, 10 yards, 4 yards, and 4 yards. That’s their stat lines. It was disgusting. Side note: I’m leaving TEs out of this conversation, but not much happened there either.
- Jayden Daniels – See the above line. Eagles defense shut him down, and he wasn’t playing like himself. Couldn’t find an open receiver and had no success running it himself.
- DeVonta Smith – Not so much his performance, but more so his stat line was lackluster. He’ll be fine, but fantasy managers aren’t thrilled with this one.
Washington Commanders
Quarterback
Jayden Daniels: 191 Yards, TD, INT | 7 Carries, 18 Yards
It was concerning to see Daniels on the sideline with padding on his ribs, an indication that maybe he’s still in pain from being injured over 3 weeks ago. It was especially concerning to see trainers working on his hand part way through the game, and perhaps this explains why he didn’t throw deep or – well, throw successfully at all, really. Yeah, I know, excuses, excuses. The truth is that nearly half of his yards were check-downs to Austin Ekeler, who had ridiculous yards after catch. We know Daniels is a good quarterback, but not in this game; he looked like a rookie who was being outmatched by a veteran defensive mind. Regardless of his play, the level of pressure by the defense forced him to get the ball out, all while the secondary locked down the receivers – this was evident by multiple passes being directed at the feet of his receivers. The hope is that this was just an off-game, and he’s not dealing with any physical pain.
Running Back
Brian Robinson: 16 Carries, 63 Yards, TD | 1 Catch, 9 Yards
He’s back, healthy, and owns the backfield with 76% of the team’s RB carries. At 3.9 yards per carry, he was a fraction away from the default setting of running back efficiency – but to be fair, the Eagles D-line was out for blood. They were effective at breaking through the O-line and fledging a full assault on Jayden Daniels, and in some cases, Robinson was the recipient of this punishment with meager gains. He had some solid plays and was responsible for putting the first points on the board: he ran up the middle and found a hole to gain 18 yards, setting up 1st and inches at the goal line, where they let him finish the job and score the touchdown. What’s important to note is he and Austin Ekeler were basically the whole offense for the Commanders as a successful 1-2 punch with one on the ground and one through the air.
Austin Ekeler: 2 Carries, 7 Yards | 8 Catches, 89 Yards
With the return of Brian Robinson, Ekeler has been relegated to the pass-catching back, a role in which he shined like a diamond in a mud pie. In the 1st half alone, he had 5 catches on 6 targets, and by the end of the game, he accounted for over 46% of the team’s receiving yards and over 36% of all Commanders receptions. Jayden Daniels just couldn’t get anything going downfield, so he relied on check-downs and prayers to get something going. Over half of Ekeler’s receiving yards came on 2 catches, the first being a fake handoff that was caught out of the backfield, where he fought off a defender and ran for 34 yards, and later had another short check-down for 20 yards. His day would’ve been bigger had he not had an egregious drop on a short slant, but it’s hard to criticize a man who had nearly double the receiving yard of Zach Ertz, who had the second most.
Jeremy McNichols: 3 Carries, 5 Yards | 1 Catch, 1 Yard
No touchdown vulturing this time, he’s clearly 3rd in the pecking order.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Terry McLaurin: 1 Catch, 10 Yards
What in the world, man, 1 catch for 10 yards? He did not have a single target in the first half and got his only catch in the 4th quarter. Every Commanders wide receiver was grossly disappointing, but Terry’s lack of production was uncharacteristic, considering he’s been on a tear all season. Since Week 3, this is his second game with less than 50 yards – and in the other one, he had two touchdowns. It’s not time to worry about McLaurin, but Jayden Daniels needs to collect himself and remember that the best path to victory is to feed your #1 receiver. Yeah, yeah, good defense and all that, but there just wasn’t enough effort to let your playmaker make plays. Expect a bounce back soon.
Zach Ertz: 6 Catches, 47 Yards, TD | 2 pt. Conversion
With more yards than all Commanders WRs combined, Ertz’s mediocre-at-best performance was enhanced by a garbage time touchdown and 2-point conversion within the last minute of the game. And to his credit, that 2-pointer was an absolute stunner as he just barely kept his toes in at the back of the end zone. It was honestly one of the most impressive plays by the Commanders’ offense all night. He also showed some fight against the defenders and a couple of nice catch-and-runs; all in all, one of his better performances of the season, against his former team, no less.
John Bates: 2 Catches, 17 Yards
Olamide Zaccheaus: 1 Catch, 10 Yards
Noah Brown: 1 Catch, 4 Yards
Dyami Brown: 1 Catch, 4 Yards
Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts: 18/28, 221 Yards | 10 Carries, 39 Yards, TD
This was another classic Hurts performance: about 200 yards through the air, lots of scrambles, and a brotherly shove on 1st and inches for the touchdown. Solid pressure from the defense forced Hurts to throw the ball, but to his luck, the talented A.J. Brown made multiple plays on contested catches. The 1st half wasn’t promising as they didn’t score a single touchdown, and kicker Jake Elliott seemed to have pebbled in his shoes as he missed 2 field goals (and a PAT in the 3rd). The 4th quarter is where the whole team got it together, mostly on the back of the running game, but Hurts had some impressive plays to keep drives alive, used his legs to get 1st downs, and gave each of his top 3 receivers a 20+ yard reception throughout this contest. However, he couldn’t find too many open receivers the entire time. It was quite infuriating to see players get great separation and ankle break the secondary, only for Hurts to throw it away. He also really should’ve had a touchdown through the air, as Saquon Barkley and Devonta Smith were wide open in front of him at the goal line.
Running Back
Saquon Barkley: 26 Carries, 146 Yards, 2 TD | 2 Catches, 52 Yards
Saquon Rasul Quevis Barkley, you beautiful, talented, muscley man… thank you for making the game worth watching. If you haven’t watched the game yet, just go watch the Barkley highlights and be grateful that he’s no longer on the Giants. It’s week 11, they already had a bye, and he just surpassed 1000 yards on the season with his 4th carry of the game – and then ran for over 100 more anyway. He stayed behind blockers to glide for easy gains, pulled off great spin moves to get around defenders, and made several massive plays that completely dictated the game’s outcome. The only reason he didn’t have 3 touchdowns was because he was stopped inches from the end zone after powering down the field on a 30-yard rush. One of his 2 catches was a dump-off pass for a supposedly short gain, but he forced a missed tackle and bolted downfield for 43 yards. The highlight was a big run with great blocking on the right side, where he ran to the edge for a 23-yard touchdown run. On the next drive, he said, “Hold my beer” off a pitch to the right, juke to the left, and then a straight-ahead run for an easy 39-yard touchdown. This was yet another sensational performance from the prodigious playmaker.
Kenneth Gainwell: 4 Carries, 43 Yards | 1 Catch, 6 Yards
He’s the backup to an absolute goliath but was highly efficient with his few touches, particularly with back-to-back runs of 14 and 13 yards, respectively. Three of his 4 carries came consecutively in the 4th quarter, while his other two touches were on plays with over 20 yards to get to the 1st down marker. Expect this type of usage for as long as Saquon Barkley is rampaging across the league.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
A.J. Brown: 5 Catches, 65 Yards
Despite being the receiving yardage and target leader (8), this was a pedestrian performance compared to what we’ve come to expect from the superstar wide receiver. It was just his second game that he’s played this season with less than 80 yards, so we’re probably spoiled by him always being a major factor on this offense. He was getting open, but the Commander’s defense had good pressure on Jalen Hurts, who had to throw the ball away on multiple plays where Brown was creating separation and finding space. Also, Hurts just flat-out didn’t make the plays he should have; Brown would’ve had a much better day if these two were more in synch. Multiple contested catches were hauled in through solid coverage by the secondary, so even though the yardage numbers were lower than average, his on-the-field skills were as good as they’ve always been. His highlight was early in the game on a slant from the right to the middle, where he got wide open for a 25-yard catch, with nearly 20 of the yards after the catch. So yeah, just chill out, y’all, he’s still a great receiver and a necessary asset to this passing attack.
Dallas Goedert: 5 Catches, 61 Yards
Only 4 yards shy of A.J. Brown and tied for most catches, Goedert was a necessary factor to keep the ball moving through the air. Most of his yards came from a big catch downfield for 31 yards, but the ball was punched out and, luckily, recovered by a teammate. He also had an easy wide-open grab on a slant in the middle for a 15-yard gain. Not a bad night for a tight end, but had he lost that fumble, we’d be having a different conversation right now.
DeVonta Smith: 4 Catches, 29 Yards
He had a quiet night, but frankly, none of the other Eagles receivers had big games either. His one great play was a beautifully run route down the middle, a catch and run for a gain of 21 yards near the end of the 1st half. He also had a nearly amazing catch with a toe tap on the edge for over 10 yards but was just slightly out of bounds. He also was targeted in the red zone, but it was broken up in double coverage. To his misfortune, he was on the receiving end of a horrible no-call where the defender grabbed his helmet; the refs even threw the flag and then picked it up despite it being an OBVIOUS penalty. Que sera.
Jahan Dotson: 1 Catch, 8 Yards
Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter/X)