The Philadelphia Eagles' are in the NFC Championship Game, and their opponent will be the Washington Commanders, in a rubber match after the two teams split this season. Here are our five things to watch, when the Commanders have the ball.
MORE: Eagles-Commanders preview: Five things to watch when the Eagles have the ball
1) Can the Eagles contain Jayden Daniels as a runner?
Daniels led the Commanders in rushing in 2024:
| Player | Rush | Yards | YPC | TD |
| Jayden Daniels | 148 | 891 | 6.0 | 6 |
| Brian Robinson | 187 | 799 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Austin Ekeler | 77 | 367 | 4.8 | 4 |
| Jeremy McNichols | 55 | 261 | 4.7 | 4 |
| Chris Rodriguez | 35 | 173 | 4.9 | 2 |
In their first matchup with the Commanders Week 11, the Eagles did an outstanding job of containing Daniels, who may not have been 100 percent healthy, as he had recently suffered a ribs injury. But also, the Eagles did a great job of limiting Daniels' runs on the occasions he got into the open field, like here, by Nakobe Dean:
In the second matchup, Daniels ran nine times for 89 yards. Three of those runs were for first downs on 3rd or 4th down. The first one was a designed run on 3rd and 7 that picked up 13 yards.
The second one was a 4th and 4 scramble that got five yards.
And finally, the last one was a 4th and 11 scramble that picked up 29 yards.
That last one was a major play in that game.
Vic Fangio was asked about potentially mush rushing Daniels.
"It's always a fine line there," he said. "If you're mush rushing, then he stands forever, too."
The Eagles faced Lamar Jackson and Daniels twice this season. Fangio will have the task of figuring out what worked against those guys, and what didn't.
2) Can the Eagles continue to shut down the Commanders' running backs?
The Commanders were the fifth-most run heavy team in the NFL this season.
| Team | Run % |
| Eagles | 55.9% |
| Ravens | 53.6% |
| Packers | 50.7% |
| Bills | 49.4% |
| Commanders | 48.4% |
Obviously, a big part of that is because they have a quarterback who can run. But they were also very effective running with their backs against the Lions in the Divisional Round, as Brian Robinson, Austin Ekeler, and Jeremy McNichols combined for 25 carries for 132 yards and 3 TDs. (I actually think that if this team adds a stud running back this offseason this offense will be a nightmare, but that's a discussion for another day.)
The Eagles did a good job against the Commanders' running backs in each of the first two matchups, as their backs combined for 36 carries for just 107 yards (2.97 per carry) and a TD.
Honestly, any time the Commanders take the ball out of Daniels' hands and give it a back, that's probably a gift to the Eagles.
3) Don't let Terry McLaurin beat you
As always, Terry McLaurin is the Commanders' most dangerous and productive receiver, by far.
| Commanders receiving | Rec | Yards | YPC | TD |
| Terry McLaurin | 82 | 1096 | 13.4 | 13 |
| Zach Ertz | 66 | 654 | 9.9 | 7 |
| Olamide Zaccheaus | 45 | 506 | 11.2 | 3 |
| Noah Brown | 35 | 453 | 12.9 | 1 |
| Austin Ekeler | 35 | 366 | 10.5 | 0 |
| Dyami Brown | 30 | 308 | 10.3 | 1 |
In Week 16, a bunch of the Commanders' role player receivers had big games. Olamide Zaccheaus had five catches for 70 yards and 2 TDs. Dyami Brown had four catches for 56 yards. Jamison Crowder had 2 TDs.
The Eagles' secondary was sloppy that day. The worst example was a play in which Isaiah Rodgers exited the game, and both Darius Slay and Kelee Ringo came onto the field. Slay realized that the Eagles had 12 men on the field and tried to hustle off, but left Zaccheaus wide open deep down the field as a result.
Anyway, the Commanders' other receivers having some success against the Eagles Week 16 doesn't matter. The guy the Eagles absolutely must not let beat them is No. 17 (on the right, waving to you as always), Terry McLaurin.
The Eagles' defense has mostly done a nice job on McLaurin this season. In two games, McLaurin has six catches for 70 yards and a TD. That must continue.
McLaurin has 11 catches for 176 yards (16.0 YPC) and two TDs in the playoffs. All the Eagles' receivers combined have 12 catches for 111 yards.
The good news for the Eagles is that Quinyon Mitchell said that he will play on Sunday against the Commanders, after suffering a shoulder injury that knocked him out of the Eagles' Divisional Round game against the Rams.
4) Where might the Eagles go Feastin'™️🍗?
The Commanders' offensive line is healthy, and looks like this:
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Brandon Coleman | Nick Allegretti | Tyler Biadasz | Trent Scott? | Andrew Wylie |
Starting RG Sam Cosmi tore an ACL against the Lions in the Divisional Round. His season is over. Trent Scott filled in at RG against the Lions and played 46 snaps in that game. If the Commanders don't do any major shuffling, Scott will likely start at RG on Sunday against the Eagles.
During the regular season, Scott played 51 snaps at LT, and 128 snaps at RT. Scott is an undrafted journeyman who has also played for the Chargers, Panthers, and Steelers. He got one start this season, at RT against the Steelers. Expect the Commanders to give him help all day against Jalen Carter.
The Commanders could also opt to move Wylie inside to RG, and start Cornelius Lucas at RT.
In Week 11, the Commanders couldn't block Carter, and that was with Cosmi in the lineup (video via PhillyPMC):There should also be opportunities against Brandon Coleman, a third-round rookie who gave up sacks to Nolan Smith and Josh Sweat Week 11. Smith's sack:Aaaand Sweat's sack:In Week 16, the Eagles' front got pressure, but as noted above, Daniels kept making maddening plays with his legs.Still, opportunities should be there for the Eagles' pass rush to get after this shaky offensive line.FeastinMeter™️: 5/10 turkey legs 🍗🍗🍗🍗🍗
5) The Eagles' kick coverage stunk Week 16 against the Commanders
The Commanders got great field position all day Week 16 against the Eagles because they kept getting long returns. They had starting field positions at the WAS 40, the PHI 43, the WAS 37, the WAS 39, and the WAS 43. That's unacceptable.
The Eagles have since adjusted, most notably having Jake Elliott kick off instead of Braden Mann, and their coverage units have played better as well. They cannot relapse in this matchup.
MORE: NFC Hierarchy/Obituary
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