Eagles-Commanders tale of the tape: Philly has a way better defense, and should have the edge on offense

The Eagles will take the field in Landover on Sunday, all of 60 minutes away from clinching the first run of back-to-back NFC East titles since the Andy Reid days of the early 2000s.

They were in a rough stretch, having lost three straight in increasingly infuriating fashion that led to growing concern of the team falling into another 2023-level collapse, but then they responded big time against an abysmal Las Vegas Raiders team last Sunday with a 38-0 shutout when they needed it most.

The defense was suffocating and rushing how Vic Fangio wants to, Jalen Hurts used his feet again and was calculating with the football, and the offense, for the first time in a while, looked much closer to the unit that poured it on late into last season's playoffs than the one that had been struggling the past month or so to even get a first down.

They still have work ahead of them in the season's final stretch, but against Washington on Saturday, the Eagles will look to build off their showing against the Raiders and clinch that NFC East title in the process.

Here's the tale of the tape going into Week 16 on Saturday, with advantages bolded…

Offense

Eagles Average Commanders
22.9 Pts 20.8
314.9 Total Yds 328.4
199.3 Passing Yds 191.3
115.6 Rushing Yds 137.1
37.4 3rd Down Pct 38.3
61.1 4th Down Pct 58.3
13 Giveaways 20

Defense

Eagles Average Commanders
19.4 Pts 26.8
322.6 Total Yds 382.6
196.7 Passing Yds 246.3
125.9 Rushing Yds 136.3
40.8 3rd Down Pct 41.2
29.2 4th Down Pct 60.9
17 Takeaways 8

Leaders

Eagles
PASSING CMP% YDS Y/A TDS INT/SK
Jalen Hurts 65.2 2,929 7.4 22 6 / 29
RUSHING CAR YDS Y/A LG TDS
Saquon Barkley 240 940 3.9 65 6
RECEIVING REC YDS Y/A LG TDS
DeVonta Smith 66 889 13.5 79 3
Commanders
PASSING CMP% YDS Y/A TDS INT/SK
Marcus Mariota 62.0 1,600 7.5 10 7 / 15
RUSHING CAR YDS Y/A LG TDS
Jacory Croskey-Merritt 143 646 4.5 42 5
RECEIVING REC YDS Y/A LG TDS
Deebo Samuel 65 604 9.3 38 5

Series history and previous matchup

The Eagles' all-time record against Washington is 90-86-5. Philly has won five of the last seven divisional matchups going back to the start of the 2022 season.

The last time the two faced off was a monumental one: The NFC Championship Game back in January.

Saquon Barkley spun away and took off into the open, the Commanders kept losing the football, and then their defense short-circuited in spectacular fashion against the Tush Push as the Eagles dropped 55 points on them for the right to go to the Super Bowl.

Eagles vs Commanders: NFC Championship
1. SAQUON BARKLEY!
HE'S GONNA GO! pic.twitter.com/2nkO80aMVW

— Nick Piccone (@_piccone) January 27, 2025

The Commanders made a run with house money behind rookie QB Jayden Daniels, but the Eagles were a dramatic cut above, and that reality hit them like a brick to the face.

The Commanders went completely backwards from that day since in a regression that everyone else but Washington fans could see coming.

Now their season, at 4-10 and with Daniels shut down for the year from injury, is over.

The Eagles, though, they still have the playoffs ahead and a hope for repeat Super Bowl contention. Another NFC Championship-esque blowout would do wonders for that.

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