PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles defense once again showed its strength, making Jayden Daniels look pedestrian, and Saquon Barkley threw a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns just 20 seconds apart as the Eagles took control of the NFC with a 26-18 win over the Washington Commanders. East.

It was the Eagles’ sixth straight win and they still haven’t lost after Week 5. At 8-2, they are 1.5 games ahead of the Commanders in the NFC East, who dropped to 7-4 with two straight losses.

The Eagles overcame many challenges in this game; including quarterback Jalen Hurts having to pass a concussion test at halftime. Hurts was 18-for-28 with 221 yards and a passer rating of 88.5. He ran for a touchdown and now has 11 this season. He completed more than 25 passes for the first time during this streak.

Barkley had 20 carries for 69 yards after three quarters. He finished with 146 yards on 26 carries. He opened the game with a 23-yard touchdown run that gave the Eagles a 19-10 lead.

Safety Reed Blankenship gave the ball back to the Eagles with an interception. It was his third-highest pick of the season and Daniels’ third interception this season. Blankenship also had 10 steals.

Barkley then went 39 yards for his second TD of the night to make it 26-10 with 4:55 left in the game. He has eight rushing scores and two strikeouts this season. He had 198 total yards with two catches for 52 yards.

Daniels finished 22-for-32 with 191 yards and a cosmetic touchdown pass to Zach Ertz with 28 seconds left. His passer rating was 81.6. He had just 18 yards on 17 carries and the Eagles sacked him three times; Brandon Graham, Nolan Smith and Josh Sweat also received them. It was Sweat’s team-leading sixth sack of the season.

The defense, which ranked second in the league, held the Commanders to 264 total yards, while the Eagles’ offense held 434 yards.

TURNING POINT

Zack Baun. The final NFC Defensive Player of the Week was stopped for the fourth time with 7:55 left in the game. Trailing 12-10 at the time, the Commanders chose not to attempt a shot, instead setting Daniels up for a run. Baun drilled him and took him off the field for no gain. Baun had 14 steals. His interception gave the Eagles the ball back and the offense marched down the field, extending the lead with Barkley’s second TD run.

COUPLES

Nolan Smith. A sack of edge rusher Jayden Daniels on third down late in the third quarter gave the Eagles the ball back, which led to their first touchdown of the night. Smith has 3.5 sacks this season.

Kenny Gainwell. The backup rusher had runs of 14, 13 and 7 yards on the Eagles’ touchdown drive, which led to a quick push TD from Jalen Hurts that gave the Eagles a 12-10 lead with 12 minutes remaining. He also had a nice block that would allow Hurts to run for the first point inside 10, which led to a field goal at the end of the first half that finished 7-3 in favor of the Commanders. He finished with 43 yards on four rushes.

Saquon Barkley. See above. Addition: Rushing for 1,137 yards this season.

Jalen Carter. Once again, it was difficult to block the defensive tackle that played on the other side of the offensive line for most of the night. He finished with a career-high seven steals.

Nakobe Dean. The defender has 10 tackles and continues to play at a high level.

DRESSES

Jake Elliott. The usually reliable shooter struck two makeable strikes wide left; One from the 44 would give the Eagles a 3-0 lead, and the other from the 51 would pull Philly within 7-3 with 11:35 left in the second. quarter. He is 0-for-4 from 50-plus yards this season. His two misses in the first half were as many as he had in the entirety of last year.

Elliott wasn’t done with his misery. He missed the PAT for 12 minutes, preventing the Eagles from taking a 13-10 lead. Instead they had to settle for a 12-10 lead. In total, he cost his team seven points.

Wasted space location. The Eagles found the ball at their own 36 on Will Shipley’s 33-yard kickoff return late in the first quarter but went three-and-out. On their next possession, an 8-yard punt return by Cooper DeJean started the offense in Washington territory at the 48. Elliott missed a shot on this possession.

Red zone offense: The Eagles did not get into the red zone until the 53rd second of the first half. They made two trips in total but had to settle for two field goals.

ingots

-Washington got away with a face mask on Hurts’ third-and-goal challenge. The Eagles had to settle for Elliott’s 21-yard field goal. Referee Adrian Hill’s team then received another facemask flag late in the third quarter when replays showed DeVonta Smith was wearing a facemask.

-Dallas Goedert has a 41-yard catch that would give the Eagles 14 plays of 40-plus yards this season. Last year there were nine of them.

INJURIES

– Quarterback Jalen Hurts suffered a concussion at halftime but was cleared to return.

-Left guard Landon Dickerson limped out of the game just 61 seconds into the game. Tyler Steen arrived, but Dickerson did not appear in the next series.

-Milton Williams left in the fourth quarter with a foot injury and did not return.

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