The Eagles' recipe to beating the Commanders
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The Eagles mission: Stop Jayden Daniels. Photo: Kara Durrette/Getty Images
Eagles fans were saying "shoulda, coulda, woulda" after last month's stunning collapse against the Commanders.
The big picture: The second-seeded Birds have tied a franchise record at 14-3 this season, relying on running back Saquon Barkley and a stingy, top-ranked defense that sealed last week's victory against the Rams.
- Meanwhile, the "cardiac" Commanders (12-5) have won six times while trailing in the waning seconds of games this season, relying on the shifty rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, who has shown poise in big moments.
Zoom in: Axios rewatched the Birds-Commanders' Dec. 22 game to get a better sense of what went wrong for Philadelphia.
- There's obvious things, like the concussion that forced QB Jalen Hurts out of the game. But that's not really why the Birds lost.
Here are our biggest takeaways:
Maintain your defensive identity
Vic Fangio, considered a defensive savant, built the Eagles into the top-ranked defense by deploying a bend-but-don't-break philosophy.
- He'll sprinkle in a lot of man- and zone-coverages to confuse the quarterback.
Yes, but: Against the Commanders, Fox in-game analyst Greg Olsen pointed out how Fangio suddenly became blitz-happy, sending extra defenders to rattle Daniels.
- It didn't work. Daniels was unfazed and carved up the Eagles for five touchdowns.
- The Eagles are better off putting a spy linebacker on Daniels to contain his mobility, plus forcing him to read complex, disguised coverages.
Play nice
Eagles starting safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson got ejected after drawing his second unsportsmanlike play of the game — one of 10 penalties for the Birds.
- The Eagles must avoid personal fouls so they can have their best secondary players against the dangerous Daniels.
Deal the knockout blow when you can
The Birds built an early 14-point lead and had several chances to issue the coupe de grâce. We're not even counting DeVonta Smith's huge drop at the end.
- The Eagles could've put the game out of reach in the first quarter, but quarterback Kenny Pickett threw an interception that set up the Commanders' first TD.
- And he took another huge sack on third down in the third quarter, with the Birds up 24-14. Philly settled for a field goal.
What happened: On the Commanders' ensuing drive, Daniels picked up 30 yards on a huge 4th-and-11 conversion, setting up a TD that cut the Birds' lead to 27-21.
- Which brings us to our last point.
Stop the Commanders on fourth down!
Washington had the best fourth-down conversion rate in the league during the regular season, and made some huge do-or-die plays to stay in it against the Birds.
Case in point: The Eagles built early momentum by stopping the Commanders on a fourth down on their opening drive.
- They scored a few plays later.