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Two of the best teams in the NFC will square off Thursday night as the Washington Commanders travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles.
Jalen Hurts once again has the Eagles in prime position for a postseason run. After a shaky 2-2 start, they have won five straight and are coming off a dominant 34-6 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Washington, meanwhile, is one of the biggest surprises in the league. Quarterback Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NFL draft, has electrified both the franchise and the fan base and has the Commanders primed for the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Whoever wins Thursday night will be in the driver’s seat for the NFC East crown. Stay with NBC News all night for live updates from the matchup.
Only three plays and six yards for the Commanders on their first drive of the night. Jayden Daniels threw incomplete on 3rd-and-4, setting up a punt.
The Eagles will regain possession on their own nine.
The Eagles were driving and on the cusp of the red zone before a holding call stalled their opening drive. Philly opted to kick a field goal on 4th-and-13, but Jake Elliott missed a 44-yard attempt.
The Commanders will take over for their first possession on their own 34.
The Eagles start with the ball and their first play from scrimmage is an eight-yard pass to Jahan Dotson.
The Eagles beat the Cowboys 34-6 in Week 10, their largest win of the season (28 pts), and have won five straight games since returning from their Week 5 bye after starting the season 2-2. Philadelphia is averaging 29.4 points per game while allowing just 13 points per game during the win streak.
The Eagles have scored more than 28 points in each of their last four games, the first time they’ve done that since 2017 (season they won the Super Bowl).
Philadelphia has beaten up on weak competition, defeating the Browns, Giants, Bengals, Jaguars and Cowboys — all five teams have losing records and a combined record of 13-35.
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts during 5-game win streak: 16 total touchdowns (8 pass, 8 rush with just two turnovers.
Washingon’s starting kicker Austin Seibert is still dealing with a hip injury and will miss Thursday’s game against the Eagles. The Commanders, as a result, promoted Zane Gonzalez from their practice squad for the matchup.
Gonzalez stepped in nicely last week. He hit both field goal attempts in a 28-27 loss to the Steelers.
Washington will get a huge boost in the backfield as Brian Robinson will return after missing last week’s loss to the Steelers with a hamstring injury. Robinson is averaging a career-best 4.6 yards per carry this season.
Daniels has started the season on fire and is the main reason why Washington is 7-3 on the season and likely headed for the postseason. But in a 28-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers he came a bit back down to Earth.
The rookie QB had a career-low 50.0% completion percentage (17-for-34) and the Commanders had season-low 242 yards of total offense. Pittsburgh also did a great job limiting his running ability. Daniels had just five yards rushing, the only time he’s been held to single-digit yards on the ground this season.
He faces a tough task against a defense that ranks No. 5 in opponent points per game (17.9) and No. 2 in yards per game (274.1).
Philadelphia has won five of the last six games between these teams, including each of the last two. Both teams scored more than 30 points in each of their two meetings last season (Philadelphia won 34-31 in overtime in Week 4 and won 38-31 in Week 8).
This will be the first meeting between these teams when both are at least four games above .500 since Week 12 of the 1996 season. That year both teams entered that game at 7-3, with Washington winning the matchup 26-21.
Gus Frerotte was Washington’s QB and Ty Detmer was Philadelphia’s QB in that game.
Greg Rosenstein is the sports editor for NBC News Digital.
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