The Washington Commanders (3-4) host the Philadelphia Eagles (6-1) in Week 8. The two rivals met just four weeks ago in Philadelphia in one of the NFL’s most entertaining games of the season. The Commanders took the Eagles to overtime before losing 34-31.
Now, there is a different feeling surrounding Washington. The Commanders took the defending NFC champions to the wire but have since lost to the Chicago Bears and New York Giants — teams that had combined to win one game before they played Washington.
The Eagles are coming off a dominant win over the explosive Miami Dolphins on Sunday Night Football.
Can Washington take the Eagles to the limit again?
We name five Philadelphia Eagles to watch this weekend.
QB Jalen Hurts
No surprise, but Jalen Hurts had his best game of the season vs. Washington. He passed for 319 yards and two touchdowns against the Commanders in Week 4. He had a couple of clutch runs, too. Can the Commanders limit Philly’s passing game in Week 8? While Hurts is completing almost 68% of his passes, he has nine touchdowns — the same as Sam Howell — and eight interceptions — one more than Howell.
The key for Washington is pressure. The Commanders need to keep the pressure on Hurts can’t allow him to pick up chunk plays on the ground.
RB D'Andre Swift
The biggest knock on D’Andre Swift in his young NFL career has been his health. Swift has remained healthy through seven games. He has 514 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. He’s also caught 26 passes and another TD. The Commanders did an excellent job of bottling Swift up in Week 4. The Eagles have so many offensive weapons, and Swift has proven on two different occasions this season that he can take over games.
WR A.J. Brown
A.J. Brown is in the middle of a historic run. He has five consecutive games of 125 receiving yards or more, which tied an NFL record. In the Week 4 game vs. Washington, Brown caught nine passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns. He was primarily matched up with first-round rookie Emmanuel Forbes that day. Forbes has since been benched. Whoever draws the assignment of Brown has their hands full.
LB Haason Reddick
Haason Reddick is tied with Josh Sweat to lead the Eagles with 5.5 sacks. Philly is loaded with pass rushers, and Reddick has been outstanding over the past two seasons. Reddick recorded one sack in the first meeting, and he remembers Commanders RT Andrew Wylie shutting him down in the Super Bowl. Reddick is red-hot right now and could be in store for his third multi-sack game out of the last four on Sunday.
S Kevin Byard
This will be Kevin Byard’s first game with the Eagles. GM Howie Roseman, proving he’s the best in the game, went out and gave up little to land a former two-time All-Pro safety in Byard. Byard may not be the same player he was five years ago, but he is still excellent. He knows where to line up and is always around the football. He instantly makes Philadelphia’s secondary better.
