Breaking news: Zack Baun has decommit from Philadelphia and flip to Louisville Cardinals over Alabama and Texas tech….
The two regular-season games tell different tales. In the first, Washington was in control until late in the fourth quarter after Saquon Barkley scored on a pair of long runs. In the second, the Eagles were in control early on despite losing Jalen Hurts, and the Commanders pulled off an upset with 20 points in the fourth quarter. What was the difference? Washington shut Saquon Barkley down after the first quarter of the second one.
Washington is capable; they’ve proven that. The key to them upsetting the Eagles again is containing Barkley, who has been unstoppable in the postseason. While they may slow him down, I don’t want to count on them to shut him down. But I don’t think the Eagles will shut Jayden Daniels down, either.
Washington Commanders vs Philadelphia Eagles Prediction & Pick
Prediction published on 1/24/25, 9:00 PM by Travis Pulver | Modified on 1/24/25 at 9:21 PM in NFL Picks
It has not been all sunshine and rainbows for the Eagles this season despite going 14-3 during the regular season. Head coach Nick Siriani came under fire early on for some of his game-time decisions. Later in the season, when they were rolling through opponents and winning games, some controversy arose regarding the passing game.
Of course, with the way Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts have dominated opponents with the ground game, the Eagles haven’t needed big passing numbers. However, while Hurts passed for less than 200 yards a game and only 18 touchdowns this season, he had the fifth-best rating among quarterbacks that started all season (103.7).
Expectations were not high for the Commanders this season, with a first-year head coach and rookie quarterback behind center. But Jayden Daniels has surpassed all typical expectations for rookie quarterbacks. The win over Detroit tied him with Ben Roethlisberger for most wins by a rookie quarterback. He can break the tie, of course, with a win in the NFC title game. Head coach Dan Quinn is one of the top candidates for Coach of the Year after guiding a perennial loser to a 12-5 record and a spot in the playoffs
Washington appears to be in pretty good shape on the injury front. Only six players did not participate in practice on Wednesday. Three of them, Zach Ertz, Clelin Ferrell, and Dante Fowler Jr., were just getting a rest day. Sam Cosmi (knee), Daron Payne (knee/finger), and Bobby Wagner (ankle) were the other three. Cosmi is out for the season after tearing his ACL against the Lions, but Payne and Wagner should play. Several additional players were listed on the report, but only two were ‘limited,’ Javontae Jean-Baptiste and Olamide Zaccheaus. The rest were all full participants.
