4 bold predictions for Eagles vs. Commanders, the rematch

Week 16 gives the Philadelphia Eagles a test that they haven’t seen yet this season: it’s the first time they’re playing a team that they’ve already played. That means the Washington Commanders get their shot to try to adjust and stop the Jalen Hurts and the gang from sweeping them in the regular season.

When they played in Week 11, the Eagles were sloppy. Jalen Hurts had his brain turned into yogurt early on (even though they said he wasn’t concussed), A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith ran into each other in the end zone, Jake Elliott missed two field goals, and there was that really dumb trick play that failed spectacularly.

The Eagles can break the Commanders before the playoffs

There are a few key differences between the Commanders' offense that we saw in Week 11 and their offense this week. Unfortunately for them, it’s only going to make Jayden Daniels’ job harder. That’s a real shame. 

Jayden Daniels has a worse passing day than in Week 11

The Commanders’ rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels had the worst game of his season against the Eagles in Week 11 (aside from his first game ever in Week 1). In that game, he went 22-for-32 for 191 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. 45 of those passing yards and the touchdown came in their garbage-time drive when they were down 16 points. 

Aside from those passing yards, Jayden also carried the ball seven times for 18 yards. The thought around that time was that he was still dealing with some kind of rib injury that he got early in their Week 7 game. Theoretically, that’s reasonable; rib injuries are constantly hurting, and throwing motions and contact will only make it worse. 

This prediction is going to happen for two reasons: he’ll run more and there won’t be checkdowns. 

It looks like he’s more or less over the rib thing. If that held him back in Week 11, it probably won’t be the case this week. The dude likes to tuck the ball and run when everything is going well, but everything isn’t going well right now. Their running back Austin Ekeler is on the IR and won’t play. 

Ekeler was the leading receiver in Week 11 with eight catches for 89 yards, and most of those throws were short passes or checkdowns. With him not there, Jayden is going to be forced to be an athlete and win with his legs.

The Eagles defense has shown that they can handle running quarterbacks by shutting down Lamar Jackson. They’ll trust their coverage and let the Dawgs eat when Jayden tries to be the hero. (Not-so-bold prediction: Jalen Carter recreates his sack on Jayden from college).

Jake Elliott kicks a 50+ yard field goal:

Jake Elliott hasn’t had a great year. He’s only made 20-of-26 field goals and five of those misses are from all five of his attempts from 50+ yards. 

He had missed a few field goals in the first nine games of the season (one miss in Weeks 3, 6, and 9), but the problem really showed its grotesque, wart-ridden, Joker scar-having face in the Week 11 game when he missed two consecutive field goals and then an extra point. That was the first game that he missed two field goals since Week 16 of the 2019 season.

This prediction is going to happen because the Football Gods work in mysterious ways and Jake making a 50+ yarder would almost be a penance for some of the other kicks. 

This isn’t to say that you’re going to feel good about Jake coming onto the field to kick a 50-yarder in the playoffs. This is to say that you won’t feel gut-wrenchingly terrible about Jake coming into the field to kick a 50-yarder in the playoffs. 

Sometimes you just need to see the ball go through the hoop. If Jake shows then he can still do it, it’ll go a long way in inspiring a semblance of confidence for fans.

Saquon rushes for at least 140 yards

Saquon might’ve gotten dinged up a little bit last week against the Steelers and it caused him to only get 65 rushing yards. That puts his season total to 1,688 yards. 

That’s 312 yards short of 2,000, 409 yards behind Adrian Peterson's MVP-worthy 2,097 rushing yards in 2012, and 417 yards behind Eric Dickerson’s NFL single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards. Our guy has three more games to get to any, two, or all three of these benchmarks.

140 rushing yards is significant because Saquon needs 418 yards to break the NFL record, and 140 is a third of 418 (if you round up). 

This prediction is going to happen because in Week 11 Saquon rushed for 146 yards. You could argue that teams will adjust in their second game to take away some of the things that beat them in the first game.

That might be true a good chunk of the time, but this isn’t just any old team and it isn't just any old player. This is the Commanders’ below-average defense and Saquon Barkley that we’re talking about here. 

The sun will rise in the East and set in the West. The tides will rise and fall. Birds will fly, bees will buzz, and Saquon will beat teams into submission behind the Eagles' offensive line on a weekly basis. That’s just how the world works.

The Eagles get a touchdown on their first drive

The Eagles haven’t gotten to the end zone on their first drive of any game at all this season and it’s been ruthlessly frustrating. They made it as close as they have all season in Week 15 when they made it to the Steelers' 16-yard line only to kick a field goal. 

This prediction is going to happen because… actually, that’s just it: ‘just because.’ They have to do it at some point right? There are only three opening drives left in the season. This offense cannot get blanked 17 straight times on opening drives. That’d be the dumbest thing ever.

If the Eagles make just one of these bold predictions come true, they’ll win this game, clinch the NFC East, and make the entirety of the Holiday season not totally suck. That’s what we’re aiming for this week.