4 mistakes the Eagles can't afford to make if they want to beat the Commanders

For the third time this season, the Philadelphia Eagles get to play the Washington Commanders. Right now, the series is tied 1-1 after the Eagles won 26-18 in Week 11 and the Commanders won 36-33 in Week 16. This time it’s the NFC Championship game and this time the winner gets to go to the Super Bowl. 

The Eagles' Week 16 loss was highlighted by mistakes

It’s become abundantly clear this season that the only team who beats the Eagles is the Eagles. Whether it’s penalties, dumbfounding mental goofs, lack of gap integrity, or missed assignments, the Commanders have shown that they’re more than capable of taking advantage of mistakes. The only way they’ll win this game is if they exploit those mistakes… So, how about no mistakes? Sounds good? Good.

Chill with the penalties

No bones about it: this is going to be a chippy game and there’s going to be some stupid stuff that happens and there are going to be some stupid penalties because of that stupid stuff. Hopefully it’s nothing as stupid as C.J.G.J.’s ejection in Week 16 when he got tossed for “basically taunting,” but there’s sure to be a flag thrown for something relatively petty.

On Thursday, the Commanders’ defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. was talking about Jalen Hurts in the running game and he said, “...If he’s going to run the ball or if the coordinator makes the decision for him to run the ball, we’re going to treat him like a running back. And we’re going to hit him that way. So that’s their decision: if they want him to get hit the way that he gets hit. If they don’t they’ll keep him in the pocket…”

Uh… Yeah, dude. That’s what you’re supposed to do. That’s what you’ve done before. That’s what everyone does. Joe, you just described playing defense. There’s nothing special about that.

That’s like saying, ‘If I get to the stop sign first, then I’m going to go. I’m going to step on the gas pedal and drive my car forward. If you want to go before me at a stop sign, then you get there first. That’s your decision. That’s up to you.’

Regardless, it sounds like his lame message to his defense is that they’re going to need to out-physical the Eagles offense. They’re simply not going to be able to do that legally. If they (read: Frankie Luvu) do lay a dirty hit on Jalen (again) then A.J. Brown, Jordan Mailata, and Landon Dickerson are going to throw their weight around… Just, don’t be the second guy to do something. They always call the second guy, unless, of course,  it’s C.J.G.J. 

If the Commanders are going to be dumb, then let them hurt themselves. Take 15 yards when it's given to you. This simply can’t be another game where the Eagles have 10 penalties for 91 yards.

If you’re looking for some penalty tendencies from both teams, the referee crew, and how they compare to NFL averages, I wrote about that earlier this week.

Avoid wildly avoidable boneheaded moves

In Week 16, there was 9:06 left in the game and the Eagles were up 27-21. Commanders had a first-and-ten on the Eagles 49-yard line. Darius Slay had come onto the field and Kelee Ringo did not come off the field. Slay saw this after he was lined up in formation, and started to run off the field. That left Olamide Zaccheaus wide open for a 49-yard touchdown.

That play never should’ve happened, per the NFL rule book. Rule 5, Section 1, Article 1 says, “If Team A has more than 11 players in its formation for more than three seconds, or if Team B has more than 11 players in its formation and the snap is imminent, it is a foul... In these instances, game officials shall blow their whistles immediately and not allow the snap or kick to occur.”

Slay was on the field and in formation for close to five seconds. The play should’ve been blown dead. That was botched by the referees. The other option is that Slay probably should’ve just not panicked, stayed on the field, and taken the five yards.

Dumb, stupid, and bizarre stuff like that HAS to be avoided. 

 Don’t let Jayden Daniels get outside

Jayden Daniels is dangerous. Not only can he make good throws and will take advantage of blown coverages, but he’ll also torch defenses with his legs.

The Eagles' defense rarely blows coverages and the defensive backs attach themselves to wide receivers like parasites, so Jayden’s arm is not the bigger threat between those two.

The way he runs and slips through tackles is the issue. In Week 16, the play that turned the tide of the entire game was a Jayden Daniels scramble for 29 yards on a fourth-and-11. That’s just a thing that he does, and it can’t happen. 

Jayden has rushed 148 times for 891 yards and six touchdowns. 108 of those attempts, 728 of the yards, and all of the touchdowns have come from runs outside the tackles. This game is going to come down to the Eagles' defensive line being able to beat the guys across from them, and Nolan Smith and Josh Sweat’s ability to contain him. 

Those are two pretty good guys to rely on. In Week 11, Jayden was limited to 37 yards outside of the tackles, and in Week 11 it was just 15 yards. If Jayden gets forced to the inside, that’s fine.

Jalen Carter is going to be lining up across from a backup right guard. He’s either going to get double-teamed which would allow everyone else to stop the run, or he’s going to get a one-on-one and he’ll stop the run himself.

Deal with stunts

The Eagles offensive line had a really bad showing last weekend. Jalen Hurts was pressured on 43.3% of his dropbacks and he was sacked a career-high seven times. Not all of those sacks were completely due to the offensive line, but a decent amount were. 

On top of that, a good chunk of the pressures and sacks were because the Rams’ defensive line was running stunts and Mekhi Becton (probably) blew a few assignments. It was ugly. 

The Commanders’ head coach Dan Quinn is smart enough to watch what happened last week and try to recreate it. The Rams’ defensive line is much better than Washington’s defensive line, so it won’t be a perfect recreation, but they can get close to it. 

A big problem is that as of Friday morning, the Eagles center Cam Jurgens has been listed as a DNP on the practice reports with a back injury. At Thursday’s practice, left guard Landon Dickerson took snaps at center while Tyler Steen played at left guard.

You’d prefer not to switch up an offensive line that much, but if Jeff Stoutland thinks that’s the best way to go, then that means it’s the best way to go. In Stout We Trust.

On top of that, since the last time the Eagles played the Commanders in Week 16, Washington’s really really good defensive tackle Jonathan Allen has come back from his pec injury. He typically lines up over the center and left guard… so it’d be really cool if the offensive line played all the positions they’re best at.

If you’re looking for some optimism, Landon Dickerson was asked whether or not he thinks Cam is going to play on Sunday and he said, “I mean, I do, but I’m not a medical guy. Y’all can ask Sirianni or trainers. I don’t know exactly, but as far as I’m concerned I think he is.” Also, Jordan Mailata was asked about his confidence in Landon playing center and he said, “Very confident. Landon was a center for part of his life. Pretty confident in him if his number is to be called, but we got faith in Cam coming back…” 

So if we trust Jeff Stoutland, we trust his guys. If they think Cam is coming back, then we have to think Cam is coming back. That’s how that works.