The Philadelphia Eagles scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns, including two by star running back Saquon Barkley, to pull away and defeat the Washington Commanders 26-18 on Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field.
Barkley finished with 146 rushing yards and two scores as the Eagles extended their win streak to six straight games and now hold a 1.5 game lead over the Commanders for first place in the NFC East.
Washington opened the scoring in the first quarter with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels orchestrating a four-play, 58-yard drive to put the Commanders ahead 7-0. Daniels had completed a screen-pass in the backfield to Austin Ekeler earlier in the drive to move Washington down the field, and the running back initially evaded the defender before being taken down for a 34-yard gain.
Meanwhile, Brian Robinson rushed for an 18-yard gain a few plays later, before eventually getting an inside handoff near the goal line for the touchdown.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts momentarily left the game in the second quarter and was evaluated for a concussion after being tackled from behind by defensive back Quan Martin and another Commanders defender. As he was falling forward, Hurts’ head was pressed into the turf by Martin’s chest.
The 26-year-old entered the blue medical tent, and then later jogged into the locker room at halftime with the Eagles trailing 7-3. Hurts was cleared by the medical staff and played the entire second half.
Hurts completed 18-of-28 pass attempts for 221 yards, adding 39 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
“What we talked about at halftime was that this was going to be a grimy and gritty game, and just keep going because we know we’re grimy and gritty,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said after the game. “We just kept going, that was the talk at halftime, like, ‘Hey this is a street fight. It’s not about who’s tougher, but who is tougher longer.’”
The turning point in the game came in the fourth quarter. Trailing 12-10, with the Commanders facing a fourth-and-two in field goal range, Washington elected to go for a first down. Daniels bobbled the snap before attempting to scramble for the first, but was tackled along the sideline.
“That was huge. That’s huge. That’s a turnover in our eyes,” Sirianni said of the fourth-down stop. “Jayden Daniels is obviously a really good athlete, a really good football player. It was good to be able to string that thing out and get the stop. It was huge because we went down and made it a two-score game.”
Following the turnover on downs, Barkley scored his first touchdown, breaking off for a 23-yard scamper to put the Eagles ahead 19-10. On the ensuing possession, Philadelphia’s defense picked off a Daniels pass on the first play of the drive, giving the Eagles offense the ball on Washington’s 46-yard line.
Barkley, who almost had a big play on the previous snap, torched the Commanders defense again, hitting the open hole and sprinting up the middle of the field for the 39-yard touchdown to put the Eagles up 26-10 with 4:38 left in the game.
Playing in his first season with the Eagles, Barkley eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards in a season for a fourth time in his career, accomplishing the feat 10 games into Philadelphia’s campaign – the fastest he’s ever reached that milestone.
The Commanders scored a touchdown on their final possesion, with Daniels connecting with tight end Zach Ertz for a five-yard score, but it was too late for a comeback.
Daniels finished with 191 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception in the loss as the Commanders drop back-to-back games for the first time this season.
The Eagles (8-2) will next play against the Los Angeles Rams (4-5) on November 24, while the Commanders (7-4) travel to Dallas to play the Cowboys (3-6).