Jake Elliott signed a four-year, $24 million contract extension with the Philadelphia Eagles in March. 

He cannot be missing two field goals and an extra point and costing the Eagles seven point in a crucial game like Thursday. 

But the Eagles’ defense and Saquon Barkley bailed him out, helping the Eagles defeat the Commanders 26-18 and take first place in the NFC East.

The Eagles (8-2) won their sixth straight game, and this one was huge. They have started 8-2 or better in three straight seasons for the first time in franchise history 

However, when Elliott missed the extra point after Jalen Hurts’ touchdown, it was a little scary. The score could have been 13-10 if Elliott made that, but it was 12-10 and Washington could have taken the lead with a field goal. 

To go even further, it could have been 19-10 when the Eagles executed the Brotherly Shove from the 1-yard line and into the end zone. Elliott normally isn’t this  bad. His five misses this year are tied with his misses in 2022 and 2023  … combined!! So, hopefully he will be fine going forward

But Barkley’s two fourth-quarter TD’s saved the Eagles and Elliott. He rushed 23 yards to extend the Eagles lead to 19-10 (and the extra-point attempt wasn’t the best for Elliott). After Reed Blankenship’s interception, Barkley rushed for 39 yards to extend the lead to 26-10.

Barkley is a beast!! 

After rushing for 146 yards Thursday, Barkley now has 1,137 yards and is clearly on his way to a career year. His most rushing yards came in 2022 when he rushed for 1,312. He definitely will shatter that total. He will probably get well over 2,000 yards. 

Barkley just continues to amaze each week. It must be so hard being a Giants’ fan and seeing him help a rival team win. Right now, he is hands-down the MVP of the Eagles, and Barkley should be in the conversation for the league MVP. He only had 69 yards after three quarters and, even when it seemed it wasn’t his day, he unleashed with his six carries for 77 yards in the fourth quarter. He is outstanding!

But as much as Barkley was brilliant (again), this game was won by the defense.

Zach Baun continued his standout campaign with 15 tackles. Nakobe Dean and Blankenship each added 10. All three broke up a pass. Brandon Graham, Nolan Smith and Josh Sweat each sacked Jayden Daniels, who has been having a great season. Washington entered with an offense ranked fourth in the NFL.

The defense only allowed 264 total yards and 18 points against a Washington team that was averaging 29 points per game. After the Commanders’ TD on their second drive, the Eagles only allowed 151 yards and three points on Washington’s next eight drives. Against a team like Washington, that’s impressive.

The pressure was again amazing. The Eagles forced five punts and a turnover on downs, a huge turning point in the game. Dan Quinn could have taken the lead with a field goal, but he chose to be aggressive and it failed. Washington had a second-and-1 and third-and-1. Dean stopped Brian Robinson for no gain on second down Baun tackled Robinson for a loss on third down. Quinn tested his luck, and he lost. 

Barkley scoring right after to pretty much seal the deal was just as great, making Quinn regret that decision even more. Still, that fourth-and-2 stop to keep Washington from potentially taking the lead was big. 

The Commanders’ final touchdown drive was in, as they call it, “garbage time.” It really meant nothing. At that point, the Eagles just wanted Washington to use clock and then get out of there.  Daniels finished with just 191 yards, almost 59 coming on that final TD drive.  So, that last drive inflated his and the team’s final numbers.

The Commanders were also 3 for 13 on third downs, another stat that shows how crucial the defense was this game. The unit has been playing great, but this was arguably the biggest test so far. You can argue Joe Burrow and the Bengals was the bigger test, sure. But Washington is no joke. The Commanders are playing well, especially offensively. First place in the division was on the line, so Vic Fangio and the defense knew Washington would come in hot. His unit executed…. again. The defense has been dominant lately, and that is a great thing as the Eagles approach the homestretch of the season.

So, this was a quality victory. 

The Eagles should have won that game by a lot more. They finished with 434 yards of total offense, almost 200 more than Washington. The Eagles moved the ball way better, and could have had seven more points to show for it had Elliott made his kicks. It really was a blowout win, despite the final score looking close 

Jalen Hurts again struggled early, going 10 for 19 with 101 yards in the first half. He woke up in the second and threw for 120 yards on eight passes. He wasn’t the greatest Thursday, but he made plays when he had to and found a way to win. He rebounds well, but these slow starts can’t continue. Not just for Hurts, but the entire offense. 

When the offense struggled to score (and Elliott missed those field goals), the defense shut down Washington. They kept the Eagles in the game. Washington could have scored more, but the defense did not net them to take advantage of their opportunities. Not every game will be like that. The offense needs to wake up in the first half. Yes, Elliott missed two field goals, but that could’ve been 14 points, too. Punch it in the end zone early, and maybe we aren’t talking about Elliott’s missed field goals. 

As for the rest of the season, the Eagles have two tough games coming up with the Rams and Ravens, respectively. The Eagles get over a week to prepare for the Rams, so hopefully that’s a win. The Ravens game could be very interesting. Baltimore is a way better offense than Washington, so that’s another test. But the Ravens’ defense isn’t very great, so that’s a game I want to see the offense start off hot. The Eagles should beat the Panthers, Cowboys and Giants. They have big games with the Steelers on Dec. 15 and a rematch with Washington on Dec. 22. The Eagles are still in  great position to get the top seed in the NFC, especially with the Lions having the Packers, Bills, 49ers and Vikings coming up. Still, one game at a time.

Time to have an extra few days to rest and then focus on the Rams!