The Eagles needed some confidence.

Forget who the opponent was, the Eagles’ 31-0 dominant win Sunday over the two-win Las Vegas Raiders did just that. 

Jalen Hurts was coming off his worst career game against the Chargers, and he responded with three touchdowns. He even showed emotion on his 27-yard TD pass to A.J. Brown, which capped the scoring. That was more than just a celebration, it was his way of showing relief. Hurts still has it, and that showed.

He only threw 15 passes, but he connected on 12 of them. He had no turnovers. He finished with 175 yards, a 154.9 passer rating and a 96.5 quarterback rating.

Sure, it was against a terrible defense. 

The Raiders are a joke, and are basically playing for the first overall draft pick. 

But Hurts and the Eagles did exactly what they should have and destroyed a bad team. They finished with 387 total yards! And after a three-game losing skid, it probably felt great to win again, especially in the way that they did.

And now the Eagles (9-5) can clinch the NFC East title with a win over the Washington Commanders on Saturday. The Eagles will be the first team to repeat as NFC East champions in 20 years. 

Even more than that, the Eagle showed something Sunday.

Yes, they won in dominant fashion. But I like the play calling just as much as the execution. The Eagles actually had some balance in the pass and run game. The Eagles moved the ball in different ways. 

I also liked how they ran the ball. Overall, the Eagles rushed 47 times for 183 yards. Saquon Barkley rushed for 78 yards on 22 carries to go with a TD. Tank Bigsby added 57 yards on 17 carries. Hurts had 39 yards on seven carries. 

And seeing the Eagles march right down on their opening possession and take a 7-0 lead was great. They could have started flat, but did not. Heck, it could have been 14-0 if Dallas Goedert caught that ball. But that’s OK. You can’t be mad at him. He normally makes that catch. He still finished with six catches for 70 yards and two scores, so he still had a monster day. The Eagles are just a better team when he’s involved in the game plan. 

He now has 404 receptions, only the fifth Eagles to surpass 400 career catches. The others are Harold Carmichael (589), Zach Ertz (579), Pete Retzlaff (452) and Brian Westbrook (426).

He needs to remain involved. Brown and DeVonta Smith are elite wide receivers, but Goedert makes just as many big plays and he is so reliable. 

Off that, the Eagles also need to keep the run game going. It was a good mix of play calls, but they are a running team, and when they run well, that just opens the passing game. I really liked seeing Bigsby get involved. He’s a good runniong back, and should be involved more. He can give Barkley larger breaks, which keeps him fresh.

The only concern I have going forward is Hurts’ health. He took an awkward hit and hurt his ankle before he came out of the game and seemed to be in some discomfort. But he did come back out and threw a TD, so hopefully he’s OK.

The defense was amazing (again). They are so young, too. This unit could be good for years to come, if they can retain most of these players. 

The Eagles finished with four sacks (two from Brandon Graham) and eight quarterback. Zack Baun made an interception, and Nakobe Dean led with eight tackles. The Raiders finished with just 75 total yards, an impressive outing, despite the competition. 

The secondary has held quarterbacks just 314 yards and two TD passes in the last three games. They also intercepted two passes during those three games. We all know how good Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean and Reed Blankenship are, but even Adoree’ Jackson seems to be playing better.

The defense has kept the Eagles in basically every game this season, especially in the last handful. It’s a great thing to have as the playoffs approach. If the offense can play with more consistency, the Eagles may make a playoff run. This defense is just that good right now.

The Eagles should beat the Commanders in both of their matchups. The game I have circled is against the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 28. The Bills will be home. They are fighting for the AFC East title. So, Josh Allen and the Bills will be playing their hardest, and they are already a great team.

The Eagles will go into a hostile environment, so that will be the biggest test for them. I want to see them compete with them. Even if they lose, I want a clean, competitive game to give me some kind of confidence heading into the playoffs.