A pair of NFC East rivals battle it out on Monday Night Football as the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles welcome the Washington Commanders to Lincoln Financial Field.
Philly are a perfect 8-0 after getting past the Houston Texans 29-17 last Thursday, while the Commanders dropped a squeaker, 20-17, to the Minnesota Vikings.
Match preview
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It was a close call for Nick Sirianni and his Eagles a week ago, but they did what they had to do in the end, holding the Texans to just 135 yards through the air.
Winning the takeaway battle has been an integral part of their success in 2022, with Philly leading the NFL in turnover differential (+15).
That is just one of the many things this team does well, not to mention they are pretty good at getting to quarterbacks, totalling 26 sacks, plus a solid pressure rating of 28.4%.
When quarterbacks can evade that Eagles pressure, they struggle to find open receivers, with Philadelphia allowing the lowest passer rating in the league (68.0) and also first regarding interceptions (12).
Easily their biggest weakness on the defensive side is how poorly they play the run, allowing the Texans' Dameon Pierce to rush for 139 yards on 27 carries last Thursday, though they have a great ground game themselves, averaging 4.3 yards per carry, good for sixth in the league.
Philly have scored the third-most points in the NFC this season (225) while conceding the second-fewest in the league (135).
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A new quarterback behind centre for Ron Rivera has turned the Commanders into a much more competitive team, winning three of their last four contests.
Washington's defence is ranked 21st in the league, and struggling to contain opposing receivers, allowing a 99.9 rate to wideouts in 2022, conceding 265 yards through the air to Kirk Cousins and Minnesota a week ago.
Their defensive line has saved their secondary from getting burned too often, with the Commanders posting 23 sacks and the second-highest pressure rating in the NFL (33.7%).
They will be facing a quarterback this weekend who is among the most mobile in the league, and the Commanders, have contained opposing pivots well on the ground this year, allowing just 3.5 yards per carry.
Their recent solid form has enabled them to get to .500 on the season, something they have not managed since 2016-17, finishing the past five campaigns with a losing record.
Six of Washington's nine games this season have been decided by a single score, with the Commanders coming out on top four times.
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Team News
Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts has thrown for 12 touchdown passes this season and only two interceptions, for a 107.8 rating, AJ Brown has five TD grabs in his last three games, while Miles Sanders ran for 93 yards and a major score against the Texans, as he is averaging 5 yards per carry this season.
James Bradberry has defended 11 passes in 2022, holding quarterbacks to a 40.1 rating with three interceptions, while opposing pivots have only managed a 35.1 rating when throwing against Darius Slay.
Philadelphia defensive back CJ Gardner-Johnson leads the league with five interceptions, and Javon Hargrave has six sacks.
Avonte Maddox has a sore hamstring, as does Josh Jobe, Josiah Scott is dealing with an ankle injury, while Fletcher Cox saw limited practice time because of a knock.
Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke has won two of his three starts, Terry McLaurin is averaging 67.7 yards receiving this year and Curtis Samuel had three catches for 65 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Minnesota.
Antonio Gibson averaged only 3.4 yards per carry last week, Danny Johnson had one interception, Daron Payne had their only sack and Kamren Curl led them with eight tackles.
David Mayo and Jahan Dotson have hamstring problems, Tyler Larsen is dealing with a sore back, JD McKissic missed practice on Thursday because of a neck injury and Carson Wentz is on the injured-reserve list with a fractured ring finger.
Head To Head
When these teams met in September, Hurts threw three TD passes in the second quarter to Dallas Goedert, Brown and DeVonta Smith as Philadelphia won 24-8, their third successive victory against Washington.
The Commanders hold a slight edge overall at 88-82 with five ties, with the last Washington win over Philly coming in January 2021 when Alex Smith hit Logan Thomas for a second-quarter TD, helping them to a 20-14 triumph.
We say: Philadelphia Eagles 28-18 Washington Commanders
Against any other quarterback besides Hurts, the Commanders' ability to generate pressure would enable them to create turnovers.
Like the Bengals' Joe Burrow, Hurts is used to being hit, having taken three 3+ sacks in five games this season, but is still managing to get the job done.
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Joel Lefevre
