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NFC EAST CHAMPIONS: 21 Immediate Takeaways from Eagles 29, Commies 18
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For the first time since 2004, the NFC East has a repeat winner.
The Eagles took care of business in the swamp on Saturday evening, defeating the Commies 29-18 to claim the division for a second straight year. The last time that happened, Artis Hicks was playing left guard and Mike Bartrum was the long snapper. Jevon Kearse led the Birds in sacks and Derrick Burgess was lining up on the other side of the defensive front. George W. Bush was president while Usher topped the Billboard charts with Lil Jon and Ludacris.
So it’s been a minute since anybody has been able to win a historically-competitive division in consecutive seasons.
That being said, this game wasn’t exactly an instant classic. The Birds didn’t pull away until the fourth quarter, and benefited from playing Washington’s 2nd and 3rd-string quarterbacks. Jake Elliott couldn’t kick a field goal to save his life and Will Shipley committed a couple of big mistakes that made this game closer than it had to be. But even with those road blocks in the way, Jalen Hurts had another super-efficient passing performance, Saquon Barkley went over 100 yards and found the end zone, and the defense once again looked good enough to win another Super Bowl.
The 2025 Eagles haven’t been the 2024 Eagles, but is this a team you want to play in Philadelphia when the postseason begins?
To the observations:
1) Can’t engineer a worse start than fumbling the opening kickoff. They had only one first-quarter giveaway all season long before that.
2) Washington should have gone for it on 4th and goal of their opening drive. You’ve got four wins, nothing to lose, and you’re on the two yard line. Why kick the field goal?
3) First Eagles drive was derailed by a zero-yard run on first down. You could see Dallas Goedert put his arms out in confusion, thinking that someone else was supposed to block Jacob Martin, who went untouched into the backfield. The Birds entered the game with a 12.5 stuffed run percentage, which is third-worst in the NFL, behind only the Raiders and Dolphins.
4) There was a lot to like about the second Eagles drive, in which they came out showing five-wide with no huddle. It started with a DeVonta Smith sit down completion against zone, then a 14-yard Hurts scramble and A.J. Brown catch-and-run. They almost got Smitty on a pylon shot with the fourth play, then brought Saquon back into the backfield and got DeVonta on a play-action pass from under center. Good stuff.
5) The only thing that was kind of a head scratcher on that drive was the tush push false start. What happened to just lining up and running it? Either get up to the line and do it, or take it out of the playbook. They had similar issues in the third quarter with the shove.
6) It was pretty funny to hear the ref announce that the overturned Saquon TD was going to review, then he came back less than two seconds later confirming that it was short. Quickest review of all time? They finished it before he could even announce it.
7) Crowd was awesome. Tons of Eagles fans down there. We now have Lincoln Financial Field, Landover, and SoFi, aka The Linc South and The Linc West. These are basically satellite campuses, for instance, Temple Ambler.
8) Upon further review, A.J. probably should have caught this. It’s a terrible throw, but catchable for someone like him if he hustles to the sideline and just drags his feet. It resulted in a 3rd and 11 and they wound up missing a 43-yard field goal:
9) It’s hard to fathom that people still don’t believe in momentum after the Eagles missed the field goal and then Washington came out on the very next play and took a shot, going 40 yards into Eagles territory on first down. You go from a four-point lead to a three-point deficit just like that.
10) Dan Quinn challenging a play that was already reviewed? It’s a bold strategy Cotton! We’ll see if it works out for him. (it didn’t, but they converted on 4th down anyway)
11) Gotta sit down Will Shipley for the rest of the game after two mistakes on two kickoffs, don’t you? One of those mistakes cost the Eagles a possession and three points, and the other cost them more than 10 yards of field position. I guess the coaching staff doesn’t believe in that, because he was out there in the second half.
12) On the play right before halftime when Hurts fumbled, we will go out on a limb and say that this is hands to the face:
13) Elliott has missed a field goal or extra point in four of his last five games. He hooked three in a row in the first half from 43, 57, and 52, though it only goes down as two on the box score since the 57-yarder was wiped out due to a penalty.
14) It’s not often that special teams derails you entirely, but that was the first half story. Two missed field goals and a fumble amounting to a lost possession. The offense and defense played well enough outside of the one explosive for Terry McLaurin and the missed second-down connection between Hurts and Brown.
15) 3rd and 10 swing pass to Shipley… why? The receivers weren’t even blocking. You’re in four-down territory, sure, but that doesn’t mean you need to run a shitty play on 3rd. Getting to 4th and 7 doesn’t do a whole lot for you.
16) They should send a gift basket to the Commie who held Goedert on 4th down to extend the drive. Maybe a popcorn tin or holiday fruit cake.
17) What a shitshow at the end of the third. First, Washington is called for interference on a play that wasn’t interference, then a there’s a borderline false start on a tush push. Fred Johnson then gets whistled for an obvious hold and the Eagles score anyway on 3rd and 15. This ball came out wobbly, but what a throw on the run. Jalen really put it in a great spot for Goedert to go up and snag:
18) You knew it was over when Josh Johnson entered the game. Nothing against the guy, but he’s a journeyman third stringer for a season. As soon as Cooooooooper DeJean picked off that ball, the clock started ticking.
19) Not only a dagger, but this might be Saquon’s best run of the season. It’s a fitting snapshot if you think about it, because it wasn’t a 2024-style gaping hole and a house call, but a gritty run that he really had to work for:
20) The Commies gave up. Just completely quit down 21-10 with 4th and 6 from their own 44 and more than six minutes on the clock. Then they scored in garbage time against the Eagles’ backups and tried an onside kick anyway. What a bunch of losers.
21) It was really good to see Tank Bigsby score that touchdown. He’s been running hard all year long and deserved it.
bonus observation #22, here’s the billboard top 100 from the last time the NFC East had a repeat winner:
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com