Eagles' 1st thoughts on facing Jayden Daniels and Commanders again

Eagles’ 1st thoughts on facing Jayden Daniels and Commanders again originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Eagles will jump into their preparation this week to face Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders, but they already know what’s coming.

They’ve seen Daniels twice this already season.

“Oh, you know the challenge,” All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun said on Sunday. “He’s dynamic, he can throw the ball, he makes all his reads. He doesn’t play like a rookie quarterback and we’re not going to treat him like one.”

The Eagles will host the Commanders on Sunday at 3 p.m. in the NFC Championship Game at the Linc. They get a home conference championship game after the Commanders shocked the No. 1-seeded Lions on Saturday.

Thanks to that upset on Saturday, the Eagles knew they weren’t just playing for a trip to the NFC title game on Sunday; they were playing for the chance to host one. And they took care of business with a 28-22 win over the Rams.

After the win, they had already started to their attention.

As they now get ready to host the Commanders this coming Sunday, they don’t need any reminders about how dangerous Washington’s rookie quarterback can be.

“There’s a lot of great things about him,” cornerback Darius Slay said. “He can move, he can throw on the run, he’s got great accuracy down the field. He makes smart decisions, he’s a poised kid. And he’s a very humble kid, man. He reminds me of myself. Just happy-go-lucky.

“He’s blessed and fortunate to be playing this game that he loves to do at a very, very high level. They got a bright future with that kid. It’s going to be a great challenge, seeing him and Hurts for a long time.”

The last time these two teams played, in Week 16, Daniels threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to give the Commanders a come-from-behind 36-33 win in Washington. Sure, Jalen Hurts got knocked out of that one early and it might have gone differently if he played the whole game. But there’s no denying that Daniels has a clutch gene and he has the Commanders playing well right now.

The Commanders have won their last seven games, including playoff wins over the Buccaneers and Lions, and Daniels has been leading the way. During this seven-game winning streak — the Eagles game was the third in the streak — Daniels has completed 70.1% of his passes for 1,522 yards with 17 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions.

“Another good team for sure. We already saw them,” defensive end Josh Sweat said. “We saw what happened last time. They’re good on both sides of the ball. It’s going to be tough. I’m looking forward to it. I know everybody is. It’s going to be a fun game for sure.

The Eagles split with the Commanders this season, beating them 26-18 back in Week 11 when it seemed like Daniels wasn’t completely healthy. In that game, he completed 22 of 32 passes for 191 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Here’s a look at Daniels’ two games against the Eagles this season:

Week 11 in Philadelphia: 22/32, 191 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 81.6 rating; 7 rushes, 18 yards

Week 16 in Washington: 24/39, 258 yards, 5 TDs, 2 INTs, 99.1 rating; 9 rushes, 81 yards

“The films shows,” Jalen Carter said. “Athlete, very good quarterback. He got them where they at now. A good pick for them guys and we’re just going to go and watch film and see what we did last game and the game before and try to go get that dub in the NFC Championship.”

Daniels this season was named to the Pro Bowl and is a shoo-in to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year.

But the Eagles are 5 1/2-point favorites and get to play this game at the Linc. The Eagles think playing at home is a huge advantage.

“It’s ginormous,” Baun said. “I was wearing the green dot today and I could barely hear the call. And I like when that happens. It’s really excited. They’re rowdy and I’m glad the Washington Commanders are coming back to the Linc.”

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