September 12, 2026
Geoff Burke/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
DeVonta Smith will be alone as the Eagles' No. 1 receiving target this season.
The Eagles are ready to go.
They're healthy, the defense is looking stacked, and there's promise that Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith, and Saquon Barkley can all star in Sean Mannion's newly implemented offense.
The Commanders? Well, they're already starting the year behind the eight ball, yet hoping that Jayden Daniels can bounce back and stay upright.
This Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field will finally bring on some meaningful football between two NFC East rivals.
Here's how they measure up in the tale of the tape, based on last year's numbers, heading toward it, with advantages bolded...
| Commanders | Average | Eagles |
| 20.9 | Pts | 22.3 |
| 318.8 | Total Yds | 311.2 |
| 184.1 | Passing Yds | 194.3 |
| 134.7 | Rushing Yds | 116.9 |
| 37.6 | 3rd Down Pct | 37.1 |
| 61.5 | 4th Down Pct | 52.4 |
| 23 | Giveaways | 15 |
| Commanders | Average | Eagles |
| 26.5 | Pts | 19.1 |
| 384.0 | Total Yds | 314.2 |
| 242.5 | Passing Yds | 189.8 |
| 141.8 | Rushing Yds | 124.4 |
| 41.3 | 3rd Down Pct | 40.5 |
| 62.5 | 4th Down Pct | 37.9 |
| 10 | Takeaways | 21 |
| Commanders | |||||
| PASSING | CMP% | YDS | Y/A | TDS | INT/SK |
| Jayden Daniels | 60.6 | 1,262 | 6.7 | 8 | 3 / 18 |
| RUSHING | CAR | YDS | Y/A | LG | TDS |
| Jacory Croskey-Merritt | 175 | 805 | 4.6 | 72 | 8 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | Y/A | LG | TDS |
| Terry McLaurin | 38 | 582 | 15.3 | 56 | 3 |
| Eagles | |||||
| PASSING | CMP% | YDS | Y/A | TDS | INT/SK |
| Jalen Hurts | 64.8 | 3,224 | 7.1 | 25 | 6 / 32 |
| RUSHING | CAR | YDS | Y/A | LG | TDS |
| Saquon Barkley | 280 | 1,140 | 4.1 | 65 | 7 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | Y/A | LG | TDS |
| DeVonta Smith | 77 | 1,008 | 13.1 | 79 | 4 |
The Eagles and Commanders didn't face off until late into December of last season at Washington. By then, the Eagles were showing significant cracks offensively, but still had stellar defense and a grip over the NFC East, while Washington had Marcus Mariota quarterbacking an old and injury-decimated team.
So, as expected, the Eagles beat them pretty handily, 29-18. Jalen Hurts went 22-for-30 passing for 185 yards and two touchdowns, and Saquon Barkley was able to swing 132 rushing yards and a touchdown in what had become a rarer dominant running performance for 2025.
It was a game the Eagles, at that point, should've won without issue and did.
Two weeks later, the Commanders visited Philly for a Week 18 finale where the Eagles elected to rest their starters. Washington was down to Josh Johnson as their QB, but he staged a fourth-quarter comeback for a 24-17 Eagles defeat that really shouldn't have been that frustrating.
But it was, because while it was just the reserves, it was a loss symptomatic of the larger and well-known problems that had been plaguing the overall offense under first-year playcaller Kevin Patullo, who wouldn't last much longer in the role. An all-time lowlight from Kelee Ringo at the goal line, who abandoned a pursuit of a scrambling Johnson for Washington's winning score, didn't help either.
The Eagles lost to San Francisco in the Wild Card round a week later.
All-time, Washington leads the rivalry series against the Eagles with a 91-87-5 record.
However, things have skewed heavily in the Eagles' favor ever since their first Super Bowl title run in 2017, with a 14-5 record against Washington through the last nine years, and never was it more lopsided than that legendary 55-23 beatdown in the 2024 NFC Championship.
The highlights HERE if you care to reminisce.
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