Eagles-Commanders player matchups to watch in Week 11

The Eagles (7-2) will host the Washington Commanders (7-3) in a battle for the lead in the NFC East on Thursday Night Football.

Here are some key matchups to watch:

Quinyon Mitchell vs. Terry McLaurin

The Eagles’ first-round pick has been one of the best rookies in the NFL this season. Quinyon Mitchell hasn’t picked off a pass yet, which will probably keep him from really being in contention for Defensive Rookie of the Year, but he has been incredibly solid from Day 1. He’ll have a big test on Thursday.

Mitchell has been the Eagles’ right cornerback all season, which sets up a really fun matchup against Pro Bowler Terry McLaurin. Because of Kliff Kingsbury’s Air Raid offense, McLaurin doesn’t really move around the formation very much. Here are McLaurin’s snaps by position, per PFF, this season:

LWR: 392
RWR: 28
Slot: 89

So unless there’s some major change in the plan for Washington on a short week, we should get to see the matchup between the impressive rookie and the veteran, who leads the Commanders in receiving with 47 catches for 711 yards and 6 touchdowns. McLaurin third in the NFL in receiving yards behind just Ja’Marr Chase (981) and Justin Jefferson (831). The Commanders’ second-leading receiver is old friend Zach Ertz; the tight end has 381 yards this year.

Vic Fangio vs. Jayden Daniels

It seems like the Commanders nailed the No. 2 pick in this draft when they selected Jayden Daniels out of LSU. The 23-year-old is having a tremendous rookie season. He has completed 68.7% of his passes for 2,147 yards with 9 touchdowns and 2 picks and has rushed for another 464 yards and 4 touchdowns. You have to keep an eye on him to pull the ball on zone-reads. The Eagles need to keep an eye on him, which is why it’s so helpful to have good linebacker play from Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean.

He’s leading one of the best offenses in the NFL under Kingsbury, who did interview for the Eagles’ job in the offseason. The Commanders are averaging 2.96 points per drive this season (which ranks first in the league) and they’re second in EPA/play behind just the Ravens. And Daniels is a huge reason why.

The Eagles have been getting a bunch of takeaways on defense the last couple weeks but Daniels hasn’t been coughing up the ball. He has just two interceptions and hasn’t thrown one since Oct. 6 and he hasn’t fumbled in the last nine games after coughing it up three times in the opener. It’ll be a tough test for the Eagles’ defense to get the ball from him in this one.

Eagles run defense vs. Brian Robinson Jr.?

While the Commanders are fourth in the NFL in rushing, their leader in that category is Daniels. Their top back this season is Brian Robinson Jr., who has 461 yards in seven games. This offense is a pass-first offense but they’d still obviously like to run the ball effectively. Robinson missed the Commanders’ Week 10 game with a hamstring injury and was listed as limited to start the week. So we’ll have to see if he’s able to go on Thursday. If Robinson can’t go, then the Commanders’ top back is Austin Ekeler, who had 44 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Steelers in a tough loss Sunday.

After some early struggles this season against the run, the Eagles have really turned it around. They are now a top-five unit in run defense this year and have lowered their yards-per-carry against average to 4.4. The Eagles have given up just 78.2 rushing yards per game since the bye week. While some of those games were blowouts, which stopped the opposing offense from running, that’s still pretty darn impressive. The Eagles are getting stout play against the run up front from guys like Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Milton Williams and it’s keeping their linebackers clean. Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean have been able to clean up and aren’t missing tackles.

Eagles edges vs. injured tackles

The Eagles have started Nolan Smith in three of the last four games opposite Josh Sweat. While Sweat rushes most against left tackles, Smith has been lining up on the defensive left to see right tackles. This matchup also goes for Bryce Huff, who has been limited in recent weeks. You remember Andrew Wylie from Super Bowl LVII. He was the Chiefs’ starting right tackle, who was supposed to be the weak spot for Haason Reddick to beat. But Wylie did a nice job in that game and the field conditions certainly didn’t help as the Eagles struggled to get pressure on Patrick Mahomes. Wylie is now in his second seasons with the Commanders as their right tackle. He has been solid this year but has given up 14 pressures in 9 games. He missed the Steelers game with a shoulder injury but was limited to start this week, so there’s a chance he could be back for this one. 

The Commanders have dealt with several injuries on their line this season, including to left tackle Cornelius Lucas, who was limited to start this week with an ankle injury that has kept him out the past two games. So both of the Commanders’ starting tackles are entering this week with injury concerns. Look for Sweat to pounce on his matchup with Lucas at left tackle or his replacement Brandon Coleman.

Overall, the Commanders have given up just 21 sacks as a team and their pressure rate of 30.6% is pretty good. That’s the 20th highest-pressure rate in the NFL. But with a couple backups in there, the Eagles might be able to get to Daniels a little bit. But Daniels is getting the ball out quick, with an average of 2.73 seconds on his time to throw.

Saquon Barkley vs. Commanders run defense

Barkley needs just nine more rushing yards to hit 1,000 on the season. Even in what was a slow day for him last week, he still had 78 scrimmage yards against the Cowboys on Sunday and was able to play through a left forearm injury suffered in the first half. The really good news about Sunday’s game is that Barkley got just 15 touches in that game after a 30-touch performance against the Jaguars a week earlier. So as long as his arm is fine, Barkley will be plenty fresh for this quick turnaround.

The Commanders’ defense has clearly been their weaker unit this season. They are 28th in run defense and 29th in yards-per-attempt against at 4.9 yards. They have given up over 100 yards on the ground in all but one game this season. With how dangerous that Commanders’ offense has been, this could be a game where the Eagles use Barkley and play keep away a bit. Of course, that’s not to say the Commanders don’t have solid players in their back seven. Future Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner is running the show in Dan Quinn’s defense and is still playing at a high level. They have paired Wagner with Frankie Luvu at linebacker and also have Jeremy Chinn back there at safety.

A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith vs. Commanders cornerbacks

The Commanders told you what they thought about their cornerbacks when they traded for Marshon Lattimore at the deadline. Lattimore came to Washington with a hamstring injury and was not able to play against the Steelers on Sunday. He was a DNP to start this week, so there’s a good chance he won’t be ready for this game either. If he’s not, the Eagles should have an advantage. If Lattimore is out, expect Benjamin St-Juste, Mike Sainristil and Noah Igbinoghene to be the starters. Here’s where those three players rank on PFF’s top 109 cornerbacks of 2024:

68. Sainristil
102: Igbinoghene
105. St-Juste

The Eagles feel like they have an advantage pretty much every week with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and this week will be no different. It’s also a bit of a revenge game for Jahan Dotson, who was traded to the Eagles by the Commanders in August. Dotson hasn’t gotten many targets but he does have an explosive catch in each of the last two weeks.

Jordan Mailata, Lane Johnson vs. Dante Fowler

As a team, the Commanders have 27 sacks on the season, which ranks tied for ninth in the NFL. Their leader in that category is Dante Fowler with 8 1/2. Fowler also leads the team in total pressures with 31. He lines up on both sides of the defensive line so he will see right tackle Lane Johnson and the Eagles’ left tackle. There’s a good chance that will be Jordan Mailata, who had his practice window activated on Monday after missing the last four weeks on IR with a hamstring injury.

The other side is veteran Dorance Armstrong, who played the first six years of his career with the Cowboys. So the Eagles are plenty familiar with him. Armstrong this season has 3 sacks and 26 pressures.

A few weeks ago, the Commanders lost Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen for the season to a pec injury. But they still have big Daron Payne to clog up the middle. Rookie second-round pick Johnny Newton has become a starter since the Allen injury.

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