The strength of the defense — its interior — helped the Eagles escape Week 1 with a win over Washington

Moro Ojomo was lined up across from Sam Cosmi, so he had a clean look at Washington’s right guard to notice when he pulled from the left side of the formation to the right.

The Commanders were trying a two-point conversion to even the season opener with the Eagles with 1 minute, 1 second left on the clock. As Cosmi pulled, center Nick Allegretti moved to his right to try to get a piece of Ojomo, who quickly engaged with right tackle Josh Conerly Jr.

There are keys to follow in these situations, Ojomo said after the Eagles’ 24-22 win.

“You got to play fast, man, and you can’t play indecisive,” he said.

Conerly had to bounce to the right to block Nolan Smith Jr. on the edge, and Ojomo didn’t let Allegretti get his hands in a good enough position to stop him. Ojomo spun free. Cosmi was in the second level already and never saw Ojomo cutting across the formation to get a clean hit on tight end John Bates, who caught a shovel pass from Jayden Daniels at the 5-yard line and never made it back to the line of scrimmage.

The Eagles’ defense bent. It allowed a 12-play, 63-yard drive that threatened to send the game to overtime. But Ojomo’s quick thinking and spin move made sure the Eagles escaped a sloppy Week 1 game with a victory.

“It was amazing, but it was more amazing because we did it together,” Ojomo said.

It is easy to imagine the result being different. The Commanders had 20 first downs to the Eagles’ 10. The new-look Eagles offense had too many three-and-outs and too few successful blocks, but it made enough key plays when it mattered.

The Eagles are Super Bowl contenders largely because of their potential on defense, and they won Sunday because of a few key plays made by arguably the defense’s biggest strength: its interior.

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Ojomo sealed it in the end, but the Commanders may not have needed to go for two at the end of the game if Jalen Carter hadn’t gotten a hand on Drew Stevens’ point-after attempt late in the second quarter.

Carter was in the backfield on the decisive two-point conversion at the end of the game, too, after he knifed past left guard Chris Paul and backup left tackle Brandon Coleman. Carter got a piece of Bates and slightly knocked him off course.

The Eagles, playing without new edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, didn’t often pressure Daniels from the edges, though that could have been partially because the assignments called for more containment against the elusive quarterback. The bulk of the pressure Sunday came from an interior unit that has the potential to be the best in the NFL. Carter and Jordan Davis received big-money extensions from the Eagles in the offseason.

Ojomo’s rise from seventh-round pick to budding star has him in line for a big payday next offseason.

The Eagles have a strong duo at linebacker in Zack Baun — who was all over the field Sunday and had 12 tackles — and Jihaad Campbell. They have a secondary with two All-Pro players in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean (though the latter struggled Sunday). But the strength of the defense starts in the middle of the front.

“It doesn’t matter how we affect the game, but we want to affect the game,” Ojomo said.

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Stevens’ next attempt after Carter blocked his PAT came midway through the third quarter with Washington trailing, 14-9. He sized up a 54-yard field goal try knowing the trajectory of his last kick hadn’t been good enough. Stevens kicked it slightly higher, but it was off course and missed wide right.

“There’s no way he would’ve made it if he kicked it straight,” Ojomo said. “I think he was just scared.”

Carter, who did not speak with reporters after the game, now has four blocks through three seasons and one game — two on point-after attempts and two field goals.

Carter, Ojomo said, has “a knack for the ball” in those situations.

“It’s who we are,” coach Nick Sirianni said, “and he’s affected the game multiple times.”

Ojomo called Sunday’s performance from the defense “scrappy” and said there were “a lot of things to improve on.”

In the end, he made the play that won the game, but there was at least one play that he wanted back. Ojomo nearly had Daniels down for a sack before Daniels slipped away and scrambled.

“You only get there so few times,” Ojomo said with a smile and a shake of his head. “I told him I’m going to get him on the next one. So watch out for that.”