Dan Quinn is expecting a ‘battle’ with the Birds and more of what the Commanders are saying ahead of SNF
With the Eagles at 2-5 and the Commanders 1-4-1, the Washington coach is expecting "two angry teams willing to fight to the last snap" for an NFC Easr win.
Although there were talks of flexing the game out of primetime, the Eagles (2-5) will face the 1-4-1 Washington Commanders on Sunday Night Football.
This marks the second straight week the Eagles will appear in primetime amid a season that’s unraveling by the day and has fans calling for Nick Sirianni’s job.
But Sunday is a prime opportunity for the Birds to snap a five-game losing skid, as Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels hasn’t won a game in 390 days and Dan Quinn might be sitting on the hottest seat in the NFL.
Here’s what the Commanders are saying about the Eagles ahead of the contest between division rivals.
» READ MORE: Eagles vs. Commanders predictions: Our writers pick a winner for Week 8
‘An absolute battle’
The Eagles and Commanders have already faced off once this year, with the Birds taking home a tight 24-22 victory after standing strong on Washington’s two-point try at the end of the game.
Quinn said that moment is one of his least favorites this year, as the Commanders have struggled to come out on top in some of the close games they’ve had this year.
“You have to be able to execute in those spots, and that’s the name of the game,” said Quinn on Wednesday. “Our execution at those moments, that’s what we’re working really hard on to make sure we get that part right, and work our [butts] off to do that.”
» READ MORE: The Jalen Carter cost | Best of unCovering the Birds
Quinn’s expecting Sunday night’s game to be another battle between the two NFC East squads that are in the bottom half of the division standings and staring down lost seasons.
“This is a great rivalry of games,” Quinn said. “We love battling them. I’m hoping they feel the same on their side. A lot of the games we’ve had with them have been tight, and those are the moments that you want as a competitor.”
Planning for Eagles’ injuries
While the Commanders have dealt with some of the most significant injuries in the NFL this year, the Eagles aren’t far behind, and Quinn discussed Wednesday how it can be difficult to game plan against a team without knowing which of their important players will be available hours before kickoff.
“I don’t try to overthink it in that way,” Quinn said. “Sometimes during the week, ‘Is he going, not going? So, what’s the scheme? What are major changes? Okay, if this person’s not playing, what could happen? If this person does, what needs to happen?’ So you do monitor that during the week.”
Instead of focusing on which players might or might not play, Quinn and his staff are honing in on the Birds’ system. Quinn feels that as long as you know the plays, whoever is plugging in at different spots doesn’t necessarily matter.
“Matchups are matchups, and sometimes that goes all the way up until in the coach’s locker room,” Quinn said. “‘Okay, here’s the list. He’s active. He’s down. This person was doubled. Okay, he’s not. How does that look?’ So that’s kind of the fun part. But as far as our planning, based on them, a good bit, especially early in the week, is our plan, how we go about attacking the system.”
Quinn is a bit more worried about his team’s play this weekend, with calls for his job getting louder and louder each passing day. But the Commanders are coming off a bye week during which Quinn felt they made good progress toward becoming the team they want to be.
In order to win against the Eagles, however, Quinn believes a full, 60-minute performance is required from his squad.
“I think it’s two angry teams willing to fight to the last snap, and significant matchups in all three phases for us,” Quinn said. “What I’m really digging in and pushing on, I’m looking for winning football for all four quarters, and we know the plan, what needs to be done, and we’ll spend the next three to four days building a lot of trust in that plan, and we can’t wait to get rocking.”
When Jalen Carter is at his game-wrecking best, he’s as unstoppable a force as there is in the NFL. Such was the case during the Eagles’ Super Bowl run two years ago. But since then, between injuries and uneven play, the defensive tackle’s contributions have been inconsistent. On the heels of general manager Howie Roseman signing Carter to a historic contract, The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane looks at the costs of the extension — both in terms of dollars and cents, as well as roster construction. Plus, Jeff advances storylines for the Nov. 10th NFL trade deadline, and, in his weekly mailbag, addresses some reporting about the Eagles’ salary cap situation. Listen here.
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