Eagles vs. Commanders: Playoff scenarios, predictions, injury reports, and what everyone is talking about

It’s a short(-ish) week for the Eagles, who are set for the NFL’s first Saturday slate of the year, and with another NFC East title on the line.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Eagles-Commanders game...

The game will kick off on Fox from Northwest Stadium at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday. Joe Davis and Greg Olsen will call the game from the booth, with Pam Oliver on the sideline.

If you’d rather listen to Merrill Reese and Mike Quick call the game, the radio broadcast can be found on 94.1 WIP, and if you want to watch the game with your fellow Birds fans, here are a few spots to check out.

The Eagles ruled out Lane Johnson (foot) and Jalen Carter (shoulders) for Saturday’s game against the Commanders. Neither player practiced all week.

Tight end Cam Latu (stinger) and offensive tackle Cameron Williams (shoulder; injured reserve) are listed as questionable to play.

The battered Commanders, meanwhile, issued a lengthy injury report on Thursday.

The Eagles are 6.5-point favorites at both DraftKings and FanDuel, with the total set at 44.5 points at both sportsbooks. For more betting props, check out our betting guide here.

The Birds can clinch a playoff berth with a win or Cowboys loss this week. The Eagles have the NFC East nearly locked up — in order to lose the division to the Cowboys, the team would need to lose all three remaining games, and the Cowboys would need to win all three.

In the conference standings, the Birds are in third, one game back of the Chicago Bears and 2½ games back of the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks (12-3) overtook the Rams (11-4) with a win over L.A. on Thursday night. The Eagles and Packers both currently have nine wins, but the Packers have one tie on their record. If the Packers manage to overtake the Bears, the Eagles do own the tiebreaker against them.

Can the Eagles continue to cruise against a bad team?

The Commanders haven’t followed up their NFC Championship game appearance the way they hoped. Jayden Daniels is shut down for the year because of injury, and the Commanders sit at a dismal 4-10. It’s the second game in a row where the Birds will face one of their former backups, with Marcus Mariota set to start for Washington.

The Eagles took care of business against the Raiders, shutting out Las Vegas in the second-shortest game in recorded NFL history. Going for the record this week?

More story lines to watch:

1: The Eagles’ magic number to clinch a playoff berth

Here’s how our beat writers are predicting Saturday’s game:

Jeff McLane: “[Marcus] Mariota has three lost fumbles and the running backs collectively have four. I think the Eagles will take the ball away a few times. And as long as they win the turnover battle, I see a victory. It might not be the cakewalk some have predicted, but despite all the outside dissatisfaction about the team this season, the Eagles exit Northwest Stadium with a second straight division crown. Eagles 30, Commanders 20

Olivia Reiner: “The big question facing the Eagles offense going forward: Can it sustain the success it established in the win over the Raiders? The Eagles ought to have a good chance of doing so against the Commanders in two of their final three games. Even with Dan Quinn taking over the defensive coordinator duties, Washington still has struggled against the pass and the run.” Eagles 28, Commanders 20.

Jeff Neiburg: But the Eagles should be ready to pounce Saturday. They’re facing another team starting a backup quarterback. They’re facing an even worse defense than the one they beat up on Sunday. And they can clinch the NFC East with a victory. It’s hard to envision that not happening Saturday night. Eagles 27, Commanders 13.

Here’s how national media is predicting Saturday’s game.

Here’s a look at the latest from our columnists, starting with Mike Sielski, who broke down why the Eagles are about to win the NFC East again.

Mike Sielski: Whatever crises the Eagles might be undergoing are framed through a different lens from any other team in the division. They judge themselves and are judged by the answer to one question: Are we good enough to win the Super Bowl? Their divisional foes’ standard has not been quite as high: Are we good enough to keep from embarrassing ourselves again?

Marcus Hayes: “Which brings us to the 9-5 Eagles, who, contrary to much of the commentary and punditry, are nearing the end of a very good season. Saquon Barkley isn’t going to break rushing records this season, and the passing game hasn’t equaled its pedigree, and the defense won’t finish ranked No. 1, but none of that matters. What matters is who they beat, who they lost to, and where they stand.”

This year’s Commanders team has been struggling mightily compared to last year’s team, which made the NFC Championship game. But head coach Dan Quinn is still taking things away from their three matchups last year.

“Playing against us last year in the three games, they were exceptional at taking the ball away,” Quinn said. “I thought that was the biggest deal for us. ... And offensively, I thought from a line standpoint, the size, the movement, the pulling, Jeff Stoutland is one of the best there is in the offensive line spot. ... I think it’s a good balance of what they have from the run game and the shots down the field with Jalen [Hurts]. Those are kind of the yin and yang of a good offense.”

Here’s more from what they’re saying...

Kliff Kingsbury: “It’s certainly a tough matchup. They’ve been playing at a super high level, defensively. I think they gave up less than 90 yards last week against Las Vegas. So, it’s going to be a great challenge. They can roll in five, six guys deep that all play at a pretty high level. They can rush the passer, can stop the run. So, you got to be creative in how you attack them and we’ll have our hands full, there’s no doubt.”

Marcus Mariota: “[They have] a great defense, Vic [Fangio] got them playing really well. You can talk about every single player on that front and on the backend. They’re great players. Being there for a year and being around those guys, it’ll be fun to play against some of those old friends. I’m looking forward to it. It’s always a great atmosphere to play Philly. It’ll be a fun game on Saturday.”

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