Eagles grades vs. Commanders: Jalen Hurts delivers when needed; Zack Baun stars on defense in the win

Instant grades from the Eagles’ 24-22 win over the Commanders.

Jalen Hurts answered some questions about how he’ll adjust to maybe the most significant scheme and play-caller change of his NFL career. It wasn’t always pretty, particularly when Washington pressured him or changed the coverage picture post-snap. But Hurts delivered when needed with his arm and legs.

Overall, he completed 14 of 25 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns. He scrambled five times for 48 yards before game-ending kneels. In the fourth quarter, he found Dallas Goedert over the middle and the tight end did the rest for a 43-yard touchdown. Earlier on the drive, Hurts had a huge 22-yard scramble on third-and-18. There weren’t any designed quarterback runs, but Hurts looked more mobile than he has in a few years.

In the third quarter, Hurts tear-dropped a 31-yarder to DeVonta Smith on a third-quarter third down. Until that moment in the second half, the offense looked ugly. Hurts and his protection struggled vs. Washington’s blitzes and simulated pressures.

Hurts was mostly excellent in the first half when he had time to throw. He heaved a deep dime to wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks on a 64-yard corner route. He hit Goedert down the seam for a 17-yard touchdown. And he was on time with Wicks on an out route that resulted in a 9-yard touchdown.

After the Eagles guarded the identity of their No. 2 quarterback like it was a state secret, Andy Dalton got the nod ahead of Tanner McKee.

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Saquon Barkley did the best he could. There were several rushes when Barkley was met in the backfield just after the handoff. It looked like last year’s leaky run game at times as he was dropped for a loss on at least four carries. It could have been worse if not for Barkley’s spins, jukes, and strength.

He converted third-and2 in the second quarter when he broke a tackle and chugged 42 yards. Barkley finished with 83 yards rushing on 15 carries. In blitz pickup, he might have missed an edge pressure in which Hurts was decked in the second quarter. He a few pickups that gave the quarterback time, but got steamrolled by rookie linebacker Sonny Styles, who recorded a third-quarter sack.

Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley weren’t given much of a workload. Shipley had two carries for 4 yards and caught an 8-yard pass out of the backfield before the half, while Bigsby finished with one carry for 3 yards.

It was a new world for Smith being the No. 1 receiver that drew cloud coverage. He didn’t see the ball much in the first half. But Smith stayed patient and caught two big passes in the second half, including a 31-yard over-the-shoulder grab in which he got both feet inbounds. He made it look easy.

Goedert picked up where he left off last season, catching two touchdowns a year after he had a team-high 11. His first touchdown came on the 17-yard seam route and then he scored from 43 yards out when he reversed field after an over-the-middle grab that sealed the game. Goedert led the Eagles with four catches for 77 yards.

Makai Lemon has a ways to go before he’s a steady contributor. The Eagles forced several passes to the rookie receiver on short passing concepts. He finished with three catches for minus-5 yards. The first catch of his career was a 3-yard dump, the second a 5-yard loss on a screen after Wicks missed a block, and third was another bubble in which he was dropped behind the line. Lemon was hardly at fault for the latter two negative plays. The blocking just wasn’t there.

Wicks had a solid Eagles debut. He broke free over the top on a corner route on his 64-yard reception. Wicks ran a wicked stem route in which he beat cornerback Mike Sainristil on the 9-yard touchdown catch. There was some confusion at times. Smith had to signal to Wicks a few times for him to motion in the second quarter.

Eli Stowers was placed on injured reserve with hamstring and quadriceps injuries. The rookie tight end was unlikely to play much, if at all. Johnny Mundt had some solid moments as the main point of attack blocker on the run side, but no one had a great day trying to open holes in the ground game.

The pressure Hurts faced wasn’t all on the quarterback, just as it wasn’t all on the O-line. But there were multiple breakdowns up front, especially vs. left guard Landon Dickerson. He looked like a turnstile at times. Was Dickerson solely at fault? Of course not. But the oft-injured guard who’s as tough as they come appeared slower than even a year ago when he returned too early after knee surgery.

It was downright ugly in the third quarter when Dickerson got toasted on back-to-back rushes, one of which led to a holding penalty. Earlier, the Commanders’ Javon Kinlaw beat the guard for a run tackle for loss in the first quarter. Dickerson was late to help on a third-down stunt in which Hurts was hurried in the second quarter.

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Center Cam Jurgens struggled, as well, particularly in the first quarter. He had a holding penalty when Barkley was nearly dropped in the backfield and then another when it was all on him after he grabbed defensive tackle Shy Tuttle. Right guard Tyler Steen had a tough time getting to the perimeter on a pull block, but he seemed to hold up much more than the other two interior O-linemen.

Tackles Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata were far less at fault in the run blocking. But the O-line unit failed to work as a cohesive unit and everyone was affected. Mailata did turn linebacker Frankie Luvu around on a Barkley 5-yard tote in the first quarter. Johnson and Mailata were much better in pass protection, particularly in one-on-one situations.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts after winning the season opening game against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Philadelphia.Read moreMonica Herndon / Staff Photographer

The sacks weren’t in the stat sheet, but the Eagles’ front pressured Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels throughout the game. They should have against a suspect offensive line. Nevertheless, defensive tackle Jalen Carter pushed the pocket on many occasions. He had a third-down pressure that forced Daniels outside and unable to complete a pass downfield in the second quarter. Carter was too aggressive on a Jacory Croskey-Merritt 9-yard rush up the middle.

Jordan Davis was superb as a run defender and finished with eight tackles. Moro Ojomo made the game-sealing play when he wasn’t fooled by Washington’s shovel pass on their two-point try to tie the game.

With Jonathan Greenard (pectoral) still not cleared to return, Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith shouldered most of the load on the edges. They didn’t get to Daniels, and lost him at times when he scrambled, but they kept him from escaping when it mattered the most.

Zack Baun was the defensive player of the game. He was all over the field. Baun was a beast on back-to-back plays in the second quarter, breaking up a pass over the middle and notching a tackle for loss on a screen pass. Earlier, Baun lowered his head to stuff Rachaad White on third-and-1 in the first quarter. Carter chipped in for the stop. He nearly had a downfield interception before the half, but was out of bounds. He led the Eagles with 12 tackles.

To open the second half, Baun made an open-field stop on third down. Jihaad Campbell was the first to meet running back White when he was stopped on a third-down run on Washington’s first possession. Croskey-Merritt ran through his arm-tackle attempt on a 9-yard run. He got beat by tight end Chig Okonkwo’s 15-yard catch in the third quarter.

Cooper DeJean had a rough outing in the slot with outside corners Quinyon Mitchell and Riq Woolen having the boundary sides on relative lockdown.

DeJean appeared to get dinged late in the first half after he allowed a catch over the middle. He got up and winced, but stayed in. Daniels was wise to go back at the slot corner and connected with rookie receiver Antonio Williams on in-breaking routes to the 1-yard line. Washington scored a touchdown on the next play.

Earlier, DeJean got turned around on a third-and-10 conversion. He committed an illegal-contact penalty in the third quarter. His blitz in the third quarter forced Daniels into an incompletion. And he made a tackle short of the sticks later in the quarter.

Mitchell made a stop on a short pass in the second quarter, while Woolen nearly got his hands on multiple balls in the first half.

The Eagles had some leaky moments in the middle of the field as Daniels was forced to throw between the numbers. But Andrew Mukuba, Marcus Epps and DeJean more than acquitted themselves. Mukuba might have been a touch late to help Campbell on Okonkwo’s 15-yarder. Epps came up from deep to make a run stop near the line in the first quarter. Epps left briefly with a shoulder injury, but returned in the second quarter.

There was no deep-middle help on Williams’ 33-yard grab in the fourth quarter.

Punter Braden Mann was fantastic. He averaged 51.6 yards on seven punts and dropped four inside the Washington 20. Mann pinned Washington deep at the 6-yard line on his first punt. Just before the half, Mann spun a six-iron down at the 2-yard line.

Kicker Jake Elliott split the upright all three of his kicks — a 35-yard field goal and two extra points.

Carter blocked the extra point after the Commanders’ first touchdown. Darius Cooper had some impressive moments as a gunner.

Britain Covey averaged 9.3 yards on four punt returns. Bigsby and Shipley averaged 25 yards on three returns combined.

Coach Nick Sirianni moved to 6-0 in openers. He found a way to get it done despite some offensive sloppiness and late defensive letdowns. Still, Sirianni just knows how to win.

New offensive coordinator Sean Mannion will need time as a first-time play-caller. He had some rough calls, particularly in forcing the issue to Lemon. There were too many run calls that resulted in losses. The Eagles also didn’t look quite prepared for Washington’s simulated pressures.

Mannion had some solid calls in the first half, though, in which multiple receivers were open. He dialed up the Hurts-to-Wicks 64-yard bomb out of “13″ personnel and off play-action. Goedert was also wide-open underneath. Mannion’s four-verticals call that led to Goedert’s 17-yard score was also timely vs. Cover 2. Was he throwing shade as his predecessor with the call? Probably not, but it was ironic justice after last season’s fateful end. Earlier on the drive, tempo helped spring Barkley on the 42-yard inside zone run.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio got his players to mostly dominate. They had some rough turns, but they were also on the field far too much in the third quarter because of the offensive inefficiency. Fangio had a rough call when Campbell got matched up against a receiver downfield and the Commanders converted third-and-14 in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, his guys got the job done.