Eagles vs. Commanders: Predictions, odds, injury updates, and what everyone is talking about heading into Week 8
The Eagles will visit the Commanders on Sunday for their second of three straight NFC East games. Here’s what you need to know.
It’s Halloween, but the Eagles have been experiencing it for five weeks now. It’s been a season reminiscent of a haunted house, with new horrors at every turn. From clock management mishaps to a frenzy of injuries, the latest scare has surrounded the culture in Eagles locker room and the conversations about it.
Those conversations also include questions about if there is an effort problem in Philly. Head coach Nick Sirianni was quick to shut those conversations down.
Instead, the message this week has been on focusing on the details that may have been lacking and putting the Eagles in the best position to win throughout the week.
“What you do throughout the week is going to put you in positions. It guarantees nothing,” Sirianni told reporters Friday in a news conference. “But that’s what you need to do to be able to put yourself in the best positions to win.”
Looking toward the rest of the season, the Eagles aren’t in much of a position to win anything substantial. With just a 3% chance of making the playoffs, according to The Athletic’s NFL playoff simulator, the 2-5 Eagles will take on the 1-4-1 Commanders in a rematch of one of the only games the Eagles won this season.
A win has the potential to shake off some of the cobwebs for the Birds. A loss will only make this season scarier.
— Mia Messina
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How to watch Eagles vs. Commanders
Despite some talk that they may get flexed out of prime time, the Eagles and Commanders will sill play on Sunday Night Football on NBC, with kickoff at 8:20 p.m. The game also will be available to stream on Peacock. Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), Melissa Stark (sideline) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst) will be on the call for the game.
Merrill Reese and Mike Quick will have the radio call on WIP (94.1-FM).
Final injury report
Running back Saquon Barkley admitted he wasn’t fully healthy for Monday’s game against the Cowboys as he returned from a hamstring injury. And then he suffered a back injury during the loss. Still, Barkley has been cleared to play on Sunday.
Eagles
Out
WR DeVonta Smith, hamstring
WR Dontayvion Wicks, ankle
WR Britain Covey, knee
LB Jihaad Campbell, hamstring/quad
CB Jonathan Jones, hamstring
Questionable
CB Jakorian Bennett, knee
Commanders
Three of the five players on the Commanders injury report are a part of Washington’s defensive unit. The defense, under first-time play caller Daronte Jones, currently ranks 25th in the NFL in yards allowed per game, giving up 354.5 total yards on average.
Out
DT Javon Kinlaw, knee
Questionable
TE John Bates, shoulder
WR Treylon Burks, foot
DT Jer’Zhan Newton, pectoral
DT Daron Payne, foot
Latest Week 8 odds
The Eagles are the 5½-point underdogs against the Commanders, according to FanDuel. This is the fifth consecutive week the Eagles have been underdogs, and they’ve gone on to lose in each of those games. Back in the good old days, the Eagles were the underdog six times during the 2024 and 2025 regular seasons, and went 6-0 against the line.
Check out more odds and player props for this week here.
Storylines to watch
Barkley’s status ahead of Sunday was a big question throughout the week. That’s since been answered.
Now, it raises a new question: How much can Barkley contribute on Sunday night? While you shouldn’t expect Barkley to be hurdling backward and rushing for 200 yards, he said Friday that he still hopes to provide a “spark” on offense.
“One day, I’m not going to be playing football,” Barkley said. “Whenever that is, and I’m going to look back, I don’t want to look back and be like, ‘I could have given it a chance and I didn’t.’”
With the trade deadline just weeks away, Howie Roseman has a lot to answer for. The way he decides to approach it will reveal a lot about the Eagles present and future. You can track all the latest rumors and news here.
The looming trade deadline also poses questions about cornerback Riq Woolen’s future with the team. He’s focused on blocking out that noise.
After evading the media for three consecutive weeks, defensive tackle Jalen Carter spoke out on his “trash” season that isn’t living up to expectations.
There are obvious issues on the field for the Eagles, but Super Bowl quarterback Nick Foles thinks they’re indicative of larger “culture” issues within the team. Sirianni doesn’t want his team listening to that.
Our Eagles Week 8 preview show
Olivia Reiner and Ryan Novozinsky discussed the contract statuses of a few of the team’s young stars and outlined some of the keys to Sunday night’s NFC East clash on this week’s Gameday Central preview show.
Win or lose, Ryan will be back reacting to the game immediately following the final whistle.
Eagles-Commanders predictions
Jeff McLane: Commanders 20, Eagles 16
Jeff Neiburg: Eagles 20, Commanders 16
Olivia Reiner: Commanders 24, Eagles 20
Ryan Novozinsky: Eagles 21, Commanders 7
You can also check out the reasoning behind our writers’ picks and McLane’s keys to the game. As for the rest of the country, here’s a look at the national media predictions for Sunday.
What we’re saying about the Eagles
Here’s what our columnists are saying ahead of Week 8, starting with Mike Sielski, who looked at the many “what if” scenarios surrounding the season.
Sielski: “It’s not so simple as saying, Everything would be better if Stout were still here. The Eagles wanted to change offensive systems, which necessitated changing their blocking schemes, and as terrific as Stoutland was, as tight as his relationships with the players under him were, the O-line was not the dominant force in 2025 that it had been in 2024.” Read more.
Marcus Hayes: “Eagles coach Nick Sirianni, hopeful of retaining his $17 million job, insists he doesn’t have problems with his locker room. Well, Jalen Carter is a problem in his locker room. He’s not the only problem, but he’s the biggest problem.” Read more.
David Murphy: “Eagles general manager Howie Roseman is smart enough to know that he must capitalize on whatever future benefit exists from the disposability of 2026. He is also smart enough to understand the limits of the potential draft capital available to him even with a forward-thinking philosophy. It is much more limited than a lot of Eagles fans like to think.” Read more.
What the Commanders are saying
For the Eagles, there have been very few highs this season. Beating the Commanders in the season opener by spoiling their two-point conversion attempt was one of them. But for Commanders head coach Dan Quinn, it was one of his least favorite moments of the season.
“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.”
Quinn on playing a banged up Eagles squad: “Matchups are matchups, and sometimes that goes all the way up until in the coach’s locker room. … 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.”
What the national media is saying
Even with an interception and a misthrow late in the second half against the Cowboys, Jason Kelce thought backup quarterback Tanner McKee’s performance on Monday was a lot better than the previous week’s. And as McKee settles into the role and the Eagles get used to a season without Jalen Hurts, Kelce said this is when everyone will get to see what Philly is truly made of.
“That’s when it gets hard to keep things on rail and keep it together,” Kelce said. “And it’s not even just the players. It’s like everything, man. Because everybody starts questioning everything, and you should because you’re losing games. But this is where great coaches, leaders, this is where you get tested as a ballclub and how you weather this.”
What else we’re reading and watching
Hopefully the Eagles will put the Halloween festivities behind them for their first game in November and move on to giving fans something to be grateful for ahead of Thanksgiving.
