Eagles stats: A.J. Brown’s ‘humble’ yardage, the secondary’s middle-of-field struggles and more

With their 38-31 victory over the Washington Commanders, the Eagles moved to 7-1. They possess the best record in the NFL and are the only team to have lost just one game through eight weeks.

Here are four stats that matter from the Week 8 win:

In his last six games, wide receiver A.J. Brown has racked up 831 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 49 receptions. No player in franchise history has collected more receiving yards in the same number of consecutive games. Brown has a total of 939 receiving yards this season, just behind Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill, the league leader (1,014).

With his eight-reception, 130-yard performance against the Commanders, Brown is the first player to post over 125 receiving yards in six straight games. He broke a tie of five games with former Detroit Lions wide receivers Calvin Johnson (2012) and Pat Studstill (1966).

“You’ve got to be humble in this game,” Brown said. “You’ve got to come out and prove it each and every week, you know? That’s what I’m trying to do.”

Commanders quarterback Sam Howell picked on the Eagles defense in the middle of the field all day long. He collected 104 passing yards and a touchdown when targeting the middle on 11 completions (14 attempts) that were between the line of scrimmage and a maximum of 9 yards from it, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

The database determined that Howell had an “average” passer rating when targeting that area relative to those of quarterbacks this season, but that assessment is impacted by the interception he threw to safety Reed Blankenship in that same region of the field. Howell has been particularly impressive in that area this season, posting a 158.3 passer rating (the league average is 90.0).

» READ MORE: A.J. Brown did the seemingly impossible as he entered rarefied air in the Eagles’ win at Washington

As the 4 p.m. Tuesday trade deadline inches closer, it may behoove the Eagles to shore up their protection in the middle of the field by adding a bona fide slot corner or an inside linebacker with a track record in coverage. Zooming out a bit further, the Eagles secondary as a group is allowing 247.5 passing yards per game, which is the seventh-highest total in the league. Last season, Eagles opponents managed just 179.8 passing yards on average, which was the lowest total in the league.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts had his best day as a passer this season, going 29-of-38 (76.3%) for 319 yards and four touchdowns for a 135.7 passer rating. However, as Hurts deals with a left knee injury, he was limited in the running game on Sunday. Hurts collected just 6 rushing yards on four attempts, his lowest rushing yardage as a starter in his career.

As a team, the Eagles struggled to get the running game going. D’Andre Swift rushed for 57 yards on 16 carries (3.6 yards per carry, his third lowest of the season). The Eagles collectively posted 59 rushing yards on 22 carries, their lowest output of the season.

Hurts played the entire game without any apparent issues and did not go into detail about how he was feeling after the game.

“I’m here,” Hurts said of his knee injury. “I’m really happy, how we persevered and how resilient we were today. I’m happy we won.”

After his fourth-quarter strip sack of Howell, edge rusher Haason Reddick leads the Eagles with 6½ sacks this season. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Reddick sacked Howell in 2.87 seconds, marking the second-fastest sack of Week 8 before Monday night’s game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Detroit Lions. Only Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons registered a faster sack (2.54 seconds). Reddick’s sack came at a clutch moment, preventing the Commanders from storming down the field in an effort to tie the game.

Reddick has been particularly productive on the road, with 5½ of his sacks coming in the Eagles’ last three road games against the Commanders (1), the New York Jets (2½), and the Los Angeles Rams (2). Now tied for eighth in the league in sacks, Reddick is well on his way toward making a case for a raise.