For the second time in three weeks, the Philadelphia Eagles are facing the Washington Commanders. This time, the game is at Lincoln Financial Field. And the Birds will be playing a lot of backups while resting their starters.
In order to preview this Week 18 matchup, I reached out to our enemies over at Hogs Haven. The approachable Andrew Y kindly took the time took the time to answer my questions about this upcoming battle. Let’s take a look at the answers.
[For my answers to Andrew’s questions about
the Eagles, stay tuned to HH.]
1 – Dan Quinn and Commanders players didn’t seem to like the Eagles going for two late in Philly’s Week 16 win over Washington. Do you expect the Commanders will try especially hard this week or are they going to pack it in and rest key players with an eye to the 2026 season? How do fans want the team to approach this game?
I don’t know that the Commanders will try especially hard to win, but they will certainly try as hard to win as they did in the last matchup (where the playoffs were already out of reach). Reports are that Dan Quinn still has the locker room, the players are still bought in, and the coaches and players still want to win games. So I’m sure they’ll try their hardest to win, just like last time, but the deck will be stacked against them due to all their injuries.
The decision to rest or play starters is not just about protecting players or gaining draft position, it’s also about putting together some good tape so the front office can actually evaluate the talent on the team. So many players have been injured or are returning from injury, so many players have been moved to different positions or roles (particularly on defense) due to injuries and due to Dan Quinn taking over the defense a few weeks ago, that it’s probably more important for the front office to get additional tape on these players playing their best in order to evaluate them than it is to get a slightly higher draft spot. What good does a better draft pick do if you can’t even evaluate your biggest team needs effectively? For this reason, as well as for pride and division rivalry, I think most fans will be rooting for the starters to play and the team to play well. In my opinion, the only reason to tank is if you need a top 2 pick for a QB, quality players at other positions can be found later in the draft.
2 – What is the biggest offseason priority for the Commanders?
The biggest priority is finding a good Defensive Coordinator and evaluating some of the other defensive coaching staff positions to see if they should be replaced. Al Harris (DB Coach of the Bears), Jeff Ulbrich (DC of the Falcons), and Anthony Weaver (DC of the Dolphins) are some of the main candidates being discussed by Washington fans. In terms of roster holes, I’d say getting a quality EDGE, Safety, CB (assuming Lattimore is cut), WR (assuming Deebo walks), and TE (assuming Ertz is done) should all be priorities. I would favor continuing the approach of getting 2nd- and 3rd-tier free agents at those positions though, with an eye to drafting long-term replacements. The team also needs to decide once and for all if Mike Sainristil should play in the slot or move to boundary CB. He was drafted with the intention of playing in the slot, but he’s been moved to the boundary as an injury replacement and has looked better there. The team needs to decide if his best home is on the boundary or if he just needs to take more lumps in the slot before he settles in there.
3 – The Eagles are currently projected to make six picks in the 2026 NFL Draft before the Commanders make their third pick early in the fifth round. Do you expect Washington to do some selling to try to replenish picks and who could be traded?
I don’t think the Commanders are in a position to trade away any players. The few players they have that are good enough to be desired by other teams are cornerstone players to build around. The one player often discussed as a trade candidate is Daron Payne and I think he’s a possibility, but I think it’s still more likely they extend him. However, I think it’s very likely Adam Peters will be open to trading down in the draft in order to acquire more picks.
4 – If the Commanders could steal one player from the Eagles to put on their roster, who should they take and why?
I would choose Quinyon Mitchell. He’s a top talent at CB, is young and still on his rookie contract, and fills one of the bigger holes on the Commanders roster. I think with him and Trey Amos, Washington would have boundary CB locked down for years.
5 – Who wins this game and why? With the Eagles currently listed as 6.5-point home favorites, what’s your score prediction
I think the Eagles will almost certainly win the game, even if they rest many of their starters. Washington is already starting many 2nd and 3rd-string players due to injury and the Commanders depth isn’t as good as the Eagles depth. In particular, the dropoff from Marcus Mariota to Josh Johnson is pretty steep and limits the kind of offense they can run. I also think Eagles backup QB Tanner McKee is a very good backup and should be able to move the ball. The key for the Commanders will be scheming up things in the run game, and I’m hoping rookie RB Bill Merritt gets a lot of use. Overall, I’d think a score along the lines of 21-17 in favor of the Eagles sounds about right.
