It’s week 1 of the NFL season and the Washington Commanders will be facing an Eagles team on the road at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET. The Eagles have now done the improbable and won the NFC East Championship two years in a row, though they flamed out of the playoffs last postseason to an injury-riddled 49ers team in the Wild Card round. Still, the Eagles are the most accomplished team in the division in recent years and the betting favorites to win the division.
On offense, the Eagles have switched OC again after an underwhelming stint from OC Kevin Patullo last year. The Eagles offense this year will be helmed by OC Sean Mannion, formerly of the Packers. Similar to Washington’s OC David Blough, Mannion was a player as recently as 2023 and only served a couple of years coaching QBs for the Packers before being hired by the Eagles to run their offense. Mannion is expected to run a Shanahan-style outside-zone run game with heavy use of under-center formations and play-action fakes. It is also an offense that typically features an emphasis on passes to the middle of the field, though this seems to conflict with the preference of QB Jalen Hurts, who threw just 28 times between the hashmarks last season. This was both a career high for Hurts and the fewest amongst QBs who played 14+ games in 2025. Hurts seems to prefer to throw to the sidelines, an area where X-receiver AJ Brown thrived. Brown was traded away in the offseason, but former 1st-round pick DeVonta Smith will try to reprise Brown’s role and become the boundary X. Meanwhile, 2026 1st-round pick Makai Lemon (who battled hamstring injury during training camp, but is now fully healthy) will try to fill that important between-the-hashes role.
On defense, the Eagles are in their third year with Vic Fangio at DC. Fangio typically runs a 3-4 front and 2 deep safeties to limit explosive plays. He also typically runs a light box, relying on stout defensive linemen to stop the run, while dropping most of his players back into coverage. It is a defense designed to limit big plays and slowly suffocate offenses into punting. Quite frankly, the Eagles defense is well coached and stacked with good or great players at multiple levels. It will be in contention for best defense in the NFL this year and should be comparable to last year, when it was ranked 13th in yards allowed and 5th in points allowed. However, if it has a weakness, it seems to be at the safety position, which has received little attention in the offseason.
I asked Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation five questions to better understand the state of the Eagles and what to look for in this game.
1) Jeff Stoutland was one of the all-time great OL coaches in the NFL and retired this offseason. What does this mean for the Eagles and what do you expect to be different in the Eagles’ OL blocking this year?
“Retired.”
The Eagles purportedly wanted him back … but only as their offensive line coach and NOT their run game coordinator, which is a title he was granted after the Eagles’ Super Bowl LII win.
It would be disingenuous for anyone who previously talked about how great Stout was to now act like it’s no big deal that he’s gone. The Eagles likely downgraded at offensive line coach this offseason.
That said, the early returns on his replacement — Chris Kuper — seem to be positive. We saw the Eagles’ run game have success in training camp settings, for whatever that’s worth. The Eagles’ young backup offensive lineman seem to be developing nicely.
Multiple Eagles offensive linemen have expressed excitement about the new offense as it relates to making their jobs easier. Lane Johnson has talked about how he’ll have more help now as opposed to almost always being on an island at right tackle. Johnson and Jordan Mailata have also discussed how the new scheme is going to make their offense less predictable. Of course, it’s easy for players and fans to look on the bright side before the games actually start.
I do think the Eagles’ offensive line will be better than it was last year because they should be healthier. The entire group isn’t coming off the massive 2024 rushing workload that clearly took a toll on them. Cam Jurgens in particular seems to be removed from the back injury that tanked his 2025 season. I do have some concerns about Landon Dickerson, who doesn’t look back to his Pro Bowl form based on what I saw in training camp, but there are worse starting guards in the league.
To be determined if schematic tweaks help or hurt the o-line, if they even make a big difference at all.
2) What will the Eagles offense look like being run by Sean Mannion? How big of a change is that from last year?
Great question! It’s not easy to know exactly what to expect, both in terms of aesthetic and the extent to which it is effective.
We did see enough in training camp to lead one to believe there will be meaningful differences from the past. There was much more under center play-action usage. There was a good deal of pre-snap motion. Jalen Hurts seemed to throw over the middle of the field more frequently than he has in the past.
Do these tweaks guarantee that the offense will be a lot better than it was in 2026? I don’t think they do. But they could certainly help. I mean, it’s hard to get worse than last year’s offense that led the league in three-and-out percentage.
But there are still a lot of questions here. Mannion isn’t only a first-time play-caller, he’s entering the third year of his entire coaching career. He’s inexperienced. I already touched on Stoutland above. A.J. Brown is gone, that’s a pretty big loss.
It’s also not like the Eagles are the only team trying to reinvent their offense to some degree. Offensive coordinator change has become the norm in the NFL; the longest tenured play-calling OC is from 2025! Most seem to be chasing the Sean McVay/Kyle Shanahan systems, which is where Mannion draws experience from. But while teams understandably covet those influences, it remains to be seen which (if any) disciples can effectively enact their visions. And if these teams might be too late to a trend.
The thinking here is that the Eagles’ offense could have some success early on since they begin the season with games against the Commanders and Titans. But things might get bumpy after that and I tend to think that progress might not be linear for this offense. There could be some ups and downs before they hit their stride, if they ever do.
3) What are your thoughts about the Eagles’ trade of AJ Brown and how it will affect the team?
I think it’s a bummer because Brown is an awesome player (not was, still is) and Eagles fans should ultimately remember the Super Bowl LIX champion as a big contributor to the most successful sustained stretch in franchise history. But it’s not quite that simple because Brown clearly didn’t put his best foot forward for the Eagles in 2025. Keeping him moving forward clearly wasn’t an option; the Eagles were never going to get the motivated version of Brown in 2026 that the Patriots will be getting. And that’s a shame, for a lot of reasons.
I do think the Eagles did reasonably well to get a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick for him. But I also think they’re going to miss Brown. Similar to what I said about Stoutland earlier in this correspondence, I think it’s silly for people to espouse Brown’s greatness during his time in Philly only to then act like replacing him is no big deal.
I’m not concerned about DeVonta Smith at all; I think he’s going to have a great season as the Eagles’ undisputed top target. But I do have questions about the other Eagles receivers. Dontayvion Wicks had an encouraging summer and he’s poised to be the No. 2. I think he’s a solid starter. Beyond that? 2026 first-round pick Makai Lemon missed most of the Eagles’ offseason practices and hasn’t done much to inspire confidence when he has been on the field. Then it’s Elijah Moore, Darius Cooper (a player I’m very high on), and Hollywood Brown. I don’t know how much they’ll play but they could rotate in.
The Eagles also have questions at tight end, which is arguably their weakest position on offense. So, there are some concerns about the passing attack as a whole with Brown gone.
4) What have been your biggest takeaways from following the Eagles through training camp and the preseason?
I already touched on the offensive uncertainty so I’ll go with something different and more positive from an Eagles perspective: the strength of this defense.
I’m feeling really good about the Eagles’ defensive front. Jalyx Hunt looks like he might be a superstar and his strong summer shadowed positive progression from 2023 first-round Nolan Smith, who had a lost season in 2025 due to injury. Jonathan Greenard is back at practice and, while it’s currently unclear if he’ll play in Week 1, he should be a major contributor to this defense if he’s healthy. A.J. Epenesa and Arnold Ebiketie are very credible rotational contributors at edge rusher. And then there’s the Eagles’ interior, which is anchored by a healthier version of Jalen Carter, an improving Jordan Davis, and a Moro Ojomo who looks poised for a big season before leaving the Eagles in free agency (much like the 2024 Milton Williams trajectory). The Eagles have one of the best off-ball linebackers in the NFL in Zack Baun, who makes plays in coverage that you just don’t see from most players at his position. He’s joined by 2025 first-round pick Jihaad Campbell, who may be worse than Nakobe Dean right now, but offers a high ceiling.
The Eagles also might have the league’s best cornerback trio. Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean (thanks for him, Adam Peters!) were All-Pro players in Year 2 and I’m fully expecting them to be pretty swell again in Year 3. Whereas the Eagles were starting Adoree’ Jackson on the outside last year, they now have Riq Woolen. There could be some volatility with him but I tend to think he’s going to make more big plays than he’s going to give up.
Safety is the Eagles’ weakest position group on defense but I haven’t seen anything from them that leads me to believe they’re going to be a massive liability. Especially since they should benefit from the talent elsewhere on the defense. And I trust Vic Fangio to make it work; he’s inarguably earned the benefit of the doubt.
5) How should Washington go about game-planning this matchup on both sides of the ball?
If I’m the Commanders, I’m looking to test the Eagles’ safeties, especially Marcus Epps (No. 29). He’s usually pretty sound in coverage but he’s not exactly a playmaker. I’d also look to go after Woolen because he might give up some big plays, especially on outbreaking patterns. I’d also look to get Daniels involved as a runner and work in some screens to try to keep the Eagles’ pass rush honest.
When it comes to the Eagles’ offense, I think Philly is really going to try to run the ball a lot. Keying in on Saquon Barkley is easier said than done, especially for the Commanders over the past two seasons. But that’s where I’d start. Try to dare someone other than Barkley and DeVonta Smith to beat you.
A companion article to this with my answers to Brandon’s questions can be found here.
Thanks again to Brandon Lee Gowton for taking time out of his day to answer our questions about the Eagles.
