PHILADELPHIA — The Washington Commanders are getting the week of NFL action kicked off against the Philadelphia Eagles in search of their eighth win of the season and first place in the NFC East Division.

Before a single snap was played Commanders tight end Zach Ertz received a warm welcome from the Eagles fans in attendance in a cool moment as he stood on the field as a team captain against the team he won a Super Bowl with in 2018.

Washington won the coin toss, something that’s become a habit this season, and deferred to the second half putting defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr.’s unit on the field to start the game against quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia offense.

Knowing the Eagles’ offense lives off of explosive plays the Commanders’ secondary knew they’d be in for a big challenge this week and that challenge presented itself early.

Getting the ball into Washington territory on his first possession Hurts connected with Philadelphia receiver A.J. Brown for a catch and run that produced 25 yards. The play put the ball at the Commanders’ 23-yard line, but three solid defensive plays later the Eagles were forced to try a 44-yard field goal which kicker Jake Elliott missed, keeping the game locked at zero points for each side.

Washington wasted no time getting its first explosive play of the game and on the first play of its second possession quarterback Jayden Daniels delivered the ball into the flat to running back Austin Ekeler who turned it up field for a 34-yard gain down to the Philadelphia 24-yard line.

Two plays later running back Brian Robinson Jr. got the team’s second explosive play with an 18-yard run, and on the next play he punched it in from two yards out with a push assist from offensive lineman Sam Cosmi. Kicker Zane Gonzalez nailed his extra point and Washington took a 7-0 lead.

The Eagles got into field goal position again in the early moments of the second quarter, and again Elliott failed to convert the kick try. Because of it, despite the fact the Commanders had three three-and-out possessions in their first four, the team still held a 7-0 lead entering the always valuable middle quarter.

Washington failed to turn its first middle-quarter possession into points and Philadelphia was able to use its four-minute offense to drain all but 19 seconds off the first half clock and get its first points of the half on a 21-yard field goal by Elliott, his first make of the night.

Washington wasn’t satisfied heading to halftime without trying to put up some more points and with nine seconds left in the half Daniels appeared to connect with receiver Dyami Brown at the Eagles’ 30-yard line but a review overturned the play.

That ended any hopes of the Commanders putting anything together to score before the half, and we entered the locker room at 7-3 in favor of the burgundy and gold.

Washington gets the ball to start the second half.

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.

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• Commanders Hope to Rebound and Reach Milestones Against Eagles in Week 11

UCLA (4-5, 3-4 Big Ten) at Washington (5-5, 3-4), Friday, 9 p.m. EST (FOX)

BetMGM College Football Odds: Washington by 4.

Series record: UCLA leads 42-32-2.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

With a victory over the Bruins, the Huskies would clinch bowl eligibility. This would seem to be the Huskies best shot at securing a postseason berth, with No. 1 ranked Oregon looming in the regular season finale next week. UCLA is also playing for bowl eligibility and needs to win two of its final three games to get to six wins. The Bruins play USC next week.

KEY MATCHUP

UCLA run defense vs. Jonah Coleman. The Bruins’ run defense is allowing an average of 98.1 rushing yards per game, third-best in the Big Ten. Coleman, meanwhile, is averaging 6 yards a carry, and has the conference’s fourth-most yards on the ground this season, with 913. Coleman is 19th in the country in rushing yards, while UCLA’s run defense ranks seventh.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

UCLA: LB Carson Schwesinger was named the Big Ten defensive player of the week after hauling in two interceptions and making seven tackles in the Bruins’ 20-17 win over Iowa on Saturday. Schwesinger leads the Big Ten with 10.2 total tackles per game, and has 6.2 solo tackles per game, and 92 total tackles this season.

Washington: Freshman QB Demond Williams Jr. has gotten playing time in every game this season in relief of fifth-year senior Will Rogers, and played the entire second half in the Huskies’ blowout loss last week to Penn State. It’s clear that head coach Jedd Fisch sees the speedy Williams as the quarterback of the future for the Huskies, and if things devolve into a blowout for either team on Friday, Williams will likely see extended snaps.

FACTS & FIGURES

Washington has won 19 consecutive home games, the longest home win streak in modern school history. … Washington ranks No. 3 in FBS in passing yards allowed, No. 5 in pass efficiency defense, No. 19 in total defense, and No. 27 in scoring defense. Washington receiver Denzel Boston is tied for the Big Ten lead and is No. 6 (tied) in FBS with nine touchdown receptions. … The Bruins enter the game with a three-game winning streak, all against Big Ten teams. … Quarterback Ethan Garbers completed 21 of 34 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns in win against Iowa, his fourth multi-touchdown game of the season, and ninth of his career.

Sam Cosmi took it upon himself to deliver the message. His Washington Commanders teammates needed to hear what the right guard had to say in the locker room following the team’s 28-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. 

“I wanted them to know that to not let this snowball effect into next week,” Cosmi said. “I wanted them to know what we have here is still special. Like no matter what, we still keep fighting. I wanted them to know this should hurt. This should hurt your core. This means a lot to us.”

Cosmi played during the Ron Rivera era of the Commanders – four years of dismal on-field results and mounting off-field scandals that were linked not to the team but rather former owner Dan Snyder. But Josh Harris and his partners purchased the team last summer. Adam Peters was hired to take control of football operations, and Dan Quinn has thrived in his second chance as a coach in the NFL. The Commanders are 7-3 and face the Philadelphia Eagles (7-2) on “Thursday Night Football” with the NFC East lead on the line. 

With the looming short week, Cosmi’s allocution set the tone of moving on from a loss in which the Commanders blew a 10-point lead at home. The fourth-year offensive lineman also, perhaps without realizing it, offered his own assessment of the transformation of an entire franchise – and the heightened expectations that come with doing so. 

“What Dan Quinn has done, what Adam Peters has done, is change the culture,” Cosmi told reporters. “We don’t have the most talented team, but we have a hard-working team.

“Winning is the ultimate goal. And like I know from the past, this means a lot, not only to me, but to everybody. So just to keep their heads up and keep fighting, and let’s get ready to beat Philly.”

Accelerated expectations

Before the loss to Pittsburgh, Washington had not started a season 7-2 in 28 years. Although the lower bowl of Northwest Stadium was filled with yellow “Terrible Towels,” the Commanders say they have sold out every home game this season and had a 90% renewal rate on season tickets, according to the Washington Post. Gate receipts are up 20%, and the team has signed 29 new sponsorship deals in the past year. 

Having the presumptive Offensive Rookie of the Year in quarterback Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 pick and reigning Heisman Trophy winner, sped up the turnaround. But the organizational infrastructure, offensive line and coaching provided to the 23-year-old has made his transition to the NFL smoother, although Daniels has nursed a rib injury since Week 7.

There is also fan excitement – from the viral clip of a fan pre-celebrating the Hail Mary victory against the Chicago Bears in October to players and coaches saying they can actually feel energy from the home crowd.

Daniels’ historic start cooled down in a Week 6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Washington showed it could hang with a team that has an “entrenched” identity, as Quinn said. The next day, Quinn was asked whether winning the NFC East had become the expectation for the team. The coach said the team rarely discussed expectations, but that it was a goal mentioned at the beginning of the season.  

“We don’t try to get jammed up on expectations or things that are down the line or any of that,” Quinn said. “We just try to dig right into this week and say, ‘This is, you know, we’re based on improvement.’ It’s like a lifestyle we live here, man. Can you get better? Can you dig in further? Can you get to that spot? And so that’s kind of the stressor that we go and not on outside expectations. 

“I recognize the question about the division because it is really important to talk about that, but you don’t really talk about those until you talk about the division games when you’re playing in them.”

Washington is 2-0 in NFC East games this year, both victories against the New York Giants. Four of their final eight games are against either the Eagles or Dallas Cowboys. 

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Culture is key to rapid turnaround

The Commanders finished last in the division during Rivera’s final two seasons and cratered at 4-13 in 2023. A coaching search yielded Quinn, the former Atlanta Falcons head coach who had spent the previous three seasons leading the Cowboys’ defense. 

“I didn’t really understand culture. I haven’t been a part of a ‘good culture,’” Cosmi said. “This year, I’m slowly but surely – I see it. It’s really cool to see and be a part of. Talking and acting on it. So I’m excited about that.”

Five years ago, then-general manager Bruce Allen said the “culture is actually damn good” in Washington, and the remark became a punchline. 

At the trade deadline last year, Rivera was pushed to sell off defensive line pieces Montez Sweat and Chase Young, both former first-round picks of the organization. A year later, Peters found himself buying at the deadline and acquired former New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore, whose Commanders debut will have to wait at least another week as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury. 

“I don’t necessarily look at it as being a buyer or a seller,” said Peters, who had $96 million in cap space to work with this offseason and signed respected veterans (who have also been contributors) such as tight end Zach Ertz, running back Austin Ekeler, linebacker Frankie Luvu and linebacker Bobby Wagner. “I think just trying to do the best I can to help this team be as good as it can.”

Quinn defines culture as “how a group lives their life together.” For him, it’s in the standards – effort and physicality, for example – he has set.

“The things that we want to play with,” Quinn said after Washington’s 3-1 start. “Has it been all perfect? Hell no. But there is (sic) a lot of things that show how far people are in for one another. And those kinds of things go a long way to helping that identity come to shape.

“But it takes a while to fully go through that, and every time we’re playing, you just see that over and over. So yeah, we’re building that, but by no means in four games are we where we’re going to be two months from now.”