On paper, the Week 18 showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders has basically no impact on the NFL season as a whole.
The NFC East is locked up, the Eagles are more or less locked into the three seed unless the Chicago Bears drop the ball against the eliminated Detroit Lions, the Commanders have no shot at the top overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, with Washington's 4-12 record locking them right around the seventh overall pick, depending on how Week 18 shakes out.
And yet, in Week 16, the Eagles and Commanders got incredibly testy before the game's clock hit quadruple zeros, with Dan Quinn going out of his way to call Nick Sirianni and company out for going for two after a touchdown in the second half; a play that resulted in an all out brawl between Tyler Steen, Mike Singletary, and Javon Kinlaw.
“I can only answer from my side and what I would do,” Quinn said via Commanderswire. “But, hey man, like that's how they want to get down then. Like all good. We play them again in two weeks.”
Are fans in Philadelphia, Washington, and beyond about to witness a dog fight both between the whistles and after it sounds? Considering the Eagles and Commanders will both be rolling with backup quarterback – and in Washington's case, a backup to a backup in Josh Johnson – the actual on-field product likely won't be the best matchup of the weekend. And yet, Week 16 wasn't a particularly competitive game either, but it added some fun in the form of intraconference drama, so who knows, maybe Week 18 will feature some fireworks too.
The Eagles' reserve defense shines up front
With their playoff spot more or less set heading into the playoffs, the Eagles have opted to give many of their starters a rest in Week 18, with Jalen Carter out with a hip injury, Nakobe Dean out with a hamstring injury, Marcus Epps out with a concussion, and Jaelan Phillips out with an ankle injury. While Jihadd was a full participant at practice on Friday and will likely start in Week 18 as a result, the players around him may not feature many Pro Bowlers, with younger options like Ty Washington, Michael Carter II, Smael Mondon, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., and Jaylx Hunt all likely to earn extensive time against Quinn's squad.
Will the Eagles be easy to throw on if Kelee Ringo, Jakorian Bennett, Michael Carter II, and Mac McWilliams are logging the majority of the snaps at cornerback? Most certainly so, but for 39-year-old Johnson to attack the Eagles down the field, he'll need time to throw the ball, which might not be particularly easy if Vic Fangio gets his way.
Of the Eagles' 42 sacks in 2025, only 20 came from “starters,” with Hunt leading the team at 6.5, Moro Ojomo right behind him at 6.0, Brandon Graham at three, Byron Young at 2.5, and then the quartet of Patrick Johnson, Josh Uche, Andrew Mukuba, and retired Za'Darius Smith combining for four more. While only time will tell how much runway each of those players will get in Week 18, with Hunt and Ojomo likely to leave the game early alongside Graham and potentially even Young if things get out of hand, Fangio's system has proven it can work with less experienced players if they understand the mechanics, as Oren Burks proved last season. Give them a green light to rush a quarterback ready to go on vacation, and who knows, maybe the Eagles could find one more weapon worth rotating in during the playoffs?
The Commanders can't keep the Eagles under 100 rushing yards
In Week 18, Saquon Barkley needs to record just 87 all-purpose yards to receive a $250,000 incentive bonus, according to Underdog NFL.
Would it be nice to see the Eagles hit that 1,500-yard mark, putting an exclamation mark on a season that has largely underwhelmed versus expectations? Sure thing, but not if it comes at the expense of his health for Week 19, as going into the playoffs with a rushing unit of Tank Bigsby, Will Shipley, and AJ Dillon could have serious implications on the team's Super Bowl ceiling.
Now, on paper, the idea of giving Bigsby more run in 2025 has been borderline begged for all season by Eagles fans in the know. While Barkley has still rushed for over 1,000 yards, his yards per game and yards per carry have taken a nose-dive from his 2024 career watermarks, dropping from 125.3 and 5.8 to just 71.3 and 4.1 in large part because he's missed out on many of the field-flipping plays that highlighted his second-breaking campaign. Even if Bigsby doesn't have the same home run potential, he at least runs forward between the tackles, with his average run going for 6.4 yards in 2025.
Factor in Shipley, who gashed the Commanders for 77 yards in the NFC Championship game, and it's hard to imagine a world where the Eagles don't still rush for over 100 yards against Washington even if Tanner McKee opts to air it out in what could be his final start in a midnight green uniform.
The Eagles earn a clean, healthy W over the Commanders
After fighting through a season of ups, downs, incredible highlights, and brutal lowlights, the Eagles had one goal in December: play clean football.
With an overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in one of the sloppiest games of the Nick Sirianni era on the books to start out the month, the Eagles were able to take care of the Las Vegas Raiders and Commanders without too much drama in Weeks 15 and 16, even if things got interesting once more in Week 17 against the Bills in Buffalo. Would it be nice to see Hurts, Barkley, and company make the Commanders pay, score a few touchdowns before the half, and let the reserves run out the clock? Sure, but what really matters is the Eagles and the Commanders leaving the week healthy, as any major injuries could impact the start of 2026.
Could the Commanders ultimately secure the win? Sure, but as long as the Eagles are healthy heading into Week 19, pushing their division rivals down a few spots in the 2026 NFL Draft order would be just fine.
