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With a Washington Commanders Week 11 game scheduled against the Philadelphia Eagles, first place in the NFC East will be on the line. Ahead of the Commamders-Eagles game — where Brian Robinson Jr. will be available for Washington — we’ll be making our Commanders Week 11 predictions.
Washington enters the game with a record of 7-3. They lost their opener to the Buccaneers, which is their only NFC loss of the season. The other setbacks came against AFC powers Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
The home-standing Eagles counter with a record of 7-2, having won five straight games. Their losses came against the Buccaneers and Falcons.
These division rivals will meet again on Dec. 22 in Washington.
Jayden Daniels will throw multiple TD passes
In three different games this season, Daniels has thrown a pair of touchdown passes. In the other seven games, he’s hit for one or zero. He is coming off a game where he had a season-low three rushing yards. The Commanders lost 28-27 and could have used more from Daniels in that department, but perhaps he’s still favoring his rib injury.
It will help Daniels to have Brian Robinson Jr. back in the backfield. It should open more lanes for Daniels to run with the football. The Commanders need Robinson to keep the Eagles’ tough run defense honest. They rank fifth in average rushing yards allowed. Therefore, if the Commanders get the ball inside the 10-yard line, they may have to throw to get touchdowns.
One thing Daniels and the Commanders’ offense need to do is forget last week’s mistakes, lineman Sam Cosmi said, according to commanders.com.
“I wanted them to know what we have here is still special,” Cosmi said. “Like no matter what, we still keep fighting. I want them to know this should hurt. This should hurt your core. This means a lot to us. Winning is the ultimate goal.”
What did Eagles DC Vic Fangio say about Daniels?
Fangio said Daniels has played well in his rookie season, according to philadelphiaeagles.com.
“He's done a great job for them,” Fangio said. “Kudos to him for what he's been able to achieve. Kudos to the coaches there that are coaching him because that's not an easy offense to run. They do a lot of different things.
“He's only thrown two interceptions, which is unreal, really. He's done a great job, (and) he's a really good player, highly talented. I think they're running an offense that he's very comfortable in, and he's got a lot of good players around him. I think it's an accumulation of all that.”
Washington offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said Daniels knows what he can and cannot do, according to yahoo.com.
“He knows what he can get away with and what he can't,” Kingsbury said. “And then he also knows protections and he knows when he should be picked up and when he is hot. And so, he can kind of set guys up knowing, ‘OK, that's the free rusher. I can set him up and get out this way or that way.’ It’s a combination of his knowledge of the system and then just sheer athletic ability.”
Commanders LB Bobby Wagner will get double digits in tackles
In three games this season, Wagner has ready the double-digit mark. He should be especially active tonight against Saquon Barkley and the running of quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Wagner has finished with seven tackles in each of the last three games. His last double-digit effort came against the run-heavy Ravens in Week 6, when he totaled 12. He ranks No. 13 in the NFL with 83 tackles on the season.
And the Eagles love to run the football. They rank No. 20 in the NFL in passing yards per game, but are No. 2 in the league with 176.1 rushing per contest. They have thrown 165 passes while attempting 324 running plays.
Commanders’ head coach Dan Quinn said he knew what the team got by signing Wagner, according to foxsports.com.
“He's all that I love about football,” Quinn said. “He's a tackler; he's aggressive; he's tough; he's smart; he takes care of himself. (And) he's a multiplier. Because this is how the standard is, this is how I operate. This is a process to go through. So if you are a young linebacker being around somebody, this is the exact type of linebacker you'd want to be around.
“Seeing that standard of how we operate — I thought that was really important. And so that's why I'm so lit up about getting him here. It's been a long time since I've coached him. I coached against him a lot. I remember circling that number and [saying], ‘Do not let this person ruin this game, you know, with 15 tackles.' It's really good to get a chance to work with him and some of the other guys.”
Commanders kicker Zane Gonzalez will miss a field goal
Folks, this guy hasn’t been very accurate in his NFL career. He missed five of 20 kicks as a rookie in 2017, and missed five of 14 attempts in his second season. In 2020, he missed six of 22 attempts.
Also, last week’s 2-for-2 performance produced his first NFL exposure since 2021. Lining up for kicks in a game that decides first place in the division will likely be too much for the journeyman.
Another reason Gonzalez will likely miss is his 11-of-18 career mark from 50-plus yards. This is the type of game where the Commanders may try a long one in a key situation. And it’s unlikely Gonzalez will connect.
