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While the Washington Commanders hope for a miraculous return of Jonathan Allen, they still have to address problems that became evident against the Saints. With a Washington Commanders Week 16 game scheduled against the Philadelphia Eagles, playoff implications are bouncing across Internet stories. Ahead of the Commanders-Eagles game, we’ll be making our Commanders Week 16 predictions.
Washington enters the game with a record of 9-5, three games behind the Eagles (12-2). These teams met four weeks ago with the Eagles earning a 26-18 victory.
For the Commanders to have a shot at the upset, they will have to run the football effectively and keep the Eagles’ explosive offense off the field. Plus, Jayden Daniels will have to hit a downfield pass.
Commanders QB Jayden Daniels will account for three TDs
It’s not going to be easy, but the Commanders must score at least three touchdowns to have a shot against the Eagles. Look for Daniels to deliver with a pair of throws and one rushing score.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said he knows what his team is facing in Daniels, according to yahoo.com.
“He’s super dynamic,” Sirianni said. “He’s a good passer, (and) he’s outstanding with the ball in his hands and creating. I just see him continuing to get better as he sees different looks and different things like that. I think they’re doing a great job, adapting the offense around him.”
That’s this week. Before the first meeting, Sirianni also said Daniels is a difference-maker, according to nbcsports.com.
“He’s come out on fire,” Sirianni said. “He’s got his team playing really well. Hats off to their coaches. You know, I just have a lot of respect for that coaching staff and the players on that team.
“He’s playing really good football. It’s very obvious. I think everybody can see that. A really good player who started off on fire, so we’ll have a challenge here this week. Can’t say enough good things about him. You know, how he’s going to the right place with the football, being accurate, the things he can do when things do break down. I have got a lot of respect for him and we’ll have our hands full.”
Commanders RB Brian Robinson Jr will rush for 75-plus yards
If the Commanders are going to win, this must happen. Washington must be able to move the football on the ground — consistently — to have a chance. The key matchup of the game is Robinson verses the Eagles’ defense, according to apnews.com.
“Philadelphia limited Pittsburgh’s Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren to a total of 26 yards on 10 carries, and Robinson is coming off averaging just 3.1 yards a carry at New Orleans,” the AP wrote. “Robinson getting going opens up the offense for Daniels to mix and match, and the Eagles can force opponents to be one-dimensional by shutting down the run almost entirely.”
Commanders WR Terry McLaurin catches a 40-plus-yard TD
Again, this is something that needs to happen for a Commanders’ victory. They have to find a way to make the Eagles worry about the deep ball. This probably needs to happen in the first quarter or early in the second quarter to have the intended impact.
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McLaurin will have to play better than he did in the first meeting, where Quinyon Mitchell shut him down. The Commanders did not throw the ball to McLaurin when he drew Mitchell in coverage, according to cbssports.com.
“I feel like we did, defensively, we did a good job with him and their offense just limiting explosives,” Mitchell said. “I feel like we had great preparation and went out and executed.”
Sirianni called it good team defense to smother McLaurin.
“A lot of credit to Q (Mitchell) and (Darius) Slay and the underneath coverage that was helping them go other places with the football,” Sirianni said. “Good team defense takes being on the same page, playing with great effort to the football, which I saw a lot in this game, and then just tackling well.”
Commanders CB Marshon Lattimore will get an interception
Lattimore had 13 interceptions in his first five NFL seasons. But he only added one each in 2022 and 2023. This year, in eight overall games he has zero.
What tends to happen when players stop getting picks is teams start to look their way a little more often. And even though the Saints used radio silence with Lattimore, look for the Eagles to poke that bear. Quinn said he Lattimore did his job against the Saints, according to a team transcript via nfl.com.
“Through my experience when there's less attention going to you that is a sign that you've had a really good game,” Quinn said. “And sometimes that can even flip to go the other way, where there's some more production to another player. But (cornerback) Mike (Sainristil) had a good PBU and an interception. So, those things happen in some games where there's less targets that go to a particular person, sometimes that also changes when you match and put on a certain player. But in this instance less on the stat sheet from the passing game standpoint, that is a clear signal of a really good game.”
Commanders will lose the game
Let’s face it. The Eagles have a better team. They have far more talent. There’s only so far Dan Quinn’s good coaching can carry this team.
In fact, there’s a reasonable chance the Commanders will close out with three straight losses and miss out on the playoffs. The organization appears to have fallen short of building up enough talent to get the team to the postseason.
After the Commanders’ win over the Saints, they improved to 9-5 and have a 65.4% chance of making the playoffs. The Seahawks (8-6) are currently the eighth seed after losing to the Packers in Week 15. After that, it gets interesting. The Cardinals and Falcons are each 7-7 while the 49ers and Cowboys are both 6-8.
