The Philadelphia Eagles are opening their 2026 season at home with an NFC East battle against the Washington Commanders. Are you feeling excited?!
Let’s run through some of the more important things to watch out for this in Week 1 game.
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1 – The matchup the Eagles must win
Right off the bat, I feel really good about the Eagles’ chances to win this game.
The confidence comes from the mismatch of the Eagles’ strong defensive front going up against the Commanders’ subpar blockers.
Even prior to Laremy Tunsil suffering an injury that could cost him most of this season, Washington was projected to have a below average offensive line:
Accounting for the Tunsil loss, the Commanders finished dead last in recent Pro Football Focus offensive line rankings:
32) Before the injury to left tackle Laremy Tunsil, this was a group set to rank just inside the top 20, but the loss of Tunsil for a significant amount of time is a huge blow to the group. There will be an expectation of some improvement from Josh Conerly Jr., and his 59.9 PFF grade in 2025 was fine for a rookie, but this is a unit that could really struggle if Tunsil misses the full season.
The Commanders’ starting offensive line configuration looks like this: LT Brandon Coleman, LG Chris Paul, C Nick Allegretti, RG Sam Cosmi, RT Josh Conerly.
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Coleman was supposed to start at left guard before Tunsil got hurt. Now he’s back at left tackle, where he played as a rookie in 2024. The Commanders were obviously able to have success with him in that role while he ranked 54th out of 87 tackles graded by Pro Football Focus. But Coleman is no Tunsil and now left guard is also worse than they wanted it to be. Offensive line expert Brandon Thorn ranked Allegretti as the worst starting center in the NFL. Cosmi is a good starter. Conerly was a player that I didn’t want the Eagles to draft last year. He struggled as a rookie but there seems to be some hope he’ll improve.
To me, this looks like a bad offensive line. Based on my correspondences with Hogs Haven this week, Commanders fans seem to think it can at least be a league average blocking unit.
Let’s say they’re right. Is average good enough to stop this Eagles front?
I have my doubts.
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Jalyx Hunt had an awesome training camp. He looks ready to make another big leap in his development. Hunt’s stellar summer overshadowed progress made by Nolan Smith, who is healthier than he was last season. A.J. Epenesa and Arnold Ebiketie showed juice as rotational contributors. Jonathan Greenard will NOT play … but the Eagles shouldn’t even need him to be able to generate sufficient pressure from the edge.
And then there’s the interior. Jalen Carter. Jordan Davis, and Moro Ojomo are all poised to have strong seasons. They should be able to generate disruption up the middle, both as pass rushers and run stoppers. This trio contributed to stifling Commanders top running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (who was limited in practice this week, by the way) last year.
Via NFL Pro:
Jacory Croskey-Merritt struggled mightily against the Eagles defense in 2025, registering two of his eight lowest success rates (30.8% and 37.5%), two of his three lowest rates of rushing over expected (season-low 15.4% and 25.0%), two of his six fewest yards per carry outputs (season-low 2.2 and 3.1) and two of his eight lowest EPA/carry totals (-0.3 and -0.1) among games where he had at least five rushes. On 21 carries vs. Philadelphia, he generated one explosive run. Washington’s offensive line is already missing its starting left tackle in Laremy Tunsil and […] Nick Allegretti, who is switching over from guard. Jordan Davis led all DT (min. 300 run defense snaps) with a 16.5% run stop rate and 4.3% stuff rate last year, so Croskey-Merritt may struggle to improve upon his marks from his rookie season against Vic Fangio’s defense.
Shutting down the run and forcing the Commanders to drop back often should allow Philly’s pass rush to cause problems for Jayden Daniels.
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2 – All eyes on Sean Mannion
The Eagles led the NFL in three-and-out percentage last year. It was a really bad and boring offense!
Kevin Patullo is gone and Sean Mannion is here as the new offensive coordinator. Will the first-time play-caller — who will be operating from the booth as opposed to being down on the field — show promise from the jump?
Will this offense be effective after looking uneven in training camp and the preseason games? What do the aesthetics look like in terms of schematics and personnel usage? Any noticeable tendencies? More middle of the field usage? More aggression on the whole? How about the run/pass ratio? Can the Eagles actually avoid getting all of their snaps off with just one second remaining on the play clock?
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It’s not fair to expect perfection at this point in time but it would be nice to at least see some encouraging signs. Especially since it’s not like the Eagles are facing some juggernaut defense.
3 – Run the ball? Pass? Or both?
Looking at Washington’s defense on paper, it’s hard to believe the Eagles won’t be able to find some success against this unit. Which players on that side of the ball should the Eagles be scared by? It’s hardly like they have a bunch of game-wreckers.
The Commanders have concerns at cornerback. They’ll be missing projected starter Trey Amos, who is beginning the season on injured reserve. Washington will be starting old friend/Super Bowl LII champion Rasul Douglas and Mike Sainristil on the outside with Amik Robertson working in the slot. Not exactly the most imposing group!
The Eagles’ passing attack was very much up and down in training camp, though it sure didn’t help that DeVonta Smith missed most of the summer. Getting him back should help to a significant degree. One would think the Commanders will be trying to focus in on him and dare others to beat them. That much is easier said than done, however, because DeVonta’s a great player. And while there questions about the Eagles’ receivers behind him, the combination of Philly’s talent and Washington’s deficiencies should allow Jalen Hurts to have some level of success moving the ball through the air.
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If not, the Eagles will be really counting on their run game to come through. It’s the most inspiring aspect of their offense right now and there’s reason to believe Saquon Barkley can have success on Sunday. His four games against the Commanders since the beginning of the Dan Quinn era in 2024:
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Week 11, 2024 — 26 carries, 146 yards (5.6 average), 2 TD … 2 receptions, 52 yards
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Week 16, 2024 — 29 carries, 150 yards (5.2 average), 2 TD
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NFC Championship Game — 15 carries, 118 yards (7.9 average), 3 TD … 1 reception, 4 yards
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Week 16, 2025 — 21 carries, 132 yards, 1 TD
Not bad!
Over his entire career, Barkley has owned the Commanders. Through 13 career meetings against them (including playoffs), he’s averaging 103.1 yards per game and 1.2 total touchdowns per game.
Of course, the Commanders have a new defensive coordinator now. They’re hoping that Daronte Jones is going to bring some of that Brian Flores secret sauce with him to Landover, Maryland. The burden of proof will be on Jones to prove he can stop Hurts, who posted a perfect passer rating in the Eagles’ road win over the Minnesota Vikings last season.
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4 – Strong Week 1 starts
Shout out to friend of BGN Deniz Selman, who shared these stats on Friday’s edition of the PHLY Eagles show:
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The Eagles are 5-0 in Week 1 under Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts.
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The Eagles are 13-2 in Week 1 over the last 15 years.
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The Eagles are 5-0 in Week 1 at Lincoln Financial Field since 2010, when they lost to the Green Bay Packers.
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The Eagles are the only NFL team to not have a losing record at any point during the past four seasons.
The Eagles haven’t always looked like a well-oiled machine in Week 1 since 2021. And that much is to be expected since the team (correctly) prioritizes keeping their starters healthy as opposed to risking them to injury in the preseason games. While that approach is a net positive, there are potential drawbacks in terms of rust.
Still, it’s never like the Eagles have simply not been ready to play. Every team hasn’t been able to say the same. They Birds deserve more benefit of the doubt in this regard than other teams.
5 – The Eagles’ plan at WR3
DeVonta Smith is WR1. That much is clear.
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Dontayvion Wicks is WR2. Eagles wide receiver coach Aaron Moorehead left no ambiguity in declaring as much recently. And it tracks since Wicks was easily Hurts’ top target when both DeVonta and Makai Lemon missed most of training camp due to hamstring injuries.
Who is WR3? The Eagles are listing Lemon as a starter on their team-issued depth chart. The 2026 first-round pick was taking all the first-team reps in the slot upon returning from injury in late August.
But it’s fair to wonder if Lemon is currently ready to be the main man in that third receiver role. His preseason debut wasn’t encouraging. I also didn’t think Nick Sirianni gave him the strongest vote of confidence when asked about his role earlier this week:
The guess here is that Lemon will start but he’ll share snaps with some combination of Elijah Moore, Hollywood Brown, and/or Darius Cooper. That would probably be for the best, since those players look more prepared to contribute to winning in Week 1.
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It’d be very cool and a huge deal for the Eagles’ offensive outlook if Lemon has a strong game. I think it’s unfair to reasonably expect that much from him in Week 1, however.
It would also be cool to see Hurts’ targets a bit more evenly distributed than they’ve been in the past.
6 – Washington’s path to an upset
I promise I’m not trying to come off as cocky but I truly feel good about the Eagles’ chances of winning this game.
Perhaps … too good?
It’s probably worth considering how I (we, if you’re a similar boat) might be wrong.
The Commanders’ path to victory probably looks something like this:
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Jayden Daniels returns to 2024 form and totally balls out. He manages to run around and escape the Eagles’ pass rush while having success throwing to their new top trio of Terry McLaurin, Stefon Diggs, and Chig Okonkwo. Maybe Riq Woolen’s volatility burns the Eagles’ defense early on.
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The Eagles’ offense continues to look like a work in progress as the Commanders’ new chaotic defense stifles that unit.
I don’t truly believe that’ll be the outcome on Sunday.
I do believe Daniels is the biggest reason why those doubting the Commanders could be wrong about them this week and their entire 2026 season outlook. I think it’s possible (but not likely) he finishes this year as the top quarterback in the NFC East.
7 – The Eagles’ QB2 reveal
Hopefully not relevant to the game itself because the Eagles could be in trouble if Jalen Hurts goes down.
We’ve yet to find out if it’s Andy Dalton or Tanner McKee backing up the Eagles’ starting quarterback. They’re still said to be splitting reps with the second-team offense, which seems pretty ridiculous.
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But Nick Sirianni’s competitive advantage is about to expire with the Eagles having to reveal their intentions. Unless they just … keep both Dalton and McKee active?! That would be pretty silly when they could keep one as the backup and the other in the emergency third quarterback role.
8 – Does Willie Lampkin have a role?
The Eagles will probably keep eight offensive linemen active. There are the five starters … plus three of these five backups: Drew Kendall, Markel Bell, Willie Lampkin, Fred Johnson, and Micah Morris.
The rookie Morris definitely won’t dress. So, who’s the odd man out among the remaining four?
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It could be Big Fred. He didn’t have a very good summer; Bell outplayed him. But why keep Johnson on the roster if he’s not going to be active?
Kendall is likely the top backup interior offensive lineman. It’d be pretty surprising if Bell is scratched.
So, the decision probably comes down to Lampkin and Johnson.
And Lampkin could have a specialized role serving as the extra blocker in six offensive linemen sets. Or view him as a blocking tight end, if you will.
It feels like Lampkin showed too much potential for the Eagles not to try to get creative and find ways for him to be useful. We’ll see if the team feels the same way.
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9 – Who is returning punts?
Lemon has been repping there but the Eagles could look to temporarily elevate Britain Covey from the practice squad for that role. The Birds have until 4:00 PM Eastern on Saturday to make any roster moves ahead of Sunday’s game.
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