An Eagles season sweep over Washington isn’t the end game, but it helps

The ninth game of the 2022-2023 NFL season approaches for the Philadelphia Eagles. They have a chance to sweep the Washington Commanders in Week 10 as these age-old rivals renew acquaintances during the next airing of Monday Night Football.

These proud franchises began their feud in 1934. Since then, the Commanders have relocated from Boston to the greater Washington D.C. area and have undergone two name changes. Regardless of all of that, both sides are familiar with the opponent as they have met twice annually since 1944.

The Eagles and Commanders’ next meeting will be their 176th. Washington holds an 88-82-5 advantage in the series. The expectation is Philadelphia will close the gap some in Week 10. They’ve won eight of the past ten matchups.

Philly enters Week 10 undefeated and also hunting for the 12th sweep of their division rival since the year 2000, but make no mistake about it. The Birds have bigger goals in mind than merely sweeping an NFL East foe even if, often, vanquishing the guys from D.C. has led to better things.

Guess where those other Eagles teams that swept Washington finished.

Since the calendar changed to the year 2000, the Philadelphia Eagles have swept the Washinton Commanders in each of the following seasons: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021.

The Eagles have outscored Washington 1073-866 during that time. They have racked up 15,864 total yards of offense. They have only given up 14,360 total yards. The Eagles are also winning the turnover battle, but barely, earning 66 takeaways versus Washington’s 65.

Success against a divisional opponent is rare in the NFL. Being able to sweep an opponent 11 times in 22 seasons is usually only heard of when speaking of sports dynasties. The Eagles haven’t been that, but dominance over Washington has helped them in terms of earning their way to the postseason

It’s long been known that winning the division is the fastest path to the postseason. Philly has taken full advantage of that theory by earning playoff berths in all of the aforementioned seasons with the exception of 2011.

They have also amassed seven NFC titles, two NFC titles, and one Super Bowl title collectively. Sure, we’d like another helping of a divisional sweep. That’s the expectation, and if history and good fortune are on the Eagles’ side, another win on Monday Night Football could be another stepping stone to brighter days.

Will we see another Eagles sweep over the Commanders in 2022?

The Eagles sit at a record of 8-0 for the first time in franchise history. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni are both 3-0 in the three games that Jalen has started (and finished). Hurts’ only loss was the season finale in 2020.

There’s no need to revisit that one, is there?

Washington isn’t simply going to hand the game over though. They’ll start Taylor Heinicke under center as Carson Wentz continues to miss time due to injury. Heinicke lost his lone career start versus Philadelphia at home last season.

The Commanders still have hope in 2022. At 4-5, they’re very much in the hunt for a Wild Card berth at season’s end. They trail the 5-4 San Fransisco 49ers, who currently hold the NFC’s seventh and final playoff spot by a single game.

With nine weeks remaining in the regular season, Washington has time to mount a playoff push. Stunning their undefeated rival would be a great spark to get some momentum going, but the expectation is that the Eagles get the win here. Let’s hope those theories are accurate. It appears that history is on the Birds’ side though.