Game planning for the Washington Commanders is not going to be an easy task for the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1 of the 2026 regular season.
Last season against the NFC East, the Eagles went 3-3, winning and losing to each team. That leaves the division wide open for any team to win this season.
To get off to a fast start, the Eagles need to do their job against the Commanders. There is one player Philly's incredible defense needs to focus on for the game: Jayden Daniels.
Eagles could have their hands full with Jayden Daniels back for Washington
Last season, the Eagles didn't face Daniels at all when the teams met in Weeks 16 and 18. Marcus Mariota and Josh Johnson were the Commanders' quarterbacks. The Eagles took care of business in the first game but lost the second contest with the backups playing.
With Daniels back in the picture, this is not going to be easy for the Eagles, as he's had success against them in the past. In two career regular season games, he has thrown for 449 yards and six touchdowns to three interceptions, adding another 99 yards on the ground.
Daniels is an intriguing player for the Commanders, as he can do a lot of things for them. He's a versatile weapon with the ability to throw the football well and use his legs to pick up those extra yards.
If the Eagles' defense wants to have any success against Daniels, it's going to come down to what they do up front. They will need to put a QB Spy on Daniels to make sure he doesn't break contain. This would be a good job for the athletic Jihaad Campbell to handle while Zack Baun drops back into coverage at linebacker.
It also falls on the defensive line to stay ready for Daniels and avoid overpursuing him. There are questions about whether Jonathan Greenard will play or not with the pectoral injury, so it might fall on Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith to handle the edges.
Last year, one of the Eagles' biggest defensive weaknesses was facing off against athletic quarterbacks. Guys like Jaxson Dart had 58 yards and one touchdown against them, or Josh Allen scored two touchdowns on the ground against the Eagles.
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If the Eagles can make sure to contain Daniels and not let him run wild on them, Philly has a strong chance of winning this game with some relative ease. Something says, though, that since this is an NFC East team with an athletic quarterback, it will be a challenge for the Eagles.
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