It's great to see in a game where one team is out of the playoff hunt that the rivalry between the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders is still very much alive.
An example of this is after the Eagles scored a touchdown and converted the two-point try to give them a 29-10 lead in the fourth quarter, when tempers flared involving Saquon Barkley and some of the Commanders' defenders. Eagles right guard Tyler Steen ended up stepping in and throwing a few punches as he and two Commanders defenders were thrown out of the game for it.
Reporters asked Barkley about the incident after the Eagles beat the Commanders 29-18. The veteran running back knows he shouldn't be involved in something like that, but he was honest about the rivalry between both teams.
"We got to be better," Barkley said via SportsRadio 94 WIP. "Obviously, we got to take care of each other. It's a brotherhood from their side and our side. We got to be better, we got to be smarter. I got to be smarter. I shouldn't put myself in that situation. It's really not worth it. Bobby Wagner did a really good job of making it make sense to me in that moment too. You get to the two, three punches and a helmet, so you don't break your hand just to say you're a tough guy, like it's really not worth it, and you lose a lot of money too. We got to be better there, but I guess this was a theme. Like at one point, the fans was fighting in the stands, and I guess it got carried over to the game, but it's chippy out there. We have a lot of history with this team, especially since I've been here and in the past. But this team don't like us. That's just the truth, and we don't like them either."
Week 18 could get interesting for the Eagles and Commanders
The win against Washington helped the Eagles capture their second straight NFC East championship and their third title in four years. Philly became the first NFC East team to win the division two consecutive seasons in 21 years.
It'll be interesting if the Eagles will have to play the starters by the time the two teams face off again in Week 18, as Philly is more than likely going to be the third seed unless something drastically changes in the next week. That might mean the Eagles rest their starters for Week 18 against the Commanders.
That doesn't mean there won't be bad blood between both sides. Washington will try to force the Eagles to make mistakes that get them thrown out and face suspensions in the playoffs.
Read more: Jake Elliott’s postgame quote won't sit well with Eagles fans after awful misses
Philly can't take the bait, and Steen has to be smarter about situations like that in the future, but if there were any questions about the rivalry, there aren't anymore because they don't like each other.