3 Takeaways from Eagles' Week 8 Win vs. Commanders
The Philadelphia Eagles put the ball in the hands of their best playmakers to escape FedEx Field with a 38-31 win over the Washington Commanders.
A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith combined for 15 receptions, 229 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Jalen Hurts turned in his third 300-yard passing game to counter whatever Sam Howell and the Washington offense produced.
Howell achieved plenty of success against the Philadelphia secondary, which is still the most concerning part of the 7-1 squad.
The Eagles allowed Jahan Dotson and Jamison Crowder to have strong days through the air, and if the pass-defending struggles continue, they could be on the wrong end of results against some of the top teams in the NFL.
AJ Brown Leads Monster Day Through Air
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Brown became the first player in NFL history to record 125 receiving yards in six consecutive games.
The former Tennessee Titans wide out came up with a handful of big catches to answer everything the Commanders threw at the Eagles.
Brown left everyone in the stadium speechless with an incredible one-handed grab in the second quarter to ignite the Eagles' offense.
Before that touchdown, the Eagles managed just three points and had two drives ended by turnovers.
Brown hauled in a 25-yard scoring pass from Hurts in the third quarter to level the contest and put the Eagles in a good position to succeed in the final stanza.
Hurts picked out DeVonta Smith and Julio Jones for touchdown passes on the next two drives. Jones' first touchdown catch as an Eagles player turned out to be the game-winner.
The passing offense carried the Eagles to a victory, and right now it is hard to see the team diverting from that strategy given how strong Brown looked during his record-setting stretch.
Secondary Still Has Issues to Fix
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The Eagles let Sam Howell throw for 397 yards.
Howell picked apart the Philadelphia secondary, which has been an issue in previous games, for most of the NFC East contest.
The Washington quarterback produced 687 passing yards and five touchdowns through the air in two meetings with the Eagles this season.
Philadelphia found a way to win both of those contests, but the flaws exposed by Howell need to be worked on with tougher games ahead on the schedule.
The Eagles start a five-game gauntlet on Sunday in which they face the Dallas Cowboys twice, the San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
All of those teams can exploit Philadelphia's deficiencies defending the pass on a far better scale than the Commanders did.
The addition of Kevin Byard should help ease some of the concerns as he gets adjusted to the defense, but general manager Howie Roseman may have to make a trade at cornerback to shore up the concerning unit.
Eagles Need More Offensive Balance
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The Eagles need to get more out of their rushing attack in order to keep the next few defenses on their schedule off balance.
D'Andre Swift managed 57 yards on 16 carries on Sunday, but he was anonymous on a majority of the first-half drives that did not produce points.
Kenneth Gainwell, who has been used in third-down and red-zone situations, fumbled near the end zone. A botched snap doomed a quarterback sneak on the next drive.
Philadelphia needs to find the right rotation around Swift to be successful against better teams, and that may require activating Rashaad Penny.
Penny has mostly found himself on the inactive list this year, but he could bring more power to the rushing attack, something that Gainwell lacks as a pass-catcher.
The lack of success on the ground has been patched over by Brown and Smith's success through the air, but there will come a time in the next month in which the Eagles have to rely on Swift and Co. to win the game on the ground.
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