By Zach Berman, Brooks Kubena and Nicki Jhabvala<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia Eagles survived a slow offensive start and several special teams mistakes to overwhelm the Washington Commanders 29-18, in the process clinching a second straight NFC East title. The Commanders, already without starting quarterback Jayden Daniels, lost replacement starter Marcus Mariota<\/a> in the third quarter and finished the game with third-stringer Josh Johnson, the team\u2019s only other available quarterback.<\/p>\n Despite trailing a struggling Washington team at halftime, the Eagles (10-5) now know they will host at least one playoff game. The reigning Super Bowl champions became the first back-to-back NFC East winner since the Eagles ruled the division from 2001-2004. Philadelphia doesn\u2019t yet know its playoff seeding or opponent, but the Eagles are almost certain to be the NFC\u2019s No. 2 or No. 3 seed. The Eagles\u2019 win also eliminated the Dallas Cowboys<\/a> from playoff contention; Dallas will miss the postseason for the second straight season.<\/p>\n Still, some of Philadelphia\u2019s season-long concerns didn\u2019t go away. The Eagles committed two false starts in tush-push formations, failed to convert on their first four third-down attempts, lost a fumble on a kickoff return and missed two field goals. The Commanders led 10-7 at halftime.<\/p>\n A brutal Commanders season, meanwhile, somehow got worse. Washington (4-11) lost for the ninth time in 10 games and fell to 2-8 in conference games. With Daniels shut down for the season<\/a>, Mariota started for the eighth time in 2025, but he exited with a hand injury. Washington still led when he left, but the Eagles scored on a 15-yard Jalen Hurts pass to Dallas Goedert and a 12-yard Saquon Barkley run to end the drama. The touchdown pass to Goedert was Hurts\u2019 24th of the season, a career high.<\/p>\n Eagles back in the postseason<\/p>\n The Eagles are the NFC East\u2019s first back-to-back champion in two decades. That would seem to suggest there\u2019s major parity in the division during two decades, although the Eagles are the clear heavyweights. This is their third division title in four seasons. They\u2019re in the postseason for the fifth consecutive year. And they\u2019ve now won double-digit games in four consecutive years.<\/p>\n For all the angst in Philadelphia, they\u2019ll host (at least one) postseason game. They have the sixth-best odds to win the Super Bowl. The question becomes how the Eagles approach the final two games against the Bills in Buffalo and the Commanders in Philadelphia. They might decide to rest players, or they could attempt to carry momentum into the postseason and push for the better seed, depending on the possibilities after the weekend. Offensive tackle Lane Johnson and defensive tackle Jalen Carter are both expected back for the playoffs, and Johnson could return sooner if needed.<\/p>\n What\u2019s clear is that fans can start thinking about how the Eagles match up in January. They\u2019ve dominated their past two opponents, bottom-of-the-league teams in the Las Vegas Raiders and Commanders. They might be heating up at the right time, or just overpowering overmatched teams. They\u2019ll have January to show which it is. That\u2019s more than the rest of the NFC East can say. \u2014 Zach Berman, Eagles beat writer<\/p>\n Eagles flip offensive approach<\/p>\n