The Philadelphia Eagles have a vital test coming up in a rare Saturday NFL game this week — with just three weeks left in the season, the Eagles face the Commanders in a playoff clinching scenario for Philadelphia.
To officially lock up the NFC East and punch their ticket to the playoffs, all the Eagles need to do is win one of their final three games. That first opportunity comes on the road in Washington on Saturday, where a win would make the Eagles the second NFC team to clinch a playoff berth (pending the results of Thursday Night Football).
To do that, however, the Eagles will have to go through a beloved former teammate. The Commanders will be starting veteran QB Marcus Mariota against Philadelphia, after starter Jayden Daniels was shut down for the season due to his elbow injury. Mariota spent the 2023 season backing up Eagles QB Jalen Hurts and appeared in three games with the team.
Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts on Marcus Mariota
GettyEAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – JANUARY 07: Marcus Mariota #8 of the Philadelphia Eagles huddles up with his teammates during the second half in the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium on January 07, 2024 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
“I always watched him from afar,” Hurts said about Mariota during his press conference on Tuesday. “He was very helpful when he was here, [he has] a lot of maturity, a lot of wisdom. He’s experienced a lot in the league, and obviously the success he’s had with the game, you know, Heisman Trophy winner. He’s capable of doing amazing things, so it’ll be a great challenge for us all with his ability out there on the field come Saturday.”
Mariota was the No. 2 overall pick in 2015 by the Titans, and he spent the first five seasons of his NFL career in Tennessee. Since then, he’s played for the Raiders, Falcons, Eagles, and Commanders, mostly as a backup. This year, however, with Daniels’ injury woes, Mariota has appeared in 10 games and thrown for 1,600 yards and 10 touchdowns in a combination of starts and relief duty.
In college at Oregon, Mariota was one of the most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in the game. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2014, throwing for 4,454 yards and 42 touchdowns to just four interceptions, also rushing for 770 yards and 15 touchdowns. Hurts would go on to be a Heisman finalist himself in 2019 when he was at Oklahoma, and he was another quarterback known for his dynamic dual-threat abilities in college.
The Philadelphia Eagles Could Use Some Momentum Heading Into the Playoffs
The Eagles might be one win away from clinching the NFC East, but it hasn’t been the smoothest road to get there. Before their shutout win last week over the Raiders, the Eagles had lost three straight games, including one to the Cowboys.
A road test in two weeks in Buffalo will be a difficult challenge, but the week after that is the season finale against the Commanders. Two games against Washington in three weeks provides ample opportunity to stack some wins and build some momentum heading into the NFC playoff gauntlet.
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