The last time the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia Eagles met it was for ownership of first place in the NFC East Division.
The Eagles came into that game with the advantage, just like they do in this pivotal NFC East contest where the Commanders can't grab a share of the division lead, but can prevent their foe from clinching its second group title in three seasons.
For Washington, the idea of facing this division rival for a second time is exciting, especially when it comes to doing it in December and considering the established reputation of Philadelphia as one of the better teams in the NFL along with its standing in the division.
"In the NFC East, Philadelphia has been the heavy-hitters so far this season in the division. So (its a) great challenge for us and we're pumped to be able to get 'em back here at home," Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said ahead of Wednesday's practice. He also shared some thoughts about looking back at the two team's first contest, and how the second might differ.
"You go back and watch it for sure. You have to, and you want to point out the things that you liked. And then when you think about a game like this, when you're in any division game, (its) what do you need to stop doing? What do you need to start doing and what do you want to do the same? And so things, whether it might have been a scheme or a technique, 'Hey that's something we're not going to do, this is something we're going to add, and these other things stay in that.' ... There are some new things that neither team has shown, so that will happen. It's not like a rinse and repeat, here's the gameplan. You dust it off and put it up in front of everyone. All teams are changing, and things are different...that's what's kind of part of the fun of playing the second time."
While the Eagles are hoping to clinch a division title, Washington has something to potentially clinch as well.
With a win over Philadelphia, a loss by the Los Angeles Rams against the New York Jets or a Seattle Seahawks loss against the Minnesota Vikings, and an Atlanta Falcons loss to the New York Giants, the Commanders would secure a playoff spot.
Contextually, you could say it'd be the first playoff berth Washington has earned since 2015 after the team somewhat fell into an NFC East Division title with a losing record in 2020.
The last time the two team's faced off it was the Eagles who walked away with an eight-point win in a game the Commanders led by as much as four until the fourth quarter.
This game is different in a lot of ways, and Washington is busy putting plans in place to make sure the ending changes between this game and the last, and that Philadelphia has to sweat it out a bit before trying to clinch the division again in Week 17.
