Ready or not …
Eagles need to shake off rust, improve tackling
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles’ quest to remain undefeated continues Monday when they play the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field (8:15 p.m., ESPN).
The Eagles are bidding to become the first team in three years and only the third since 2015 to win their first nine games. The Pittsburgh Steelers (2020), Carolina Panthers (2015) and New England Patriots were the last three teams to start 9-0, the Panthers going 14-0 and on to the Super Bowl. The Patriots won one playoff game that year while the Steelers went one-and-done.
The challenge for the Eagles is to shake off the rust they showed in their last start, a 29-17 win over the Houston Texans. That game was tied at the half and featured poor tackling, indifferent run defense and lackadaisical pass protection. Other than that, the Eagles played in limited stretches like one of the NFL’s premier teams.
That rust was hardly coincidental as the Eagles played just two games in essentially a month due to scheduling quirks and the bye week. Those games came just four days apart.
“I think we overcame a little bit of the rust coming off the bye week and we’re just going to keep doing that,” Eagles defensive captain Brandon Graham said. “It wasn’t as bad as we thought. Of course, the tackling has got to get better if we’re trying to win this thing, especially when it gets colder. People are going to run the ball. So, we have to make sure we get the ball carrier on the ground. If I’m critiquing ourselves, that’s what we’re going to work on and make sure we stay sharp.”
The Commanders (4-5) aren’t playing as bad now as their record suggests, for they’ve prevailed in three of their last four starts largely under feisty quarterback Taylor Heinicke, the replacement for the injured Carson Wentz.