LANDOVER, Md. — For the first time in 20 seasons, the NFC East has a back-to-back champion.

The Philadelphia Eagles clinched the division in a 29-18 victory over the Washington Commanders Saturday night at Northwest Stadium, officially punching their ticket to the playoffs. Despite falling behind, 10-7, in the first half, the Eagles blew the game open in the second, scoring touchdowns on three of four possessions with the starting offense.

It wasn’t pretty early on for the Eagles. Jake Elliott missed a pair of long field goals, one from 57 yards and another from 52. But the offense rebounded, in large part thanks to Saquon Barkley’s dominance on the ground. The 28-year-old running back rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries.

Barkley eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards on the season for the fifth time in his career.

Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ Week 16 win over their division rival:

Commanders’ defensive struggles

The Commanders went up, 10-7, in the first half on a 20-yard field goal and running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt’s 1-yard touchdown run. Then, the Washington defense committed an abundance of mistakes that ultimately cost them the game.

On fourth-and-7 from the Commanders’ 38 halfway through the third quarter, the Eagles opted to go for it, keeping a struggling Elliott off the field. Hurts tossed a pick to Commanders safety Quan Martin on a downfield pass intended for A.J. Brown, but it didn’t stand. Dallas Goedert drew an illegal contact penalty against Commanders safety Will Harris, extending the drive.

Six plays later, on third-and-8 from the Commanders’ 20, the Washington defense committed another pair of penalties to keep the Eagles alive. Martin’s holding call was declined, but the defensive pass interference call on Commanders cornerback Noah Igbinoghene was enforced.

The 26-year-old cornerback attempted to cover DeVonta Smith in the back of the end zone, but the officials had determined he grabbed the Eagles’ standout receiver.

The Eagles made the Commanders pay for their mistakes. On third-and-goal from the Commanders’ 15 — the Eagles backed up due to a Fred Johnson holding penalty — Hurts completed a touchdown pass to Goedert while on the move.

Goedert leapt up over Martin to snag Hurts’ pass, making it 14-10 in favor of the Eagles. The 30-year-old tight end has reached a team-high 10 touchdowns on the season, which is double his previous career high (five touchdowns in 2019).

The Commanders had some tackling issues throughout the evening, especially when it came to attempting to bring down Brown (he finished the day with a team-high nine receptions for 95 yards). Barkley benefited from the Commanders’ poor tackling, too, when he added to the Eagles’ scoring total in the fourth quarter.

Barkley forced five missed tackles on his 12-yard touchdown run up the middle, putting the Eagles up, 21-10. He helped put the dagger into Washington later in the fourth quarter with a 48-yard carry, featuring a spin move in the backfield and another slew of missed Commanders tackles.

Tank Bigsby built on Barkley’s explosive play, scampering into the end zone on a 22-yard touchdown run. Barkley picked up the ensuing two-point conversion on a carry, making it 29-10, Eagles.

Eagles defense catches a break

Early in the third quarter, Marcus Mariota exited the game with a right hand injury, effectively quashing the Commanders’ chances at a victory.

The Josh Johnson experience was horrific. On third-and-13 late in the third quarter, Cooper DeJean picked off the 39-year-old quarterback on a pass intended for Commanders wide receiver Treylon Burks.

On the Commanders’ following possession, running back Chris Rodriguez was stuffed by Jordan Davis and Zack Baun on third-and-1 for a loss of three yards. Their play forced the Commanders to punt, marking Washington’s first three-and-out of the evening.

The Eagles defensive front gave Johnson fits. On third-and-6 halfway through the fourth quarter, Nolan Smith beat Commanders right tackle Josh Conerly Jr. and pressured Johnson, forcing him to throw an incomplete pass intended for running back Jeremy McNichols.

Rodriguez scored a garbage-time touchdown on a 3-yard carry with Eagles backups in the game on defense to make it 29-18. Johnson finished the game going 5 of 9 for 43 yards and the interception (28.7 quarterback rating).

More issues for Elliott

After the Eagles went up, 7-3, in the first quarter on a 4-yard Smith touchdown reception, the self-inflicted wounds that had tormented the team for most of the season cropped up once more.

Elliott had a nightmare outing. Early in the second quarter, the Eagles offense sputtered at the Commanders’ 25-yard line. Late in the drive, Hurts overthrew a wide-open Brown on second-and-11, eventually forcing the Eagles to settle for a 43-yard field goal attempt.

However, Elliott missed the field goal wide left, which would become a trend for him as the quarter continued. After the two-minute warning, the Commanders up 10-7, the Eagles decided to kick a 57-yard field goal on fourth-and-4 from the Commanders’ 39 with 18 seconds remaining in the first half.

Elliott missed that wide left, too. But Commanders safety Tyler Owens was flagged for being offside on the play, giving the Eagles offense a fresh set of downs and five yards.

Hurts’ ensuing pass for Smith sailed incomplete, bringing Elliott on the field for yet another attempt, this time from 52 yards. Again, Elliott missed the kick wide left to end the first half.

Not including the failed 57-yarder, Elliott has missed five field goals in his last five games. He has also missed an extra point attempt in that span.

Elliott stabilized in the fourth quarter. After Barkley’s fourth-quarter touchdown run, the Eagles kicker made the extra point.

Injury report

Nakobe Dean injured his hamstring halfway through the first quarter when he was attempting to tackle Burks. Jihaad Campbell took his place. He was later ruled out in the third quarter.

Tyler Steen was ejected late in the fourth quarter following the Eagles’ successful two-point conversion attempt for his involvement in a scuffle that broke out between the two teams.

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