Commanders Look at Lessons from Ravens Game to Fuel Eagles Matchup

The Commanders are taking hard-earned lessons from their Ravens matchup into Thursday night face-off with the Eagles.

Nov 3, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images / Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

The Washington Commanders don’t have too much time to dwell on their one-point narrow loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. With a quick turnaround, they’ve got to shake it off and get ready for a crucial NFC East clash with the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night.

While that may seem challenging, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn is drawing insights from their Week 6 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens to see what lessons they can apply that will help them take down the Eagles.

“Well, I think I have an understanding of where they are philosophically,” the Washington head coach shared, explaining his approach to Philadelphia. “They’re a little different, though, than they have been with a new play caller on offense. So that does change some.”

Nov 3, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images / Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

Quinn’s approach shows he’s keyed into the Eagles strategy, recognizing the familiar elements and the adjustments Philadelphia made with a fresh play-caller running their offense. Quinn’s been known to strategize down to the details, and he’s readying Washington for what Jalen Hurts and this offense bring. Hurts is that rare quarterback who can keep a play alive with his legs or his arm, which means the Commanders defense has to be ready for anything.

“One of the things that jumps out to me from Philadelphia,” Quinn continued, “you gotta be able to play two downs, meaning [Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen] Hurts can extend outta the play on a passing play to extend it as a passer and running, and you have to be ready to play four down football.”

For Quinn, this “four-down football” mentality is important. With Hurts ability to extend plays, the Commanders have to stay locked in all the way through, especially since the Eagles aren’t shy about pushing it on fourth down.

Containing mobile quarterbacks has been a challenge for Washington this season, and Hurts is no exception. He’ll test the Commanders ability to stay disciplined and alert, forcing them to expect the unexpected on any down.

Quinn made it clear that the Eagles flexibility is a long-standing part of their game plan. “And that’s been a philosophy of Philadelphia for a number of years,” he noted. “And so those are two things that jump out that will be an important part of this game plan.”

Washington knows they’ll need to be adaptable on defense to keep Hurts contained and prevent him from pulling off game-changing scrambles or big throws. On offense, they’ll likely lean on their run game to control the clock and keep Hurts sidelined as much as possible.

With Quinn’s philosophy in play and the lessons from prior matchups in mind, the Commanders are focused on showing up prepared. If they can execute their game plan and make each down count, they just might defeat the Philadelphia Eagles and take the number one spot back in the NFC East.

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