Washington Commanders Taking 'Confidence' Into Philadelphia Eagles Clash, Says Ron Rivera

The Washington Commanders face the Philadelphia Eagles for the second time this season, and head coach Ron Rivera says his team is taking confidence from the year's first battle at Lincoln Financial Field.

If we could only bottle that little thing called confidence, right? Well, for the Washington Commanders, they have taken a big sip from that bottle this week as they gear up to face the Philadelphia Eagles.

After their Week 4 clash that saw the Commanders and Sam Howell take the Eagles to overtime in a 34-31 loss, there were plenty of positives to take from the game.

And head coach Ron Rivera is drawing on that as his team looks to be on the other side of the ledger come Sunday afternoon.

“I think really it's about confidence, about trying to build on what happened and the opportunities we had and learn from those things," Rivera said. "Learn from the good and learn from the bad. There was a lot of good things. There was a lot of tough things that went on in that game. Right now from where it stands, you're talking about we're playing against the elite in the NFC and so this is a heck of a target for us to look at. We've got to prepare and get ready to play our best.”

Washington Commanders receiver Jahan Dotson / Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

In their loss earlier in the year, the Commanders had 365 yards of total offense as Howell and Co. averaged 4.9 yards a play while possessing the ball for over five minutes more than Jalen Hurts and the Eagles.

More of the same will be needed on Sunday as the Commanders look to get back on the winner's list and bounce back from the poor 14-7 loss to the New York Giants.

Of course, that is easier said than done, but the Commanders generally have done well against the Eagles in the past as in three of the last four outings, it has been a one-score game.

So expect it to be close on Sunday and if the Commanders can draw on the positive things they did last time out and be confident that a different result can be had, then maybe, just maybe, they might be walking out of FedEx Field with a win.