NFL Power Rankings: Commanders Crack Top 20 After Win vs. Eagles?

How far did the Washington Commanders jump after its upset win over the Philadelphia Eagles?

Heading into its game against the then-undefeated Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, the Washington Commanders were two-score underdogs.

Washington flipped the script and nearly flipped the spread, beating the Eagles in their stadium 32-21 to hand them their first loss.

With the win, the Commanders jumped from 25th to 20th in Sports Illustrated’s power rankings.

20th is the highest Washington has been ranked this season in SI’s power rankings.

“This is a version of the Commanders I’d watch every week,” SI writes. “Stout defensively and rugged offensively, using some of the Eagles’ own philosophy against them. On Monday night, they managed to generate chunk plays, in addition to playing some aesthetically pleasing ball-control offense that completely kept the Duke out of Jalen Hurts’ hands.”

The Commanders looked and played like a completely different team compared to its 24-8 loss to Philadelphia on Sept. 19.

Washington had the ball for 40 minutes and 24 seconds. That was more than double the Eagles’ time of possession, 19 minutes and 36 seconds. In total, Washington ran 81 plays to Philadelphia’s 47. A large part of that effort was the Commanders’ ability to run the ball and convert on third down.

Brian Robinson Jr. ran the ball 26 times for 86 yards and a touchdown, and Antonio Gibson toted the rock 14 times for 44 yards and a score.

Taylor Heinicke completed 17 of his 29 passes for 211 yards and an interception. He was only sacked three times compared to Wentz, who found the grass on nine different occasions nearly two months ago.

Terry McLaurin had eight catches for 128 yards. Joey Slye also had a big day, making each of his four field goal attempts.

Washington also converted 12 of its 21 third downs and once on fourth down.

Philadelphia’s potent offense was slowed down by the Commanders' stout defense and its inability to stay on the field. Washington held the Eagles to 21 points, compared to its average of 28 points. Philadelphia also struggled to run the ball. The Eagles averaged 148.4 yards a game before Monday and only mustered 94 yards against Washington.

Hurts completed 17 of his 26 passes for 175 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

With the win, Washington is only a half-game out of a wild card spot. The team has also won four of its last five games.

The Commanders will have a chance to continue their momentum when they go on the road again to face the Houston Texans on Sunday at 1 p.m.

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