Philadelphia Eagles Scratch & Claw Way to Win vs. Washington Commanders; More Help on The Way?

The Philadelphia Eagles showed some of their warts during their Week 8 win over the Washington Commanders, but maybe more help will arrive before the trade deadline

LANDOVER, MD. – A win can cover a multitude of warts.

Yes, the Philadelphia Eagles survived another strong challenge from the Washington Commanders, before finally escaping with a come-from-behind 38-31 win at FedEx field on Sunday.

Yes, the win moved them to 7-1 with a big NFC East tilt on tap next Sunday in South Philly against the Dallas Cowboys, who are 5-2.

Yes, it was a season-high in points.

Yes, they swept the Commanders this season, winning round one, 34-31 in overtime during Week 4, then finishing it off on Sunday.

But…

This win was far from a Mona Lisa.

Still, lesser teams lose after turning the ball over twice inside the 5-yard line on fumbles.

Lesser teams lose after falling down 14-3 then give up a 61-yard field goal with one second in the first half to fall down 17-10.

Lesser teams lose after giving up 472 yards of total offense.

Lesser teams lose to a quarterback who, like Washington’s Sam Howell, completed 39 of 52 passes for a career-high 397 yards with four touchdowns.

Guess what, though?

The Eagles aren’t a lesser team. Far from it.

“It’s good that we’re resilient,” said center Jason Kelce, who made his franchise-record 147th straight start. “I would like to not turn the ball over twice. But that’s the way it works sometimes. Sometimes it’s not going to be pretty, and things happen.

“We have confidence across the board, and we have faith in each other that things are going to start clicking for us. With the great players on offense and defense, we know we can overcome any deficit as long as we start playing the way we can.”

That’s a scary thought for the rest of the league, that an Eagles team can be outplayed in several areas and still win, regardless of what you think about the competition.

The Eagles could use some tweaking, though. 

That’s Howie Roseman’s job. The general manager already added safety Kevin Byard, who played what seemed like every snap and had seven tackles, and has until Tuesday at 4 p.m. to find a way to help this team get back to the Super Bowl.

Do they need a running back? The Eagles are suddenly having a hard time running the ball. They had 99 yards last week and against the Commanders they had just 59, with only six at halftime.

Haason Reddick sacks Sam Howell / USA Today

Do they need another edge rusher? They sacked Howell only once, but it was a big one, with Haason Reddick doing the honors with 2:13 to play in the game to give Philly the ball back at the Washington 25. Howell, who had been sacked 40 times coming in and was on pace to be sacked more than any QB in history, did a nice job, though, getting the ball out quickly.

D’Andre Swift seemingly ended it after Reddick’s sack, which gave him 6.5 this season, from there, with a 7-yard touchdown run with 1:53.

The Commanders (3-5) weren’t done, getting a touchdown with 1:01 to go. DeVonta Smith, however, recovered the onside kick to seal win No. 7.

Do they need another linebacker? Even though Nakobe Dean led the way with 12 tackles, the Eagles did a terrible job covering the middle of the field and allowing short throws into the flat.

How about a slot cornerback? They are trying to get by with rookie Sydney Brown, who is a safety by trade. Brown had some good moments but is still training on the job and there will be growing pains.

The Eagles’ other Brown - receiver A.J. Brown - set a record for most consecutive games with 125-plus receiving games with his sixth in a row, but he was focused more on the team’s hard-earned win.

“I can just say I really haven’t had any time to really digest what happened,” said Brown, who had eight receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns. “Most importantly, I’m so happy we got this win. Things weren’t going our way at first, but we found a way, and I think that huge for this team.

“Not everything is going to go your way and you have to bounce back and try to find a way to keep scratching and clawing, and I think that’s what we did.”