Can Eagles stop skid vs Commanders? Our experts score predictions

PHILADELPHIA − It’s easy to look at the negative, and the Eagles have certainly supplied more than their share during their five-game losing streak.

The latest indignity was their 38-21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 26.

That losing skid is a record during the Nick Sirianni era. It’s the Eagles’ longest since 2016, when Carson Wentz was a QB prodigy in his rookie season. That was also the season Lane Johnson missed 10 games because of a PED suspension. The Eagles went 2-8 without Johnson.

This season, Johnson retired. So far, the Eagles are 0-4 without him.

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Johnson isn’t coming back. Neither is quarterback Jalen Hurts, who’s presumably out for the season to treat blood clots that have traveled to both of his lungs.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, exposed an AWOL defense that couldn’t stop the run. Dallas rushed for 204 yards. The Eagles couldn’t stop QB Dak Prescott, either, as he threw for 212 yards and three touchdowns.

But there were positives that the Eagles (2-5) can build on heading into their Nov. 1 matchup against the Commanders (1-4-1) in a Sunday Night Football matchup that probably won’t be a ratings bonanza.

Unless, of course, viewers like watching two teams battle it out for the opposite of NFC East supremacy. The Eagles won the first game 24-22 in the season opener on Sept. 13.

Still, the Eagles’ offense had perhaps its best game, or at least its best 2½ quarters, of the season against Dallas. The Eagles scored touchdowns on their first two possessions, something they haven’t done all season. They also scored a touchdown on their opening drive of the third quarter, again a first for the season.

In fact, the Eagles took a 21-20 lead on that drive that lasted for 9 minutes, 16 seconds. Tanner McKee found rookie Makai Lemon for 15 yards on fourth-and-1, and McKee capped the drive with a 4-yard TD pass to Lemon, who finished with career highs in both receptions (7) and yards (67).

“That’s the standard, honestly, that we have for ourselves every time we step on the field,” McKee said. “It’s to have sustained drives like that, to execute on plays like that. … We were able to, for that drive, play to our standard.”

After that, however, the Eagles offense reverted to their mean. As in, McKee threw an interception, was sacked a few times, and the typical holding penalties that have become a staple this season.

Will the offense continue to progress under first-year coordinator Sean Mannion against the Commanders? Here’s how we see the game going:

Our prognosticators are Martin Frank (Eagles beat writer/columnist, Delawareonline.com), Greg Giesen (sports strategist, Delawareonline.com), Tom McGurk (sports editor, Courierpostonline.com), Tom Moore (sports columnist, Phillyburbs.com), Bob Jordan (sports editor, app.com), Bert Bainbridge (sports trending reporter & columnist, Northjersey.com), Tom Haines (Pennsylvania state planning), Kevin Tresolini, (college sports reporter, Delawareonline.com), Michelle Ganassi (audience director & die-hard Steelers fan, Delawareonline.com), Tom Rimback (sports writer, Courierpostonline.com), Brandon Holveck (high school sports reporter, Delawareonline.com)

Martin Frank

At some point, the Eagles have to win a game. And this seems to be the one against a Commanders team that’s without WR Terry McLaurin for the rest of the season. Of course, I’m counting on Saquon Barkley being able to make it through a full game without injury, and the defense showing up. Yes, that’s a lot to ask, especially on a short week, and with the Commanders coming off a bye.

The pick: Eagles 20, Commanders 14

Greg Giesen

Saquon Barkley is ailing and at best the Eagles will start using load management as if the running back was LeBron James. The offense is struggling and the Eagles defense is gassed. Chalk up another loss for the Birds. Maybe they’ll be able to beat Arizona in December.

The pick: Commanders 24, Eagles 13

Bert Bainbridge

Commanders at home coming off a bye while the Eagles are going on the road after a loss on a short week? Advantage Washington, who wins this matchup of the NFC East basement dwellers by a field goal in primetime.

The pick: Commanders 24, Eagles 21

Tom McGurk

Doesn’t it feel like the bubble is ready to burst on the Birds? Lose a sixth straight, including two to NFC East rivals in consecutive weeks in front of a national audience, and Nick Sirianni will have plenty to chew on.

The pick: Commanders 26, Eagles 13

Tom Haines

It’s been easy to attribute the Eagles offensive futility to mounting injuries and the growing pains of new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion. But what can be said for the defense after they mailed it in vs. the Cowboys? That they’ve given up? Possibly. And is it me, or has the special teams forgot how to cover a kickoff since the 8-second debacle in London?

The pick: Commanders 26, Eagles 17

Kevin Tresolini

The Eagles have done nothing to earn my endorsement here. The Commanders haven’t exactly looked like NFC East title contenders, especially when they flubbed what should have been a last-second overtime win over the Giants. But they do benefit from coming off their bye week while the Eagles just played − and lost − Monday.

The pick: Commanders 23, Eagles 16

Tom Moore

The Eagles’ skid has to end sometime, right?

The pick: Eagles 17, Commanders 16

Tom Rimback

The Least of the East? How the mighty have fallen. The Eagles defense, which has no excuse, looked as inept as it has in years against the fraud Cowpokes. Can they look any better against OId DC? Don’t count on it.

The pick: Eagles 3, Commanders 2

Bob Jordan

Dan Quinn, coach of what was formerly known as the Washington Football Team, has made headlines with his weekly gaffes. But Eagles’ fans will thank him for being the gift that keeps giving if he messes up again this week. He was the fellow coaching the road-favorite Falcons in the 2017 Divisional Playoffs who called a rally-crushing four consecutive pass plays to no avail after the Falcons, trailing 15-10, reached the Eagles’ 9-yard line with 1:19 remaining in the game. The Eagles two games later became Super Bowl champs for the first time.

The pick: Eagles 17, Commanders 13

Overall records

7-0: Bainbridge

6-1: Giesen, McGurk, Moore

5-2: Tresolini

4-3: Frank, Rimback, Haines, Holveck

3-3: Ganassi

3-4: Jordan

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Sign up for the “Eye On The Eagles” newsletter, emailed to your inbox every Friday morning. Read his coverage of the Eagles‘ championship season in “Flying High,” a hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Can Eagles stop skid vs Commanders? Our experts score predictions

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