Commanders prepare for major divisional matchup with Eagles on short week
WASHINGTON - For Commanders fans, the loss to the Steelers at home Sunday still stings a bit but the season presses on with quite the test: A road game on a short week against the division-rival Philadelphia Eagles.
On Tuesday, we heard from Head Coach Dan Quinn and quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Both the Commanders and Eagles are 2-0 in the division coming into this huge Thursday night tilt in Philadelphia.
A loss is far from fatal in the crowded NFC but a win would position the Commanders atop the NFC East with three very winnable games after the Eagles.
Head Coach Dan Quinn acknowledged that the Eagles offense is a handful both in the air and on the ground. Their rushing attack, spearheaded by Saquon Barkley is 2nd best in the league and the Commanders run defense is bottom five.
Washington Commanders lose to Pittsburgh Steelers 28-27
Russell Wilson shook off his first interception in 11 months and hit trade-deadline pickup Mike Williams for a 32-yard touchdown with less than 2 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter — the quarterback’s third scoring throw Sunday — to lift the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 28-27 comeback victory over Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders.
Quinn said Monday they have to put the frustration of the Steelers game behind them and focus on the task at hand. Quinn himself is a New Jersey native who grew up as an NFC East guy. He says he knows this is a big game and he’s excited.
"To be part of this division, it’s really cool. It’s probably more nostalgic for me than it is for them but I do know that it’s a really cool division and fanbases are awesome," Quinn said. "So taking our show on the road and having another division battle Thursday night in November, like, come on — what are we talking about?"
But there are big questions on some key players. Newly acquired cornerback Marshawn Lattimore did not practice today, so his status for Thursday is still a big question mark.
Running back Brian Robinson missed last Sunday’s game but did practice Tuesday.
Quinn said on short weeks they start very slow on Monday, pick it up today, and more full speed on Wednesday so we’ll get a better sense of whether Robinson and Lattimore will play come Wednesday.
We heard from Jayden Daniels as well about his mindset going into this game.