Last we saw the Eagles and Commanders on the same field, the outcome decided which team would represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
We also saw that the upstart Commanders really didn't belong on the same field as the Eagles, who took the lead on their first offensive play when Saquon Barkley whirled and twirled 60 yards for a touchdown. Barkley accumulated 118 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the 55-23 rout, spoiling the amazing rookie season of Commanders QB Jayden Daniels.
Not only has Washington attempted to bridge the gap for 2025 by trading for 2021 All-Pro wideout Deebo Samuel and five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil, but the Commanders are also rethinking their defensive strategy to better handle another steady diet of Barkley carries when these teams meet again.
They signed two defensive tackles in the 320-pound neighborhood this offseason – Javon Kinlaw and Eddie Goldman – and a 280-pound defensive end (Deatrich Wise Jr.) to bulk up their defensive front. In this ESPN.com story, a Commanders source told writer John Keim that Washington's defensive changes for this upcoming season were driven by Barkley's running roughshod over the team last year.
Here's what Keim wrote:
Also, as one member of the organization said, so much of that issue stemmed from being able to stop Barkley. In three games vs. Washington, he ran for a combined 414 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. The Eagles topped 200 yards rushing each time.
Commanders players and coaches haven't been shy about expressing the need to clamp down against the run, especially against the team they're trying to dethrone in the NFC East.
The story also quoted Washington's defensive coordinator admitting that the team is making some schematic changes:
"We didn't play the run well enough, and I thought we would have," Washington defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. said. "Some of the things we're doing with the front for the run game we have changed and some we have adjusted."
What's that phrase the kids say about living rent-free inside someone's head?
No Eagles make preseason All-Rookie Team
The Eagles' 2025 draft haul was generally lauded by several draft analysts and national draft media, especially when the Birds came away with versatile, explosive Alabama ILB product Jihaad Campbell at 31st overall. Campbell was viewed as a top-15 prospect who tumbled only because of injury concerns.
Second-round safety Drew Mukuba, from Texas, was viewed as an ideal fit for DC Vic Fangio's scheme and Mukuba was already spotted mixing in with the first team at OTAs open to the media.
But in a recent NFL.com projected "All Rookie" team, the Eagles were completely shut out while the Cowboys placed two rookies, and the Commanders and Giants each placed one.
Cowboys first-round OG Tyler Booker made the All-Rookie offense, while second-round EDGE and South Jersey native Donovan Ezeiruaku made the defense.Ezeiruaku (Williamstown) and Campbell (Timber Creek) grew up within a few miles of each other and played against each other in high school.
For the Commanders, second-round CB Trey Amos made the squad. For the Giants, first-round EDGE Abdul Carter – the No. 3 overall pick – also made the team.
Giants trying their own Mekhi Becton experiment?
They say the NFL is a copycat league, and it appears the Giants are trying to duplicate the same experimental formula the Eagles used to resurrect Mekhi Becton's career.
At their spring camps, the Giants cross-trained failed 2022 first-round OT pick Evan Neal at guard, where his transition is "doing well," according to head coach Brian Daboll, per this NFL.com story.
Neal, the seventh overall pick from 2022, has started just 27 games in his three-year career and isn't a projected 2025 starter. He wasn't even a starter last year until injuries forced him into the starting lineup.
The Giants have John Runyan Jr. at left guard and are competing Neal against veteran Greg Van Roten at right guard, hoping that Neal's transition can pay off the way it did last year for the Eagles and Becton, who converted from tackle to guard and helped the Eagles win a Super Bowl as the starting right guard.
Becton, the 11th overall pick of the Jets in 2021, had struggled with his weight, conditioning and injuries during his Jets career, starting just 30 games in three seasons, missing all but one game between 2021-2022. He signed a one-year deal with the Eagles and immediately cross-trained at tackle and guard before seizing the starting RG spot at training camp.
This offseason, Becton signed a two-year deal with the Chargers. The Giants could benefit if their similar experiment with Neal makes the 6-foot-7 former Alabama star into a viable NFL lineman.
Said Daboll, per the NFL.com story:
"He's picked up things well inside. You know, training camp will be an important time of the year for him as for all the offensive linemen."
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