What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 8 vs. the Commanders

Just seven games into the season, the 2-5 Eagles are already running out of time.

After their 38-21 loss to their rival Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football, the Eagles have a 4% chance of making the playoffs, according to The Athletic playoff simulator. The 4-2-1 New York Giants lead the NFC East at 52%, with the Cowboys trailing at 44%.

But the fleeting thought of the playoffs shouldn’t be in the Eagles players’ and coaches’ minds right now. If they can’t master the basics, including their fundamentals and their effort, they won’t have job security in Philadelphia, let alone a chance to play in the postseason.

Is a Sunday night matchup against the 1-4-1 Washington Commanders just what the doctor ordered for a depleted, desperate Eagles team? Or was the loss to the inconsistent Cowboys just further evidence that the 2026 Eagles are incapable of playing complementary football for 60 minutes, regardless of their opponent?

Here’s what we know (and what we don’t) about the Eagles going into Week 8:

The Eagles are barreling toward the Nov. 10 trade deadline like a speeding locomotive threatening to veer off the rails.

Howie Roseman has been here before. This will be the fifth time the Eagles have had a losing record going into the trade deadline in Roseman’s tenure as general manager dating back to 2010 (not including the 2015 season when Chip Kelly wielded power over the roster).

» READ MORE: Save or trade: We put 16 Eagles on the trade block

The ecosystem around the trade deadline has evolved over that span. Teams have been much more inclined to make in-season deals in recent years, with the deadline moving back from Week 6 to Week 8 in 2012 and from Week 8 to Week 9 in 2024. By the time the trade deadline rolls around, teams have their eyes on the playoffs or the future, and they can plan accordingly by moving players and draft capital.

From 2023-25, 57 players were moved between Oct. 1 and the trade deadline, according to Spotrac. Ten years earlier, from 2013-15, just 12 players were moved in that same span of the calendar.

Despite entering the trade deadline with a losing record on four occasions, Roseman has only been active in the weeks leading up to it twice. Two weeks before the trade deadline in 2021, when the team was 2-4, he traded Zach Ertz to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for cornerback Tay Gowan and a 2022 fifth-round pick. The following week, at 2-5, he sent Joe Flacco to the New York Jets for a 2022 sixth-rounder.

On the day of the deadline, at 3-5, Roseman acquired cornerback Kary Vincent Jr. for that 2022 sixth-round pick.

Back in 2013, when the Eagles were 3-5, Roseman made one trade leading up to the deadline, sending 32-year-old defensive tackle Isaac Sopoaga and a 2014 sixth-round pick to the New England Patriots for a 2014 fifth-rounder.

While the Eagles had a bleak outlook at the 2021 trade deadline in their first season under Nick Sirianni, Roseman didn’t hold a fire sale. Could he do so this year? It seems more likely that he would follow a similar blueprint in 2021, looking to move players in the final years of their contracts for the right price. Those players on expiring contracts this season include Dallas Goedert, Moro Ojomo, Riq Woolen, and Tyler Steen.

How the mighty have fallen from the 2024 NFC championship game.

While there is no such thing as a moral victory, the Commanders had a somewhat encouraging performance before their bye week in their 23-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The Commanders were down 20-3 at halftime, but they mustered a pair of touchdown drives in the final half to pull within six.

Still, much like the Eagles this season, the Commanders are finding ways to lose.

» READ MORE: Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and an Eagles D-line that was torn apart by the Cowboys

The Commanders’ offensive line had third-year starting quarterback Jayden Daniels under duress all night long. He faced a career-high 39.3% pressure rate in the loss to the 49ers, according to Next Gen Stats. Daniels, 25, was hit a season-high eight times (50%) on his pressured drop backs, with four hits coming on sacks (25%). Overall, the Commanders have conceded a 36.7% pressure rate in 2026, which ranks in the top half of the league.

They’ve struggled with pre-snap penalties, too. Commanders right tackle Josh Conerly Jr. has incurred six penalties through six games, including two holding calls and three false starts, which is tied for the league lead among offensive linemen. The Commanders offense had five pre-snap penalties in a loss to the 49ers, four of which came on stalled drives.

The Commanders’ most costly penalty of the game was also a reflection of the offensive line’s struggles. On their second-to-last play in the fourth quarter on second-and-10 from the San Francisco 28-yard line with 21 seconds remaining and no timeouts, a breakdown in protection forced Daniels to get rid of the ball to avoid a sack. But he was called for intentional grounding and was sacked on the ensuing third-and-22 as time expired.

The team has been prone to making situational gaffes, most notably the end-of-game sequence in Week 5 against the New York Giants in which Daniels didn’t spike the football in time to stop the clock and set up a game-winning field goal in overtime. Instead, time expired, and the game ended in a 27-27 tie.

Injuries are also piling up for the Commanders. Top receiver Terry McLaurin suffered a season-ending torn patellar tendon in the loss to the 49ers. Left tackle Laremy Tunsil and running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt are on injured reserve.

At least the Commanders still have their franchise quarterback, unlike the Eagles.

Daniels has his flaws, as evidenced by his lack of situational awareness at the end of the Giants game. But he was also a big reason why the Commanders had a chance to win against the 49ers two weeks ago.

» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni has lost five straight games, maybe the Eagles locker room, and without a miracle, his job

Despite the struggles of his offensive line, Daniels still completed a career-high 29 passes on 40 attempts for 300 yards (the second-highest passing total of his career) and two touchdowns. A season-high 144 of those passing yards came on downfield (at least 10 air yards) attempts, according to Next Gen Stats.

Daniels made some impressive passing plays against the 49ers, including a fourth-and-5 conversion late in the third quarter on a 13-yard completion to Stefon Diggs. Later on that same drive, Daniels completed a 1-yard touchdown pass to Diggs despite having a free rusher in his face.

He relied on his arm as the 49ers took away his ability to scramble, finishing the night with a career-low 10 rushing yards one week after setting a career-high with 103 against the Giants. Daniels is still looking for his first win of the season, but against the 49ers, he showed flashes of the player who captured the attention of the league in 2024.

The Eagles cannot let his dual-threat ability burn them. Last year, the Eagles conceded 400 quarterback rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 82 attempts (4.9 yards per carry). That total yardage was the second-most in the league behind the Giants (417).

Their run defense is reeling coming off Monday night’s loss to the Cowboys. Dallas running back Javonte Williams rushed for a career-high 155 rushing yards. He forced eight missed tackles, tied for the most of his career, according to Next Gen Stats. It’s not quite apples to apples in the quarterback run game, but the Eagles must be far more disciplined on the ground if they want to salvage their season.

They also must be more disruptive up front, which could be an easier task against a Commanders offensive line that is hovering around the middle of the pack of the league in sack rate allowed (6.5%). The Cowboys, by comparison, have the league’s lowest sack rate allowed of 2.5%.

Listen to the latest episode

How were we so wrong? Heading into the season, the Eagles’ defense was supposed to be their strength. After Monday’s throttling by the Cowboys, the group reached a new low, especially on the defensive line, where major offseason investments and commitments were made. Why has a unit that showed promise in training camp failed to live up to expectations? And how will the Eagles’ five-game losing streak influence the organization’s approach to the NFL’s impending trade deadline? The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and David Murphy tackle these topics and more the day after the Eagles’ 38-21 defeat to Dallas. Listen here.

Listen to all episodes here or wherever you get your podcasts.