Eagles to rest some starters in finale with No. 2 seed in NFC playoffs at stake

Washington (4-12) at Philadelphia (11-5)

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EST, CBS

BetMGM NFL Odds: Eagles by 3 1/2.

Against the Spread: Commanders 6-10; Eagles 10-6

Series record: Commanders lead 89-85-5

Last meeting: Saquon Barkley ran for 132 yards and a touchdown, Jalen Hurts passed for 185 yards and two scores and the Eagles clinched the NFC East with a 29-18 win at Washington on Dec. 20.

Last week: Commanders lost Cowboys 30-23; Eagles beat 13-12.

Commanders offense: overall (21), rush (4), pass (24), scoring (24).

Commanders defense: overall (31), rush (31), pass (28), scoring (27).

Eagles offense: overall (24), rush (18), pass (23), scoring (19).

Eagles defense: overall (13), rush (T-20), pass (9), scoring (3).

Turnover differential: Commanders minus-12; Eagles plus-5.

Commanders players to watch

QB Josh Johnson. The 39-year-old third-stringer will start for the Commanders, who are eliminated from the playoffs. The veteran has played for 14 NFL teams but will be making just his 11th career start on Sunday. He replaced injured Marcus Mariota in the first meeting between the teams and completed 5 of 9 passes for 43 yards with a key interception. With Mariota sidelined, Johnson started in the Commanders’ 30-23 loss to Dallas on Christmas and went 15 for 23 for 198 yards. Jayden Daniels was shut down by Washington after a series of injuries.

Eagles player to watch

QB Tanner McKee. With Philadelphia set on resting many starters while looking ahead to the playoffs, McKee likely will be under center in place of Jalen Hurts. A sixth-round pick in 2023 out of Stanford, McKee has thrown for 356 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in limited action in his two-year career.

Key matchup

Washington coach Dan Quinn vs. the Eagles

Quinn was not happy following the first meeting between the teams after the Eagles converted a 2-point conversion with 4:26 remaining to take a 29-10 lead. “If that’s how they want to get down, all good,” Quinn said when asked whether Eagles coach Nick Sirianni’s choice to try to add on those two points instead of kicking for one was disrespectful. “We’ll play them again in two weeks.” The game got chippy after Philadelphia’s conversion, with three players getting ejected following a brawl. Sirianni has downplayed any retribution when asked this week about the situation, mentioning the respect he has for Quinn and the Commanders.

Key injuries

Commanders: Mariota (quad) and LT Laremy Tunsil (oblique) are out.

Eagles: LB Nakobe Dean (hamstring) did not play in Sunday’s 13-12 win at Buffalo and is out. Also out are defensive lineman Jalen Carter, tight end Dallas Goedert and offensive lineman Lane Johnson.

Series notes

The teams met last season in the NFC championship game, with Barkley rushing for 118 yards and three touchdowns in the Eagles’ 55-23 win in Philadelphia.

Stats and stuff

Commanders: Mariota has made eight starts and 11 appearances this season because of injuries to starting QB Jayden Daniels and has thrown for 1,695 yards and 10 touchdowns. Daniels, the AP’s 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year, started just seven games but left three early and was shut down for the final four games of the season. … Washington has lost 10 of its past 11 games, including five by at least 20 points. … Rookie RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries against Dallas last week, upping his team-leading rushing totals to 776 yards and eight touchdowns. … Deebo Samuel tops Washington’s receivers, with 707 yards and five TDs, with Terry McLaurin just behind at 525 yards and three scores. … CB Mike Sainristill had a team-best four interceptions and Von Miller a team-leading eight sacks. DT Jer’Zhan Newton sacked the Cowboys' Dak Prescott three times last week, bringing the second-year player’s total to five sacks on the season.

Eagles: Philadelphia could get the No. 2 seed with a win and a Bears loss to Detroit on Sunday, which would result in the Eagles hosting Green Bay in the wild-card round. The Eagles can finish no worse than the No. 3 seed, via either a loss to the Commanders or a Chicago victory over the Lions, in which case they would host either the Rams or 49ers. … Philadelphia will be making its fifth straight postseason appearance, tying the club record set between 2000–04. … Philadelphia is tied for sixth in the league in turnover margin (plus-5) and is 42-2 under Sirianni, including 8-0 this season, when winning the turnover battle. … Philadelphia’s defense has been strong of late and leads the NFL in both opponent passing completion rate (56.5 percent) and opponent passing touchdowns (13). … LB Zack Baun has a team-best 123 tackles, along with 3 1/2 sacks and three takeaways. … OLB Jalyx Hunt has a team-best 6 1/2 sacks, with DT Moro Ojomo just behind at six sacks. … After slow starts, Barkley has rushed for 1,140 yards and WR A.J. Brown has 1,003 receiving yards. Brown is the only player in club history with at least 1,000 receiving yards in four consecutive seasons. … Dallas Goedert set a club record for tight ends last week against the Bills when he made his 11th touchdown reception of the season. … WR DeVonta Smith has 956 receiving yards and four touchdowns. … Philadelphia’s offense leads the league in red zone touchdown rate at 70.7 percent. … Hurts most likely will be watching from the sideline after a regular season in which he passed for 3,224 yards and 25 touchdowns. His 33 total touchdowns rank fifth in the NFL.

Fantasy tip

McKee has shown to be an adequate backup when given opportunities, and the Eagles’ backups likely will be hungry to show they belong in the NFL, especially with a chance to earn the No. 2 seed in the NFC.