January 04, 2026
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
Dan Quinn's Commanders are probably eager to be on a tropical island as soon as possible.
The 11-5 Philadelphia Eagles have clinched the NFC East and will be either the 2 seed or the 3 seed in the playoffs. They'll finish up their regular season against the 4-12 Washington Commanders.
Here are our five things to watch.
My guess on who will start for the Birds on Sunday:
QB: Tanner McKee
RB: Tank Bigsby
WR: Jahan Dotson
WR: Darius Cooper
WR: Britain Covey
TE: Grant Calcaterra
LT: Fred Johnson
LG: Brett Toth
C: Drew Kendall
RG: Matt Pryor
RT: Cameron Williams
EDGE: Josh Uche
iDL: Ty Robinson
NT: Byron Young
iDL: Moro Ojomo
EDGE: Jalyx Hunt
LB: Jeremiah Trotter
LB: Smael Mondon
CB: Kelee Ringo
S: Sydney Brown
S: Brandon Johnson (PS callup)
CB: Jakorian Bennett
SCB: Michael Carter
Selfishly, it'll give me a game to watch in which a lot of players will get playing time this season, you know, for "Eagles player review" purposes in the dead of June. đź‘Ť
Players I'm curious to get an extended look at: Tanner McKee, Tank Bigsby, Darius Cooper, Drew Kendall, Cameron Williams, Ty Robinson, Jeremiah Trotter, Smael Mondon, Jakorian Bennett, Mac McWilliams, Michael Carter.
Of course, just because the Eagles are playing backups doesn't mean they won't try to win the game. If you're more than just a casual fan, you know that the Eagles will be the 2 seed with a win and a Bears loss.Â
As noted repeatedly throughout the week, the major advantages of the 2 seed are twofold:
Obviously, a Bears loss is ideal, and Eagles fans should be at least partly focused on the out of town scoreboard.
Is the above lineup enough to beat a Commanders team that will be motivated to lose for better draft positioning? Sadly, yeah, probably. The Commanders will be without Jayden Daniels, Marcus Mariota, Laremy Tunsil, and a whole slew of other starters on injured reserve.
They might decide to give some of their more important vets the day off — or perhaps only play them for a half or so — because the reality is that a loss is the better outcome.
If the season ended today, the Commanders would pick 7th in the 2026 draft. Via Tankathon:Â
They can't fall any further than 7th, but they can pass five different teams if those teams win and the Commanders lose.
We'll see if the Commanders play some of their younger guys (a) to get a look at them, and (b) to aid in efforts to lose the game.
Commanders HC Dan Quinn was mad that the Eagles went for 2 late in their Week 16 matchup, and warned that these two teams would meet again in two weeks, lol. (Video via Jeff Skversky.)
I've been asked if the Eagles should worry about retribution from the Commanders, with their season over and the Eagles' playoff season just beginning.
If Quinn gets some revenge on the Eagles, it'll be against their second and third stringers. Like, what are they going to do? Dive at Jahan Dotson's knees?
But also, this team has done its share of talking in advance of Eagles-Commanders matchups in the past. During the week leading up to the NFC Championship Game, for example, Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt gave a tough guy interview about how his players were going to hit Jalen Hurts all day. Again, via Skversky:
The Commanders strike me as a fake tough team. They can't wait to be on a plane to Cabo. They aren't going to do a damn thing.
McKee got his first taste of real NFL game action when he entered a meaningful Week 17 game against Dallas in relief of an injured Kenny Pickett. He was terrific, finishing 3-for-4 for 54 yards, two TDs, 0 INTs, and a QB rating of 156.2.
McKee then started in the Eagles' meaningless Week 18 game against the Giants, and picked up where he left off the previous week, going 3/3 for 48 yards and a TD pass on the Eagles' first drive. At that point in the game, his career numbers were as follows: 6/7 for 102 yards, 3 TDs. McKee cooled off a bit as the game progressed, but he did enough to pick up a win in his first career start.
We published a review of McKee's performances in those two games following the Giants game.Â
As noted within that piece, what stood out about McKee's performances was that he was mentally prepared to play when his number was called, as he has been during preseason games each of his first three seasons in the NFL.
McKee got some attention on the trade market during the 2025 offseason, but not enough to entice the Eagles to trade him away. McKee will be a free agent during the 2027 offseason, so trading him during the 2026 offseason could make sense, if some team out there is willing to pony up a high enough draft pick.
Another strong performance on Sunday could help raise his value.
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