PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles defense once again flexed its power, making Jayden Daniels look pedestrian, and Saquon Barkley scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns just 20 seconds apart as the Eagles beat the Washington Commanders , 26-18, to take control of the NFC. East.

It was the Eagles’ sixth straight win, and they still haven’t lost after their Week 5 bye. At 8-2, they now lead the NFC East by 1.5 games over the Commanders, who have lost twice in a row to fall to 7-4.

The Eagles overcame a lot of adversity in this game, including quarterback Jalen Hurts having to pass a concussion test at halftime. Hurts was 18 of 28 with 221 yards and an 88.5 passer rating. He ran for a touchdown and now has 11 this season. He threw more than 25 passes for the first time during this winning streak.

Barkley had 20 carries for 69 yards after three quarters. He finished with 146 yards on 26 carries. He opened the game with a 23-yard touchdown run that gave the Eagles a 19-10 lead.

Safety Reed Blankenship gave the ball back to the Eagles with an interception. It was his team-high third pick of the season and only the third interception Daniels has thrown this season. Blankenship also made 10 tackles.

Barkley then ran 39 yards with his second touchdown of the night to make the score 26-10 with 4:55 to play. He has eight rushing scores this season and two receiving. He totaled 198 yards with two catches for 52 yards.

Daniels finished 22 for 32 with 191 yards and a cosmetic touchdown with 28 seconds left to Zach Ertz. His passer rating was 81.6. He totaled just 18 yards on 17 carries and the Eagles sacked him three times, with Brandon Graham, Nolan Smith and Josh Sweat getting them. It was Sweat’s sixth sack of the season.

The defense, ranked second in the league going forward, held the Commanders to 264 total yards while the Eagles offense racked up 434 yards.

TURNING

Zack Baun stops. The reigning NFC Defensive Player of the Week made a fourth-down stop with 7:55 left. The Commanders, trailing 12-10 at the time, opted not to attempt a field goal, but instead to take Daniels out for a run. Baun drilled him, taking him out of bounds for no gain. Baun had 14 tackles. His tackle gave the ball back to the Eagles and the offense drove down the field with Barkley’s second TD extending the lead.

NAILS

Nolan Smith. Edge Rusher’s sack of Jayden Daniels on third down late in the third quarter gave the ball back to the Eagles and it led to their first score of the night. Smith has 3.5 sacks this season.

Kenny Gainwell. The backup runner had runs of 14, 13 and 7 yards on the Eagles’ touchdown drive that ended with Jalen Hurts’ TD rush to give the Eagles a 12-10 lead with 12 minutes left. He also made a nice block to allow Hurts to score a first down inside the 10 that led to a field goal at the end of a first half that ended 7-3 in favor of the Commanders . He finished with 43 yards on four scores.

Saquon Barkley. See above. An addendum: He now has 1,137 rushing yards this season.

Jalen Carter. The defensive tackle was, once again, difficult to block, playing across the line of scrimmage most of the night. He finished with a career-high seven tackles.

Nakobe Doyen. The linebacker made 10 tackles and continues to play at a high level.

NIPPES

Jake Elliott. The usually reliable kicker was wide left on two makeable kicks, one from 44 that would have given the Eagles a 3-0 lead and another from 51 that would have pulled Philly to 7-3 with 11:35 left in the second. quarter. He is now 0 of 4 from 50+ yards this season. His two misses in the first half were as many misses as he had all of last year.

Elliott was not done with his misery. He missed a PAT in the 12th minute, preventing the Eagles from taking a 13-10 lead. Instead, they had to settle for a 12-10 advantage. In total, he cost his team seven points.

Field position squandered. The Eagles got the ball back at their own 36 late in the first quarter on a 33-yard kickoff return by Will Shipley, but made it three scores. On their next possession, an 8-yard punt return by Cooper DeJean set up the offense in Washington territory at the 48. Elliott missed a field goal on this possession.

Offense in red zone: The Eagles didn’t enter the red zone until 53 seconds remained in the first half. They made two trips in total but had to settle for two baskets.

NUGGETS

-Washington got away with a facemask on Hurts’ rush on third-and-goal from 3. The Eagles had to settle for a 21-yard field goal from Elliott. Referee Adrian Hill’s team then detected another facemask flag on DeVonta Smith late in the third quarter when replays showed he was masked.

-Dallas Goedert had a 41-yard catch to give the Eagles 14 plays of 40-plus yards this season. They had nine last year.

INJURIES

-Quarterback Jalen Hurts was evaluated for a concussion at halftime but was cleared to return.

-Left guard Landon Dickerson limped off just 61 seconds into the game. Tyler Steen arrived, but Dickerson was back for the next series.

-Milton Williams left in the fourth quarter with a foot injury and did not return.

More NFL: Eagles defense closes tight with Zach Ertz next