Jalen Hurts and the Eagles can clinch the NFC East title by beating the no-Daniels Commanders

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Jalen Hurts played the worst game of his career two weeks ago and one of the best of this season last week. Another good one could help the Philadelphia Eagles do something that hasn't happened in two decades: winning consecutive NFC East titles.

It's the longest drought in any division in NFL history.

The reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles (9-5) have bigger goals than being the best part of a mediocre quartet, of course, but Hurts and Co. can check clinching that off their list by beating the Washington Commanders (4-10) on Saturday in a rematch of last season's conference title game.

Asked this week what sort of accomplishment it would be to become the first club with back-to-back NFC East crowns since the Eagles claimed four in a row from 2001 to 2004, Hurts replied: “It’s something we’ve got to do first, but something that’s always been on the back of my mind.”

He went from a four-interception, one-fumble disaster in a loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 8 — Philadelphia's third straight defeat, raising plenty of questions about Hurts, specifically, and the team as a whole — to a three-TD-pass, no-turnover masterpiece in a 31-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Dec. 14.

It's this time of year that “you definitely look forward to,” Hurts said.

“September, October — (they’re) important games. You’re kind of finding yourself; it’s a new team; you find your groove,” he said. “But real things are found in December, January and February.”

While his team is on the verge of securing a return trip to the postseason, the Commanders have been eliminated, thanks to an eight-game losing streak they finally ended last week. They're also without star quarterback Jayden Daniels, who made only seven appearances this season and has been shut down after hurting his left elbow.

It's been quite a slide backward for the 2024 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and his team.

“I don’t want to miss games at all,” Daniels said. “It’s been frustrating.”

Marcus Mariota is Washington's starting QB the rest of the way in place of Daniels. Mariota, Hurts' backup with the Eagles in 2023, has completed 62% of his passes this season for 1,600 yards, with 10 TDs and seven interceptions. The Commanders are 2-5 in his starts. “He was very helpful when he was here,” Hurts said. “A lot of maturity, a lot of wisdom.”

Last week, Brandon Graham had his first two sacks since he ended his short-lived retirement after the Super Bowl and returned to Philadelphia in late October. At 37 years, 255 days old, Graham became the oldest player in Eagles history with a sack. “I feel like my training camp has been over with now,” Graham said. “I feel like myself now.” So is a re-retirement imminent? “We ain’t there yet, man,” Graham said. “I’m just trying to finish this year and enjoy the whole thing.”

Dallas Goedert continues to shine at tight end following an uncertain offseason where he ultimately took a pay cut to stay in Philadelphia. He's been as good as ever — especially in the red zone — after sticking around on a restructured one-year, $10 million deal plus incentives. Goedert’s two TD catches against Las Vegas gave him nine for the season, the second most by a tight end in franchise history (Pete Retzlaff had 10 in 1965). “Any time you go in the huddle and hear that play knowing you have an opportunity to get in the end zone, it gets you kind of excited, for sure,” Goedert said. “I think when I get a ball in my hand down there, I’m tough to tackle. I can find my way in, fight my way in."

Jaylin Lane's 63-yard punt return for a touchdown last week against the Giants and his 90-yarder in Week 3 make him the first Washington player with a pair in his rookie season since the 1950s. The secret to that success? “I'm only as good as the other 10 guys out there,” Lane said. “I wouldn’t make it happen without those guys showing effort and getting blocks for me.” Next to his locker this week sat a framed picture from the coin toss in New York, showing him with Washington's other two captains for that game. “I'm going to hang that up on my wall at home,” Lane said. “I didn’t know I was going to get that photo.”

AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

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Washington Commanders wide receiver Jaylin Lane (83) carries the ball for a touchdown against the New York Giants during the second quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham gestures as he leaves the field after an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) carries the ball against the New York Giants during the first quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Jonah Laulu (96) forces Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) out of bounds during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are jumping on Thursday following an encouraging report on inflation that could help the Federal Reserve keep cutting interest rates next year. A strong profit report from Micron Technology also helped AI stocks halt their sharp slides, at least for now.

The S&P 500 rallied 0.9% and is on track for its best day in three weeks, coming off a four-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 124 points, or 0.3%, as of 2:07 p.m. Eastern time, and the strength for tech stocks had the Nasdaq composite up a market-leading 1.5%.

Some relief came from a report showing that inflation was less bad last month than economists expected. That could soothe nerves at the Fed, which is responsible for keeping inflation low and for keeping the job market strong.

Inflation is still higher than anyone would like, at 2.7% last month, but if it creeps closer to the Fed’s target of 2%, Fed officials could feel more free to cut interest rates to help a slowing job market. Wall Street loves lower interest rates because they can boost the economy and prices for investments, even if they may also worsen inflation.

To be sure, some along Wall Street said Thursday’s inflation update may not move the needle much at the Fed given how noisy economic reports have been following the U.S. government’s earlier shutdown. Next month’s update on inflation could provide a better gauge of what’s actually happening. But a better-than-expected report on inflation is nevertheless better than the alternative.

Also helping to drive the U.S. stock market was Micron Technology, the seller of memory and storage for computers, which rallied 12.8% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said each of the company’s business units enjoyed stronger revenue and made more in profit off each $1 of that revenue.

Micron also gave encouraging forecasts for upcoming financial results, and Mehrotra credited its position as an “AI enabler,” among other things.

Billions of dollars are flowing into artificial-intelligence technology, which helped superstar stocks like Nvidia lead the market for years.

But questions are rising about whether those stock prices shot too high and whether customers will get a good-enough return on AI investments through bigger profits and productivity. Worries are also weighing on companies that are borrowing lots of money to pay for AI investments.

Oracle and Broadcom have been at the center of such worries recently, and their stock prices have been falling sharply since last week despite both reporting better profits for the latest quarter than analysts expected. On Thursday, Oracle rose 0.4%, and Broadcom added 1.1%.

Nvidia, the chip company that’s become Wall Street’s most influential because of its immense size, gained 2.2%.

Another winner was Trump Media & Technology Group, which jumped 39% to carve into some of its steep loss for the year so far, 69.3% coming into the day. The company, which began with President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform and then moved into cryptocurrencies and various other lines of business, is now moving into nuclear power.

It’s merging with TAE Technologies in an all-stock deal, and each company will own roughly half of the combined business. The companies said the deal would pair TMTG’s ability to raise significant money by attracting investors with TAE’s technology. They hope to get TAE’s nuclear-fusion reactors, which would create power in a similar way as the sun does, running commercially.

Cintas rose 0.9% after the provider of work uniforms and cleaning supplies reported stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, while also announcing a program to send up to $1 billion to shareholders by buying back its own stock.

Darden Restaurants, the company behind Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, rose 0.4% even though its profit for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. Its growth in revenue topped forecasts, benefiting from both the opening of new restaurants and increased revenue at its older locations.

CarMax swung sharply between gains and losses and was most recently down 3.9%. The auto retailer reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But it also said it may make less profit from each $1 of revenue in sales of used autos during the current quarter, as it tries to get more competitive in the market. It also plans to increase spending on marketing to drive customers to lots.

In stock markets abroad, indexes rose 0.6% in London, 0.8% in France and 1% in Germany after the Bank of England cut its key interest rate and the European Central Bank kept its steady.

Asian indexes were mixed, with stocks falling 1.5% in South Korea but adding 0.2% in Shanghai.

In the bond market, Treasury yields sank following the encouraging report on U.S. inflation.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.12% from 4.16% late Wednesday.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Trader Anthony Confusione works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Dealers work near the screens showing the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, left, and the Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (KOSDAQ) at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Jim Boyle, CEO of Medline Industries, poses for a picture outside the Nasdaq MarketSite, Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Dealers work near the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A dealer watches computer monitors at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)