Jalen Hurts and the Eagles win their second NFC East title in a row by beating the Commanders 29-18

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — As the percussive horns of Steve Wonder's “Sir Duke” filled the air, Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni — wearing a black T-shirt bearing the words, “Been there, won that” — made the rounds in the locker room, offering hand clasps and back slaps to his players after they accomplished something that hadn't happened in two decades: win a second consecutive NFC East title.

“Gets better and better,” running back Saquon Barkley said as he walked through the scene Saturday night, “each time.”

This was not a terrific performance by the reigning Super Bowl champions, from a fumble on the opening kickoff to a pair of penalties on the tush push to three wide-left field-goal tries to a halftime deficit. Still, Barkley, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles eventually got going in the right direction and clinched their division yet again by beating the Washington Commanders 29-18.

“I'm just happy,” Hurts said, “we were able to check that off.”

The game included a late brawl when Barkley tacked on a 2-point conversion that increased the Eagles' lead to 19 points before the Commanders scored a meaningless TD.

Starting plays under center far more frequently than he did earlier in the season, Hurts completed 22 of 30 throws — with 15 of those caught by A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith — for 185 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers. He connected with Smith from 5 yards out in the first half and with Dallas Goedert from 15 in the third quarter to cap a 17-play, 83-yard, 10 1/2-minute drive.

“We’ve slowly been playing better and better on the offensive side of the ball,” said Goedert, whose 10th TD reception this season tied a record for Philadelphia tight ends that was first set in the 1960s.

Hurts also did plenty of damage on the ground, gaining 40 yards on seven carries for the Eagles (10-5), who have followed a three-game losing streak by winning two in a row. They are the first team to top the NFC East in back-to-back seasons since Philadelphia did it every year from 2001 to 2004; the gap since then was the longest drought without a repeat champ for any division in NFL history.

Barkley added a 12-yard TD run for the Eagles, part of his 21-carry, 132-yard performance that raised his season rushing total above 1,000 yards.

A year after going 12-5, the Commanders have lost nine of 10 to fall to 4-11.

“It certainly feels terrible,” coach Dan Quinn said, “to hear that record.”

Chants of “E-A-G-L-E-S, Eagles!” frequently rang out in the Commanders' stadium, and cries of “Cooooop!” greeted Cooper DeJean's interception of Josh Johnson, Washington's third-string quarterback, who came in when Marcus Mariota went out after the opening drive in the third quarter with an injured right hand while Washington led 10-7.

Mariota started Saturday in place of Jayden Daniels, the reigning AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year who led the Commanders to the NFC title game last season — where they lost 55-23 to Philadelphia — but has been shut down in 2025 after dealing with a series of injuries and appearing in only seven games.

The chilly evening started inauspiciously for Philadelphia. Will Shipley coughed up the opening kickoff when he was hit by Mike Sainristil. But just as they have over the course of the season, the Eagles got through what wasn't working and ended up in the right place.

“This division’s had so much parity throughout the years,” Sirianni said. “Obviously our goals are much higher. We’ve raised the expectations.”

The Eagles' Jake Elliott managed to send three field-goal attempts wide left in the first half. Elliott hadn’t missed more than one in a game this season. But he was off on a 43-yarder in the first quarter, couldn’t get a 57-yarder to go through the uprights in the second — and after that was wiped out by a penalty on Washington, Elliot went wide left once more, from 52. “I have the utmost confidence in Jake,” Sirianni said.

DE Brandon Graham, 37, whose two sacks last week made him the oldest Eagles player to record one, added another Saturday.

Eagles: LB Nakobe Dean (hamstring) exited in the first quarter.

Commanders: Mariota was evaluated for a concussion and cleared, but his hand sidelined him. ... WR Jaylin Lane (ankle) left in the first quarter. ... RG Sam Cosmi and DT Johnny Newton were evaluated for concussions. ... OT Brandon Coleman hurt his shin.

Eagles: At the Bills on Dec. 28.

Commanders: Host the Cowboys on Thursday night.

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Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, right, celebrates after a touchdown against the Washington Commanders during the second half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Cooper Dejean (33) celebrates after an interception against the Washington Commanders during the second half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Commanders quarterback Josh Johnson looks to pass the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) hands off to running back Saquon Barkley (26) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Dallas Goedert (88) catches a pass for a touchdown against Washington Commanders safety Quan Martin (20) during the second half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Devonta Smith, front left, celebrates with teammates after his touchdown against the Washington Commanders during the first half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — The heated rivalry between the Eagles and Commanders boiled over in the fourth quarter Saturday night, when three players were ejected after a fight broke out among several members of both teams in the aftermath of Saquon Barkley's 2-point conversion that increased Philadelphia's lead to 19 points with about 4 1/2 minutes left.

Two players on Washington's defense — lineman Javon Kinlaw and safety Quan Martin — and one Eagles player — offensive lineman Tyler Steen — were disqualified after being flagged for unnecessary roughness during the brawl in the 29-18 victory that allowed Philadelphia to clinch a second NFC East title in a row.

There was some punching, a ton of pushing and shoving, and a lot of jawing, too, as the scrum spread across the grass. Six flags were thrown by officials as the chaos ensued.

“I guess it was a theme. ... The fans were fighting ... and I guess it carried over to the game. It’s chippy out there, and we have a lot of history with this team, especially since I’ve been here,” said Barkley, who gained 132 yards on 21 carries and scored a touchdown. “This team don’t like us. It’s just the truth. And we don’t like them, either.”

Commanders coach Dan Quinn didn't directly answer the question when he was asked at his postgame news conference whether it was disrespectful for the Eagles to go for 2 after the late TD in a lopsided game.

But Quinn did issue something that sounded akin to a warning, noting that these NFC East rivals meet on Jan. 4 in Philadelphia to close the season.

“If that’s how they want to get down, all good,” Quinn said. “We’ll play them again in two weeks.”

When Washington linebacker Bobby Wagner was asked a question about respect, too, this is what he had to say: “It is what it is, Bro. I don’t care. Is it disrespectful? Maybe. But we’ve still got to stop them. That’s how I look at it.”

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said he was not running up the score and considered his decision a simple case of numbers, preferring a 19-point lead to an 18-point edge.

“We wanted to make sure we went up that way, just in case. That was what our math told us in that particular case,” Sirianni said. “It’s a division game. It’s always back-and-forth. … That’s the team we played in the NFC championship game last year. I know how badly they wanted to beat us. I know how badly we wanted to beat them. We’ve always got to keep our cool in moments like that. But that’s NFC East football. … They’ve got tough guys. We’ve got tough guys.”

Eventually, when order was restored, and Wagner, Barkley and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts spoke with each other on the field.

Barkley said later Wagner made a point that the Eagles running back understood: “Hopefully you don’t break your hand just to say you’re a tough guy. It’s not really worth it. And you lose a lot of money” because of fines.

“We’ve got to be better. We’ve got to be smarter,” Barkley said. “I’ve got to be smarter. I shouldn’t put myself in that situation. It’s really not worth it.”

Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin understood why Eagles coach Nick Sirianni decided to go for 2 there. And like his teammate Wagner, McLaurin was not offended.

“Eagles vs. Commanders, man. That’s how it goes. ... There’s a lot of history, obviously. They were beating us. They’re not going to throw in the towel. They’re not going to take it easy on us. They were going for 2 to bury us. As a team, it’s not like you’re going to tell them, ‘Don’t go for 2.’ We have to stop them,” McLaurin said. “I don’t really take any bad blood from what they did, but you don’t want to see the game get out of hand and guys possibly getting hurt. It comes with this rivalry between us and them. I don’t think that will ever change, to be honest.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn talks to the media during a news conference following an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) scores a touchdown against Washington Commanders cornerback Jonathan Jones (31) during the second half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

The Washington Commanders recover a fumble against the Philadelphia Eagles on the kickoff return during the first half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, center left, runs for a touchdown against Washington Commanders cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, center right, during the second half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)