It was close for three quarters, then the Eagles broke free with a 20-point fourth quarter to beat the Commanders, 26-18, in Week 11 at Lincoln Financial Field.

The scene shifts Sunday to Landover, Md., when the two NFC East rivals meet again as the Eagles (12-2) look to get an early Christmas present because a win means they clinch the NFC East title. Washington (9-5) needs a win to keep its playoff hopes alive and, depending on what happens in the final two games, make like the Grinches do to Eagles fans and steal a division title.

The Eagles offense, as it has all season, started the first round in generally slow fashion. They led 7-3 at halftime before breaking out in the second half. Afterward, there was a lot of talk about the Commanders doing things defensively that they hadn’t shown on tape in the first 10 games of the season, otherwise known as “unspotted looks.”

This week, as the team prepares for the 1 p.m. meeting on Sunday, we are talking about “barring any unforeseen circumstances”.

“You can spend all this time preparing during the week, but when you get to game day, it’s like a punch in the mouth, like, ‘Whoa, what just happened? pass ?’ We didn’t see that on film,’” tackle Jordan Mailata said. “Each team will have a surprise in store for you, an ace up their sleeve.”

So it’s about adapting. Maybe the Eagles are doing this better — at least faster — if the season-high 10 points they hung on the Steelers in a 27-13 last week are any indication.

“We (adjust) on the sideline here during practice, just like we talk about details, and then we adjust on the next play,” Mailata said. “I think the reason game plan adjustments are so important for us – you can only draw them on game day – so learning from past games what we didn’t communicate well and how can we communicate it better in the future.

“I think that’s been a really important part, over the last 10 weeks, of just working on the communication side of it to figure out how do we communicate better so that we can understand it quicker and continue to execute it better?”

Mailata said more teams are giving the Eagles unscouted looks this season.

“A lot more,” he said. “To be honest, not to toot our horn or sound a little arrogant, but I think we have a very good line and a great plan, so you have to add a little hiccup to it to shake us up.

“Every time we get an unobserved look, we’re like, ‘Whoa, we didn’t see that.’ But because we learned on the sidelines from previous games, we’re able to communicate a little better in the future, about how to adjust our blocking, our techniques and execute better.

In the first meeting on November 14, the offensive line and Saquon Barkley did what they’ve done well all season: punishing defenders with their O-line hammers, then unleashing the league’s best running back this season. season.

Barkley ran 15 times for 56 yards in the first half. He went wild in the second half, using just 11 carries to put up 90 yards and fourth-quarter touchdowns of 39 and 23 yards in just 20 seconds.

“We adapted,” he said. “They came out with something a little different. They played really well. They’re a great team and they play like one too. Great defensive line, great linebacker core – there’s a legend there in Bobby (Wagner). We know it will be a difficult task, but if we continue to stick with it and lean on them, we hope the same thing will happen.

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