PHILADELPHIA — The Commanders from Washington defense prepares to go against a Philadelphia Eagles offense that likes to move the ball down the field with quarterback Saquon Barkley and then take advantage of thin areas of the field with deep passes.

While Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is in the middle of the pack in passing attempts over 20 yards this season, he ranks 10th in completion percentage. The Commanders they are aware of that and know that getting shutout is key to getting a big win in the NFC East Divisional on Thursday night.

“(We have to) take care of the explosive pieces and tackle well,” Washington Quan Martin said confidently heading towards the match. “I know they have great players in attack. Just being able to handle explosive plays and get those guys on the court when we need to (will be important).”

In its seven wins this season, Philadelphia is averaging more than eight turnovers per game. In the team’s two losses, it averaged fewer than four and had no more than four in either.

Martin’s teammate and fellow safety Percy Butler echoed some of the same sentiments when we spoke to him about tonight’s game in Philadelphia.

“It’s all about limiting explosive plays with them,” Butler says. “When you look at it, I don’t think they can really put a long game together. I get a lot of points from explosives and explosives maintain their energy. So it’s all about making the other team feel like you can do nothing.”

In Butler’s opinion, the Eagles have scored 28 touchdowns this season and averaged 7.5 plays per scoring drive while doing so. In fact, 57 percent of those 28 drives lasted less than eight plays.

Meanwhile, the Commanders defense is forcing opponents to run an average of 8.5 plays per touchdown this season, and just 37 percent of the 27 surrenders have come in fewer than eight plays.

Both men agree — and the numbers show — if Washington’s secondary can limit the explosiveness, they’ll have a good chance to come out of Thursday night with a win. A critical one too, one that would leave the team in first place in the NFC East Division as the only undefeated team in pool play.

Of course, as mentioned earlier, it’s not all about explosive passing, as Barkley presents a challenge himself.

“(He’s) a dual-threat pass-catcher out of the backfield, and you know he’s a great defender,” Martin said of Barkley. “So just being able to take that first step, put your pads on him and get him to the ground (will be important).”

Without a doubt, the Eagles present a great challenge to the Chiefs and a timely one for both teams to truly stake their claim to be one of the best in the NFC. And it’s a challenge Washington’s defense seems ready and willing to meet.

“I feel like it’s always a big challenge,” Butler said. “You have to be on P and Q. It’s a game where you’re not allowed to make simple mistakes. So everybody has to be on their game, and it’s a quick turnaround and it’s an exciting game. It’s an NFC East divisional game. So you want to get this win.”

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