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CRUSHING Dallas to move into first place. Was there ever a more joyful sentence? On a short week, we get to face the team that was in first place, before we took the spot. Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio, gets to sink his teeth into a 7 – 3 Commanders offense, led by a rookie QB. Meanwhile, RB Saquon Barkley gets to square off against the 28^th ranked rushing defense in the league.

Winning moves us to 8 – 2, and expands our division lead over Washington. It would also maintain our position as the number two team in the conference, currently behind Detroit (8 – 1).

If we were to lose, we’d be 7 – 3, and back in second place in the division.

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The point of Four Things isn’t to predict a winner, it’s to discuss which tactics would give our Eagles the best chance to win this game. Often I list fundamentals, as some of the four things. BUT NO MORE! Unless something specific is needed, fundamentals like Running the ball; playing lots of Man Press; and Tackling instead of going for the strip, will be automatically included. (Like the five consonants and a vowel that Wheel Of Fortune automatically spots you.) So here are the Four Things that we need to focus on this week versus: The Commanders

1) Run ‘Em Down: This isn’t my typical “Run the ball” request. This is a game, where we should lean heavy on the run. Even if it’s not working early. The Commanders are awful against the run. On Sunday, they gave up 140 rushing yards, as the Steelers wore them down and wore them out, with their physical, downhill style.

The Commanders have not yet had time to physically recover, and with DT Jonathan Allen on Injured Reserve, they are no match for an Eagles line which will get back LT Jordan Mailata. There should be a game that sees 30 non-QB rushing attempts, with Saquon seeing more than 22.

2) Torment Single-high Coverage: The Commanders awful run defense, will frequently borrow a Safety to help load the box against our run game. When that happens, there will only be one Safety back deep to help with coverage, and he can’t help double both WR A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. One of them will have a one-on-one match-up.

When that happens, even if it’s third and one, there needs to be an audible called, and whomever the Safety doesn’t help cover, gets the football. We need to keep the box open, so that Saquon has room to operate.

3) Hit Their Quarterback: Even if we don’t get sacks, just hit him as early, and as often as possible. He’s a slender rookie, playing through a rib injury. Since sustaining that rib injury, his accuracy has declined sharply. Prior to the injury, the team was averaging 29.6 points per game. In his three games since, they haven’t seen 29 points.

Hitting him isn’t about scaring him. It’s about scaring his coaches. To prevent them from calling certain things. That organization has been looking for a franchise QB since 1993. Now that they may have him, they’ll want to guard against RG3-ing him. If we can get his coaches to be his first obstacle, the entire game is much easier.

4) Jump A Couple of Short Passes: With the underneath coverage that we’ve been playing recently, it’s time to take it to the next step. The Commanders like to throw to their RB’s. Awesome! Those are great routes to jump. Or jumping a crossing route! Both excellent examples of routes to jump.

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If the Eagles do these Four Things, then we’ll be virtually impossible to beat. That being said…

Win or lose, it sets up an awesome Week 16 re-match. It could even get flexed to prime time, given the current status of both the 3 – 7 Cowboys, and the 4 – 6 Buccaneers. For now, they are scheduled for the 8:15 slot, while our game is at 1:00. Again, for now.

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WARNING: I don’t have the faintest clue as to what a point spread is, and I know even less about how it works. I know FOOTBALL and that’s it. If you use Four Things as a gambling tool, then you are a fool trying to lose your money, and will deserve it when you do.

Check back in a couple of days for Four Things Reviewed, and we’ll discuss how this game went.