Eagles-Commanders: Game time, channel, how to watch and stream ‘Monday Night Football’

After an 11-day mini-bye week, the Eagles are back in action against the Washington Commanders on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.

The Eagles come into the game as the NFL’s only undefeated team, and aim to become just the 21st team to start a season 9-0 since the Miami Dolphins’ perfect 1972 season. The last team to hit that mark was the 2020 Pittsburgh Steelers, who began the season 11-0 but lost in the wild-card round to the No. 6 seed Cleveland Browns.

It’ll be the first time Carson Wentz has returned to Lincoln Financial Field since the Eagles traded him after the 2020 season, but he won’t take the field for the Commanders. Wentz was sidelined Oct. 14 with a broken finger that has kept him out for four straight games. He’s eligible to return to the Commanders on Tuesday.

The Birds will have to manage on defense without cornerback Avonte Maddox, who was ruled out Saturday with a hamstring injury. The Birds’ battered offensive line was able to recover thanks to the extended time off, including center Jason Kelce, who will make his 131st consecutive start.

“We had a lot of injuries. Ankles, shoulders, all that stuff. So I think it was good for us,” Kelce told The Inquirer. “But ask me in six or seven weeks how I feel about the bye week coming that early. It might be a different story. We’ll see.”

Here’s everything you need to know to watch the Eagles take on the Commanders on Monday Night Football:

Eagles-Commanders is scheduled to kick off at 8:15 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. It will also air in the Philadelphia market on PHL17.

Calling the game will be Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, who are in their first season as the voices of Monday Night Football after spending 20 years at Fox. King of Prussia native Lisa Salters, who surprised Aikman when she revealed her cousin is Cowboys legend and Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett, will report from the sidelines at the Linc.

The game will air on radio in Philadelphia on 94.1 WIP. On play-by-play will be Merrill Reese, who has been the voice of the Eagles since 1977, making him by far the longest-tenured announcer in the NFL. He’s being joined by analyst Mike Quick, a former Eagles wide receiver who has been calling games alongside Reese for 25 seasons. WIP host Howard Eskin will report from the sideline.

Spanish-speaking listeners can tune into La Mega 105.7, where the game will be called by WIP host Rickie Ricardo, Oscar Budejen, and Bill Kulik.

Eagles vs. Commanders will stream on the ESPN app, but you’ll need to be a cable subscriber.

The game will also stream on a host of skinny bundles that carry ESPN, including fuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and DirecTV Stream. Most offer a free trial.

You can also stream the game on NFL+, the league’s subscription service. It’ll set you back $4.95 a month and is only available on your mobile phone, but there is a seven-day free trial.

What do Peyton and Eli have against the Birds?

For the second time this season, the Manning brothers aren’t hosting their ESPN2 Monday Night Football Manningcast while the Eagles are playing. It’s the first of three weeks the former NFL quarterbacks are skipping as they get an early jump on Thanksgiving. They duo are scheduled to return in Week 13 when the New Orleans Saints take on the Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 5.

The Manning brothers invited Jalen Hurts onto the Manningcast on Oct. 3, where they had the Eagles quarterback (who was wearing a hoodie with the phrase “God bless whoever hating on me”) react to a wild video of Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, who passionately butchered Hurts’ quote about heat and thermostats.

“He’s something else. I know he’s a very passionate guy,” Hurts said of Irvin. “I was telling [my teammates], ‘We set the temperature. We don’t let anything else dictate how we respond to something. We try to control everything we can.’”

Former Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III — the newest addition to ESPN’s pregame show — sat down in Philadelphia last week for an interview with Hurts and former Eagles quarterbacks Michael Vick and Donovan McNabb as part of a discussion of the team’s legacy of Black quarterbacks.

Griffin said Hurts is no longer an outlier at quarterback — he’s the prototype.

“He is the guy that you want that can throw it from the pocket, who can use his legs to create, and can bail you out of a bad play,” Griffin told The Inquirer. “So, I think the conversation does have to move towards — this is no longer an outlier — all these guys that came before Jalen Hurts, knocked down these walls and now, if those guys played today, they would be the prototype and that is exactly what Jalen Hurts is.”

Filmed on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the full interview will air during Monday Night Countdown before the game. And while Randall Cunningham couldn’t be part of the interview, he did speak to Inquirer staff writer Jeff McLane about Hurts embracing the legacy of Black, dual-threat quarterbacks in Philadelphia.

“I think he is more talented than I was,” Cunningham said. “I think he has a great understanding of how to live the life of someone who really understands the position, what it takes, the dedication. And the thing I like about him most is just his character.”

» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts takes pride in carrying the torch as the next in the Eagles’ legacy of Black quarterbacks

Eagles staff writers Jeff McLane, EJ Smith, and Josh Tolentino will be covering the action live on Gameday Central. Smith and Tolentino will discuss the Eagles-Cowboys game at 7 p.m. prior to kickoff. Notes and observations about the game will be at Inquirer.com/Eagles. Don’t forget to subscribe to our free Sports Daily newsletter.