Eagles vs. Commanders: Local and national media predictions for Week 10 Monday Night Football

There's no Carson Wentz drama this time around, but only time will tell if that's actually a good thing for the Eagles on Monday night.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts flexes after throwing a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith during their win over the Washington Commanders earlier in the season.Read moreDavid Maialetti / Staff Photographer

by Matt Mullin

Published Nov. 12, 2022, 5:00 a.m. ET

This primetime matchup between NFC East foes lost some (read: a lot) of its juice when former Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz was placed on injured reserve, ensuring that the now-Washington Commanders QB would miss his first game back in Philly.

Fans hoping to take a vocal jab at the player who requested a trade out of town — following the Eagles’ decision to draft Jalen Hurts and subsequently bench Wentz for poor play — will have to wait another season. And that all depends if Wentz is still the starter in Washington next year. Given the way the year started for the Commanders, that’s no guarantee.

After a 2-4 start under Wentz, Taylor Heinicke has Washington 2-1 over its last three games, with the only loss coming last week by three points to the 7-1 Vikings. Not too shabby — and certainly enough to start a quarterback controversy in the nation’s capital. A good showing this week against Wentz’s former team, the NFL’s only remaining unbeaten squad, only would make the calls to stick with Heinicke even louder.

But that’s easier said than done against a Birds team that already is 1-0 against the Commanders, is 8-0 on the season, and, according to FanDuel, is a 10.5-point home favorite on Monday Night Football.

And experts locally and nationally agree, with writers and analysts picking the Birds to win in overwhelming fashion. Here’s a look at how they see this one playing out ...

Inquirer beat writer predictions

For the fourth game in a row, all three Inquirer beat writers are in agreement over who wins on Monday night: the home team. But not all of them have the Birds covering the 10.5-point spread. Here’s a snippet from Jeff McLane, who also notes that Eagles fans might’ve preferred to see their team face Wentz over Heinicke — and not just because of the booing ...

Overall, the Commanders have played a higher level of football in the last month, particularly on the defensive side. ... But it’s tough to see Hurts and the Eagles offense having to endure a sustained period of failure. They have too many ways and weapons to beat defenses, and have for the most part avoided self-inflicted wounds. Could they come out flat after another extended break? Sure. Could the turnover gods decide this is the week they lose that battle? You bet. And could Washington exploit their few weaknesses? Absolutely. But there still isn’t enough reason to predict an upset, especially in favor of a 10 ½-point road underdog.

Jeff McLane

For the rest of Jeff’s prediction and a look at how EJ Smith and Josh Tolentino see this one playing out, check out their full predictions here.

National media predictions

Here’s a look at what football analysts around the country have to say about Monday night’s Eagles-Commanders game ...

· ESPN.com: All nine of ESPN’s experts are picking the Eagles — but, then again, all nine also picked the Falcons over the Panthers on Thursday night, so, as always, take these predictions with a grain of salt.

· NFL.com: Gregg Rosenthal has been riding the Birds for a while now, and that’s not changing this week, as he has them winning in a blowout.

· CBS Sports: Like ESPN, it’s a clean sweep at CBS Sports, will all eight of their analysts predicting an Eagles’ win. However, when it comes to the spread, which they had at 11 points, only half of them think the Birds cover.

· Sports Illustrated: All five MMQB football writers are picking the Eagles beat the Commanders on Monday Night Football.

· Yahoo! Sports: Frank Schwab only picks against the spread. And as he has been wont to do lately, he’s betting that the Birds don’t cover the spread, citing a standing policy to back any double-digit NFL underdog. Last week, that worked out as the Eagles failed to cover the 14-point spread against the Texans. Let’s see how it does this week.

· The Ringer: The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia also only makes picks against the spread. Unlike Schwab, however, he thinks the Birds win and cover.

· The Athletic: All 10 of their experts are picking the Eagles over the Commanders.

· USA TODAY: All six of USA TODAY’s football writers are predicting the Eagles win this divisional matchup.

· Pro Football Talk: Both Mike Florio and Michael David Smith have the Birds winning this one fairly easily.

· Bleacher Report: While not everyone thinks the Eagles will cover, the consensus from their staff is still an Eagles win. And that’s all that really matters.

Local media predictions

Who knows a team better than the experts who follow them day in and day out? Let’s take a look at who the local writers are predicting ...

· PhillyVoice: Jimmy Kempski at PhillyVoice is picking the Eagles to win on Monday night.

· Bleeding Green Nation: All six writers at BGN are predicting an Eagles win.

· 6 ABC: Former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski is making the pick for them, and he has the Birds winning (of course he does).

· The Baltimore Sun: We know this isn’t a D.C. paper, but it is a local paper — and it’s as close as we could find making a prediction on this one. All four of their writers are picking the Eagles.