The Eagles beat the Washington Commanders, 24-22, to move to 1-0 on the season and 6-0 in season openers during the Jalen Hurts-Nick Sirianni era.

Here are five instant thoughts at the buzzer from the win:

Jalen Hurts, take a bow

The pivot point in this game was delivered by Jalen Hurts, creating with his legs out of the structure of the offense.

After months of analysis and discussion about what Sean Mannion’s new system would unlock for Hurts in the passing game, it was Hurts to unlock things for the system on Sunday in a way that perfectly underscores the “whatever it takes to win” mantra he often refrains to at the podium.

With the Eagles facing third-and-18 deep in their own territory and protecting a delicate one-point lead in the fourth quarter, Hurts delivered the signature play of the night with a 22-yard scramble. Three plays later, Hurts found Dallas Goedert on an in-breaking route for a 43-yard touchdown catch and run to give the Eagles a decisive cushion late in the fourth quarter.

Hurts had his share of in-sequence brilliance on Sunday as well (more on that later), but the plays he made when things broke down served as a key reminder that what makes him special isn’t necessarily how he reads a game or how many anticipation throws he’ll make any given Sunday. In the adverse moments of a game when things aren’t going to plan, Hurts has proven he can create more than what the scheme offers.

And when the Eagles needed it most Sunday, Hurts did exactly that.

A rich irony

It’s objectively funny that, after a summer filled with talk about the Eagles’ switching to a more modern offense centered around outside zone and play-action passes under center, two of the biggest plays of the first half were stubborn holdover concepts from last year’s dysfunctional system.

Four verticals from a two-by-two receiver set, the same concept that ended the Eagles’ 2025 season nine months earlier, resulted in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts to Dallas Goedert on a perfectly placed ball in the back of the end zone. Hurts looked over to the sideline after the throw and hit them with the Michael-Jordan shrug after the throw, a stark reminder that this is a new Eagles offense.

Before we get into that, though, we have to talk about the second play borne out of a concept that’s all too familiar. Sean Mannion was creative in how he deployed Saquon Barkley in the opener with a steady dose of outside zone runs and a couple swing passes, but Barkley’s best run of the first half came on inside zone. He juked past Commanders linebacker Leo Chenal at the second level and broke into open space for a 42-yard gain into the red zone.

Mannion mentioned the term “comfort calls” a handful of times during the summer, explaining his desire to find certain play-calls to settle the offense and, in particular Hurts, when the group needed to find a rhythm. Most of what the Eagles did offensively Sunday was a drastic departure from what we’ve seen in the past, but Mannion mixing in those “comfort calls” Sunday turned out to be the ones that made the biggest difference early.

Defensive tackle derby

The Eagles defensive tackle saved the Eagles three points in a two-point win.

Jalen Carter came up with a blocked PAT in the second quarter, setting the Commanders behind the curve as the game tightened later in the evening, and Moro Ojomo came up in the game’s final moments to make that blocked kick mean even more, knifing into the backfield to tackle Washington tight end John Bates on a shovel pass.

The best defensive tackle trio in the NFL, already swinging games in the Eagles’ favor.

Dickerson’s difficult day

An admission: At the start of the second half when the Eagles offense took the field, my first action was to see if Landon Dickerson had been replaced by Drew Kendall at left guard.

The Eagles’ worrying habit of stringing together consecutive three-and-outs reared its ugly head at the start of the second half and the even-more worrying performance from the interior offensive line was a major reason why.

The Eagles went three straight drives without a first down in the third quarter. Even of their scoring drives in the first half, explosive plays overshadowed an offense incapable of “staying on schedule.”

Dickerson in particular had an alarming afternoon. The 28-year-old looked like a man whose litany of injuries had finally caught up to him in training camp and was to blame for a handful of negative runs and quarterback pressures throughout the game.

Jurgens’ miscues seemed less to do with lost athleticism, but he still committed two holding penalties in the first half and whiffed on a couple blocks on early-down runs.

My guess is Jurgens can still settle in based off what we’ve seen over the last couple months. I have far less confidence Dickerson will.

Baun still elite

Zack Baun was the best player on the field Sunday.

There was something almost pedestrian about the frequency in which he made plays during training camp, but there was nothing pedestrian about seeing him swarm the field for a handful of impact plays in the run and pass game. Baun finished with a game-high 12 tackles, including a snuffed out screen pass, a pass breakup a play earlier, and a key open-field tackle in the third quarter against Rachaad White.

Baun was at the center of what was an as-advertised performance from the Eagles defense overall. The group had a shaky opening drive that resulted in a 55-yard field goal from Drew Stevens, but settled in for most of the first half to force three straight three-and-outs from Washington and was equally as stingy in the second half as well.

The only nit to pick would be the lack of quarterback pressure. The Eagles finished with just one sack against Jayden Daniels and Cooper DeJean logged one of the few quarterback hits of the evening. Perhaps keeping Daniels in the pocket led to a more disciplined rushing approach for the front, but the sack production is probably the last piece to making this defense as good as many envision it can be this season.