Philadelphia ready for season opener with DC

The Philadelphia Eagles hope for a distraction-free start to the season today against the visiting Washington Commanders.

Of course, this is Philly, where the next controversy is always right around the corner, but for now the focus is squarely on football entering this early encounter between NFC East rivals.

Meanwhile in Washington, a city where bipartisan battles are the national pastime, fans and analysts are divided over whether fans are going to see the 12-5 Commanders of 2024 or the 5-12 version from last season.

Philadelphia Eagles player Tanner McKee, right, hands the ball to Dameon Pierce during a preseason game in Philadelphia on Aug. 28.

Photo: AFP

As so often happens in the NFL, quarterbacks and coaches under the biggest spotlights.

Eagles signal-caller Jalen Hurts and head coach Nick Sirianni are 5-0 in season openers. Sirianni attributes his Week 1 success to building good practice habits throughout training camp.

“I think people get it confused, and they think practicing hard has to be long,” Sirianni said Wednesday.

With AJ Brown now with the Patriots, Hurts has a new undisputed No. 1 wideout in receiver DeVonta Smith. He has a new offensive coordinator in Sean Mannion, a healthy Saquon Barkley and one of the NFL’s best offensive lines.

To replace Brown, the Eagles drafted Makai Lemon in the first round and acquired Dontayvion Wicks from Green Bay.

Despite being a three-time Pro Bowl selection and Super Bowl MVP by the age of 28, Hurts still has his share of doubters entering his sixth full season as the starter. He refuses to let the outside noise divert his attention.

“I’m truly focused on being the best that I can be right now,” he said. “That’s where my energy is. There’s a lot of change. I’m focused on this offense. I’m focused on building with Sean [Mannion] and being at my best.”

Defensively, the Eagles locked up star tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis with big contracts this offseason and gave edge rusher Jonathan Greenard a four-year, US$98 million deal.

Greenard’s season debut would have to wait at least one more week as he is out for this game after missing training camp with an injury and returning to practice Wednesday on a limited basis.

Third-year head coach Dan Quinn is 2-3 against Philadelphia since taking over in Washington, which includes the 55-23 loss in the NFC Championship Game after the 2024 regular season. Quinn has two new coordinators with David Blough at the offensive controls and Daronte Jones taking over a defense that allowed 26.5 points per game last year.

“The best teams I’ve been part of have a strong connection in the locker room first,” Quinn said. “This team is just connected, maybe more quickly than we’ve had.”