Eagles and Commanders meet in biggest game in NFC East rivalry series in nearly 30 years

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jayden Daniels’ nascent NFL career is all of 10 games old, yet the Washington QB responsible for the instant reshaping of the Commanders into a respectable franchise, and, finally, winners, already knows when a big game is on the schedule.

“I think people just know it’s Philly week,” Daniels said.

Oh yes, Commanders-Eagles, as serious as it gets this time of the NFL season. As a bonus, for the first time in nearly three decades, the outcome truly matters for either team.

Daniels has the Commanders (7-3) on the precipice of their biggest regular-season game in the series against the NFC East rival Eagles (7-2) in decades.

Hyperbole?

Not a chance. Washington and Philadelphia meet — not only with the division lead at stake — but with both teams at least four games over .500 entering the game for the first time since 1996.

Terry Allen and Ricky Watters. Koy Detmer and Gus Frerotte. Norv Turner and Ray Rhodes.

Names forgotten to the history books until this week when every piece of the series rivalry has been resurrected as part of the anticipation for the prime-time showdown at Lincoln Financial Field. The only drawback to the game is that the short week — the Eagles won at Dallas and the Commanders lost to the Steelers on Sunday — has robbed the rivalry of a few extra days of hype.

Behind QB Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley — who ranks second in the NFL with an average of 110.1 yards per game while Washington is 28th in the league defensively against the run, allowing 142.7 yards per game — the Eagles are riding a five-game winning streak; the Commanders have won three of four games.

The Eagles are 3 1/2-point favorites, per BetMGM Sportsbook.

“I’m excited just to go to Philly and that type of atmosphere,” Daniels said. "Heard they got very passionate fans, so man, I can’t wait. I can’t wait to go out there and see that fan base, and just experience that. And I know it’s going to be a great venue, a great site, and we’ll just go out there and see what happens.”

Led by Daniels, the Washington offense keeps putting up points, week in, week out, even against stingy opponents such as Pittsburgh, which entered Sunday allowing just 14.9 per game. The QB is building a strong connection with receiver Terry McLaurin, who topped 100 yards receiving for the fourth time in the past eight games, accumulating 113 on five catches.

The Eagles, who have won by 20-plus points in three of their past four games, understand the challenge Daniels presents.

“A really good player who started off on fire, so we’ll have a challenge here this week,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “You know how he’s going to the right place with the football, being accurate, the things he can do when things do break down.”

With a win, Washington would move to 8-3, its best record through 11 games since, yup, 1996.

“Taking our show on the road to go up and have another division battle, Thursday night in November, like come on, what are we talking about?" Commanders coach Dan Quinn said.

While the Eagles had the earliest bye in the NFL in Week 5, the Commanders have the latest in Week 14, and the injuries are piling up after a relatively healthy start to the season. Kicker Austin Seibert (right hip) is out for a second consecutive game, as is cornerback Marshon Lattimore (hamstring), their big trade deadline pickup.

The short turnaround doesn’t help the situation, including tackles Andrew Wylie, Brandon Coleman and Cornelius Lucas all being questionable, but Quinn is trying to turn it into a positive.

“This is a really tough-minded group, and so if you told them it was going to be on a Wednesday, they’d be down for it,” Quinn said. “Short weeks, it’s hard, but it also favors guys who are like, ‘Hey man, I’m down for the fight and I’ll be ready and whatever it takes’ kind of attitude. And we got a lot of those kind of guys with a big giant-sized chip on their shoulder.”

The team announced Wednesday Robinson would be active against the Eagles. Washington is 1-2 without him this season.

Daniels ran just three times for 5 yards in Washington’s 28-27 home loss to the Steelers, by far the rookie quarterback’s fewest carries and smallest impact on the ground this season. The No. 2 draft pick out of LSU has been playing through sore ribs for several weeks and credited Pittsburgh’s defense for shutting down rushing lanes, and Philadelphia’s second-ranked unit presents another challenge.

“Every game is different,” said Daniels, who has completed 56.4% of his passes the past three games after 75.6% in his first seven. “It just depends on the coordinator. Just going out there and just kind of adjusting to what I see and what they’re doing.”

AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno in Washington contributed to this report.

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Washington Commanders place-kicker Zane Gonzalez, right, celebrates his 41-yard field goal during the second half of an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Eagles' Cooper DeJean (33) and Jalyx Hunt (58) celebrate a long punt return by DeJean in the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris (22) is stopped by Washington Commanders safety Quan Martin (20) and teamates during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts prepares to throw a pass in the second half of an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren (30) is tackled by the Washington Commanders defense during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Philadelphia Eagles' Fred Johnson, left, and Lane Johnson, rear, celebrate with Jalen Hurts, center, after Hurts ran for a touchdown as Dallas Cowboys' Trevon Diggs (7) and Micah Parsons (11) look on in the second half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels is pressured by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (90) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

A fan dressed in a Santa Claus costume, celebrates with a Philadelphia Eagles fan as a Dallas Cowboys fan, sitting bottom right, and others watch play in the second half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels speaks to the media after an NFL football game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts, left, and Saquon Barkley (26) celebrate after Hurts ran the ball for a touchdown in the second half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

NEW YORK (AP) — After ripping higher for much of this year, the price of gold has suddenly become not so golden since Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election.

Gold fell more than 4% in the four days since Election Day, when the broad U.S. stock market climbed nearly 4%. That's even though investors are expecting a Trump White House to drive tax rates lower and tariffs higher. Such a combination could push the U.S. government's debt and inflation higher, which are both things that can help gold's price.

That's left gold at $2,618 per ounce, as of late Monday, down from a record of roughly $2,800 set late last month. It also means gold has lost some luster as the best performing investments of the year. The largest exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of gold has seen its gain for 2024 drop back below 27% from nearly 35% a couple weeks earlier.

What's going on? Part of the decline has coincided with the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against other major currencies. Tariffs and trade wars instigated by the United States could push down the value of the euro and other countries' currencies, and a strong U.S. dollar makes it more expensive for buyers using those other currencies to purchase gold.

Trump's preference for lower taxes and higher tariffs is also forcing Wall Street to ratchet back expectations for how many cuts to interest rates the Federal Reserve will deliver next year. Fewer rate cuts would mean Treasury bonds pay more in interest than previously expected, and that in turn could hurt gold's price. Gold, which pays its owners zero dividends or income, can look less attractive when bonds are paying more.

Gold, of course, still has its reputation for offering a safer place for investors when things are shaky around the world. Whether it's been because of wars or political strife, investors often flock to gold when they're not feeling confident about other investments. And with wars still raging in the Middle East, Ukraine and elsewhere, while political tensions still seem as high as ever, gold will likely stay in many investors' portfolios.

“Gold continues to be the safe haven asset class of choice for both investors and central banks,” according to money managers at Robeco, which handles investments for big institutional investors.

FILE - Gold bars are shown stacked in a vault at the United States Mint on July 22, 2014 in West Point, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, File)