• Sam Cosmi’s season-ending injury creates a significant challenge for Washington: The right guard is out for the year ahead of a game in which the Commanders will need to stifle an elite Eagles interior pass-rusher.
• Some potential options: Head coach Dan Quinn could shift Andrew Wylie to right guard and insert Cornelius Lucas at right tackle, for one.
• 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF’s best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025’s top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.

Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

The Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders will meet for the third time this season on Sunday, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. The Commanders put the league on notice with their dominant 45-31 road victory over the heavily favored Detroit Lions, while the Eagles squeaked out a 6-point victory over the Los Angeles Rams at a snowy Lincoln Financial Field.

One of the key storylines heading into this NFC Championship tilt is what Washington will do with the right side of its offensive line. The team will be without starting right guard Sam Cosmi, who tore his ACL last week against Detroit. Trent Scott stepped in and admirably filled the void, playing 45 snaps and not allowing pressure.

Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter put on an elite performance against the Rams, earning a 90.3 PFF overall grade, the second highest of any defensive player in the divisional round. He generated seven pressures in the game and came up big when they needed him most. The Rams were 13 yards away from clinching an NFC Championship game appearance in the final minute when he sacked quarterback Matthew Stafford on third-and-2 and then broke through the offensive line again the following play to force an incompletion on fourth down.

Holding Carter in check will be crucial to the Commanders’ chances this weekend, something they were mostly able to do with Cosmi in the lineup. Carter’s PFF overall grade from the two previous matchups was 60.0 across 130 snaps, but he still displayed that always-present game-breaking potential

It’s still unclear what Washington will opt to do at right guard against Philadelphia with Cosmi sidelined. Head coach Dan Quinn said there has been “a lot of thought” about ensuring the Commanders have their best five offensive linemen on the field, per The Athletic’s Ben Standig.

Shuffling pieces along the offensive line is always risky, especially with a Super Bowl appearance in reach. Carter has lined up on the left side of the defensive formation for 95.7% of his snaps this season, so his preferred attacking position is no secret.

Jalen Carter’s Snap Alignments in 2024

Realistically, the Commanders have three options to replace Cosmi heading into the game. First, they could start Trent Scott at right guard, fresh off his 45 snaps there last week in Detroit. Second, they could move Andrew Wylie from right tackle to right guard and insert Cornelius Lucas at right tackle. The logic behind that move is that Wylie has experience at guard (none since 2020, however) and Lucas is a tackle who has played well across 464 snaps this season (74.1 PFF overall grade). Third, they could move Brandon Coleman from left tackle to right guard with Lucas starting at left tackle (although this option seems less likely).

At his best, Carter dominates games like few other defenders in the NFL can at just 23 years old. Whether Washington can formulate a game plan to slow him down will be one of the key matchups to watch this weekend in the team’s quest for its first Super Bowl appearance since 1991.