PHILADELPHIA — There was a building full of worried voices buzzing in the final minute of the first half Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, fresh off yet another ultimately failed offensive drive amid a sub-par first half, had a brief discussion with a team trainer on the sidelines, then became an X factor in the game – Hurts going to the medical tent for an apparent concussion check easily lit up local Twitter. Unlike what such trips to the tent too often result in, however, Hurts was seemingly out in little more than a blink of an eye. He was even in time to jog off the field with his teammates to their halftime sanctuary to try to regroup. During the intermission, the Eagles announced that Hurts indeed had been checked for concussion symptoms but was cleared to come back out for the second half. Cleared? “I guess I beat the protocol,” Hurts would say later with a slight smile, mainly because the Eagles had also made a quick recovery in what became a 26-18 victory over the Washington Commanders. Beating the protocol can be akin to beating a blitz and passing for six. So Hurts was asked if he knew how to outfox the concussion medical tests. “I beat the protocol,” he said again. Hurts also beat the Commanders, giving the Eagles (8-2) a sixth straight win and semblance of control of the NFC East. Of course, he had a ton of help in doing so. First there was the Birds defense, which held highly regarded rookie Jayden Daniels to 22 of 32 passing for 191 yards and one score. There was also a very big Daniels interception, courtesy of Reed Blankenship. That stopped a Washington drive in the fourth quarter, and the Eagles turned around and made their subsequent possession a scoring one. That came via another full day’s contribution by Saquon Barkley, who blasted through a tired Commanders line late for two fourth quarter touchdown runs to nail down the victory. “We just got it rolling,” Hurts said. “We were able to get some positive plays. And when you’re able to get completions, keep the sticks moving, keep progressing, and then impose your physicality in the end of it, that’s what it comes down to. “It’s always good when you can score in the red zone, and then when you score outside of the red zone, that’s good as well. But situationally, I felt like everything was …it just has to be better in the red zone. Be better in the red zone. We had a ton of good drives. Just have to finish. Have to finish.” It might have sounded like Hurts was rambling, but he really wasn’t. The Eagles really were sluggish in the red zone for most of the game. The fourth quarter was an outlier … it was also another sign that this team that built the winning streak on the backs of several not very good teams has nonetheless significantly improved each week. “It’s everybody that contributes to a slow start offensively, it’s not just one person,” head coach Nick Sirianni said when asked about Hurts’ slow start. “This is a team game. It’s always a team game. … I’m proud of the offense and what they did tonight. They found a way to continue to put points on the board and to be able to stretch that game out. “Obviously, the defense did a great job holding a good offense down, but the offense just kept finding a way.” Barkley had a little bit to do with that. The Eagles’ dashing runner entered the game needing only nine yards to hit the 1,000-yard milestone on the season. He surpassed it with an eight-yard jaunt midway through the first quarter. It was one of the more successful runs of the half for Barkley. Of course he wasn’t going to be satisfied with that. Buoyed by a defense that refused to allow Washington and Daniels much room to maneuver, the Eagles offense shook itself awake in the fourth quarter, and Barkley led the way with touchdown runs of 23 and 39 yards on consecutive Eagles drives in the fourth. Barkley finished the game 26 rushes for 146 yards. He also caught two passes for 52 yards. As for Hurts, he wound up with a balanced effort. He hit on 18 of 28 pass attempts for 221 yards. No touchdowns, no turnovers. He did rush for a one-yard TD, and had 10 carries for 39 yards in total. Fairly typical, successful outing. So if the QB getting the quick All-Clear sign surprised anyone, maybe it shouldn’t have, even if Hurts did seem to be off his timing with receivers and even on some handoffs early on. He broke some runs but seemed to do that rather than find a couple of open receivers. At other times, Hurts simply didn’t see potential passing targets, one time on a slant in front of him where an open DeVonta Smith was looking for the ball. And yet… “Every game is different,” Hurts said. “You try to walk the path of each game and treat them all independently. We want to just go out there and execute. The mentality is always that you’re one play away, and if you keep pressing on, keep going, everything kind of answers itself. So we just want to be a football team that plays each play as its own play, treats it one play at a time, and takes that approach in the game and gives it our best.” • • • NOTES >> The Commanders and Eagles last met with both teams at least four games above .500 back on Week 12 of the 1996 season. The Eagles would lose 26-21, in the middle of a three-game slide, en route to a 10-6 season and first-round playoff ouster. … Jordan Mailata, just activated from Injured Reserve, was in the lineup Thursday night. That gave the Birds pretty much a healthy starting XI on offense for a game in Week 11 against the Commanders. That’s the first time since Week 1. … Hurts on the Eagles after 10 games: “A big picture. Taking it one day at a time.”