It had the makings of an ideal long weekend for an Eagles-Notre Dame fan, but it didn’t work out.

The Fighting Irish had a valiant late-game effort in their 34-23 loss to Ohio State, but they had a season to remember with their 13-game winning streak. Head coach Marcus Freeman has done a great job in getting them back into the national championship hunt.

As for the Eagles, we’ll get the first in a likely series of postseason matchups between Saquon Barkley and Washington’s rookie quarterback sensation Jayden Daniels.

In this week’s version of my “Inside the Huddle” column, I’ll take a look at the Eagles-Commanders (I still think Redskins) matchup.

Also, the Patrick Mahomes-Josh Allen showdown should be another in a series of future showdowns.

Lead Commander ... Daniels will have a chance to accumulate more playoff wins than any other rookie quarterback, surpassing Dieter Brock (1985), Joe Flacco (2008), Mark Sanchez (2009) and Brock Purdy (2022), who each recorded two victories.

Daniels can also become the first rookie quarterback to win a conference championship with the lowest ranked defense (18th).

Getting Defensive ... With the emphasis on Barkley and Daniels this weekend, both teams’ defenses have followed a similar path.

Heading into Sunday, the Eagles have a league-high 48 sacks and 16 interceptions. The Commanders have 46 sacks and 11 interceptions.

Overall, the Eagles’ defense is ranked first, and the Commanders is 18th.

The Birds had five sacks and 10 pressures against the Rams’ Matthew Stafford Sunday, and were successful in their blitz-heavy attack. They blitzed 22 percent of Stafford’s dropbacks that generated two sacks and five pressures.

However, the Eagles’ blitzing schemes will have a challenge with Daniels Sunday. Against Detroit — according to Next Generation stats — Daniels was 12-of-16 for 191 yards with a touchdown facing 20 blitzes, 10-of-16 for 172 yards and a touchdown with less than 2.5 seconds to throw, and 7-of-9 for 109 yards while under pressure.

He Ain’t Hurts-In ... One major concern from the Eagles’ win was quarterback Jalen Hurts’ seven sacks, and his apparent left knee injury.

Against the Rams, Hurts completed 15 of 20 passes for 128 yards, and ran for 70 yards on seven carries. With the sacks, Hurts’ passing yardage was reduced to 65 yards.

However, Hurts completed 9-of-12 passes for 66 yards, and scored on a 44-yard run in the first half before his injury.

Hurts didn’t play in the last game between the two, but completed 18-of-28 for 221 yards and ran for 39 yards with a touchdown in the Birds’ 26-18 victory at the Linc Nov. 14.

Considering the magnitude of this game, it’s hard to believe Hurts would sit it out unless he’s unable to run.

He Was Right ... Former Giants’ GM Dave Gettleman was highly criticized for his drafting of Barkley as the second overall pick in the 2018 draft.

Gettleman was quoted as saying Barkley “would wear a gold jacket one day,” implying that he will be elected to the Hall of Fame.

As it looks now, Gettleman was right.

The problem with Barkley in New York was his offensive line. Barkley didn’t have the consistent holes created by the current Eagles’ line, and that often led to his injuries.

Barkley had a 68-yard touchdown run in his first NFL game, and took the league by storm with his 1,302 yards. Respected veterans Nate Solder and Jamon Brown were brought in to anchor the line, and rookie Will Hernandez had some early high marks.

The following year, Barkley cracked the threshold again with 1,003 yards. Yet, it wasn’t until 2022 when he would pass the threshold again with a career-high 1,312 yards, with prize young tackles Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal on the playoff team.

The Giants’ refusal to negotiate with Barkley on a new deal may have seen them walk away from a future Hall of Famer.

Escape From New York ... The Eagles’ offensive line has received plenty of praise, and all of it is certainly justified.

But no one should forget the current development of former Jets’ 2020 top pick Mekhi Becton.

The Jets parted ways with him last spring after he was besieged with injuries and inconsistent play in his 31 games.

Philly took a flyer on him in the spring as a backup tackle, but line coach Jeff Stoutland wanted to try him at right guard. He quickly took the role when starter Tyler Steen went down with an injury, and Becton never left.

This season, Becton is fully utilizing his 6-7, 364-pound frame, and has his share of pancaking people.

It’s yet another sign of possibly being the Eagles’ year.

Could the Eagles have drafted Barkley? ... In 2018, the Eagles decided to draft down and stayed out of the first round.

They dealt the No. 32 overall pick to the Baltimore Ravens along with a fourth-round pick (No. 132). In exchange, the Eagles received the Ravens’ second-round pick (No. 52 overall) and a fourth-round pick this year (No. 125), along with a second-round pick in the 2019 draft.

Who was the 32nd pick that went to Baltimore?

That would be Lamar Jackson.

Rashaan Penny was the other running back drafted in the first round, and he ironically had a cup of coffee with the Eagles last season after a mediocre career with the Seahawks.

In that draft, the Eagles found a number of current players — tight end Dallas Goedart, cornerback Avonte Maddox, tackle Jordan Mailata and defensive lineman Josh Sweat.

Rockin’ It Steady ... With Daniels at the helm, Washington likely has its franchise quarterbacks for at least the next decade and perhaps beyond.

In their history, the Commanders have had 70 quarterbacks start at least one game. Since 2000, only Jason Campbell (2008-09) and Kirk Cousins (2015-17) have started entire consecutive seasons.

In the 1960s, Ralph Gugliemi, ex-Eagle Norm Snead, and Sonny Jurgensen dominated the scene. The following decade, Jurgensen, Billy Kilmer and Joe Theisman made the headlines. The 80s featured Theismann, Jay Schroeder, Doug Williams and Mark Rypien.

From there, some of the others who made the scene were Rich Gannon, Heath Schuler, Gus Frerotte, Jeff Hostetler, Patrick Ramsey, Danny Wuerffel, Tim Hassleback, Alex Smith, Mark Sanchez, Case Keenum, Robert Griffin III, Colt McCoy, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Dwayne Haskins, Jeff George, Trent Green and ex-Eagles Donovan McNabb and Carson Wentz.

Theismann was named league MVP in 1983, Griffin III received the offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012, and Smith gained NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2020.

Slip Sliding Away ... Baltimore right end Mark Andrew’s dropped pass on a game-tying, two-point conversion will be remembered for quite some time.

Here are some of the momentous dropped passes over the years in the NFL postseason:

The most high-profile drop occurred 45 years ago in 1979 in the Super Bowl XIII matchup between Dallas and Pittsburgh when Cowboys’ legendary tight end Jackie Smith dropped a touchdown pass from Roger Staubach that hit him in the numbers. The catch would have tied the game.

On the local front, former Eagle wide receiver Riley Cooper had a critical drop when he was wide open during a 2014 playoff game against the Saints that resulted in a 26-24 loss in a game in which the Birds committed a number of miscues.

In Super Bowl XXIII, Bengals cornerback Lewis Billups dropped an apparent interception that was in his hands, and it was costly. The Niners tied the game at 13-13 on the next play, and went on to a 20-16 victory.

A Different Nest ... Former Eagle — 34-year-old Commanders tight end Zach Ertz — has been an effective weapon all season. Ertz has 13 catches for 107 yards and one touchdown in three games versus the Eagles in his career.

Overall, Ertz has 73 catches for 705 yards with eight touchdowns this season.

Final Thoughts ... This should be a fascinating matchup between Barkley and Daniels. All signs are pointing to the Eagles, and they will need another big game from Barkley.

Looks like an Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl rematch ahead. But an Eagles-Bills showdown would be very interesting, too. Mahomes threw two interceptions in the Chiefs’ regular-season loss to the Bills.

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