Takeaways From Washington Commanders’ Loss Against Eagles (9-13-26)
By: Jaden Golding
Headline Photo Credit: AP
LINCOLN FINANCIAL FIELD — The Washington Commanders almost stole a victory away from the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon, falling short just by a two-point conversion attempt at the two-yard line to fall, 24-22.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels and the offense struggled for most of the game, unable to produce long, sustained drives that put points on the board. Daniels completed 18-of-34 passes for 164 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and zero turnovers.
Washington (0-1) had numerous opportunities they squandered due to errors: a missed field goal, a taunting penalty after scoring a touchdown, and explosive plays given up by the defense.
Let’s look at what Washington fans can take from this NFC East showdown and beyond.
Defense Kept Washington In The Contest
The Commanders’ defense had one of its best showings under head coach Dan Quinn. The front seven generated plenty of pressure on the Philadelphia (1-0) offense and held running back Saquon Barkley to just 83 rushing yards.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts completed 14-of-25 passes for 203 passing yards and three passing touchdowns. Hurts also showcased his ability on the ground for 46 rushing yards.
There were plenty of instances where defensive linemen Javon Kinlaw, Daron Payne, Tim Settle, Odafe Oweh, K’Lavon Chaisson, and Charles Omenihu disrupted the plays at the line of scrimmage, and rookie linebacker Sonny Styles was excellent, blowing up plays in the run game with his athleticism & speed and staying tight in coverage on his assignments.
Defensive coordinator Daronte Jones really displayed an excellent, aggressive, physical style of strategy that his defense will play with moving forward. The Washington defense blitzed at a rating of 50.9%, only second to…. You guessed it, the Minnesota Vikings defense helmed by Jones’s mentor Bryan Flores.
Too Many Back-Breaking Plays Allowed
It began in the second quarter, when Hurts connected with receiver Dontayvion Wicks for a 64-yard gain deep down the right side of the field. On that same drive, after stuffing the Eagles on first and second down, the Eagles had a third-and-goal from the 17-yard line. However, Hurts dropped a ball deep down the middle of the field into the hands of a wide-open Dallas Goddert for a touchdown, giving the Eagles a 7-3 lead in the second quarter. Both chunk plays stemmed from miscommunication in the secondary that left those receivers open.
Wicks found the end zone later in the second, isolated with cornerback Mike Sainristil, who had inside help from Chaisson, giving Wicks the whole outside to work with. Sainristil appeared to freeze up at the top of the route and allowed too much leverage.
In the fourth quarter, Washington, trailing 17-16, faced a 3rd-and-18 at the Washington 47-yard line, looking to force a punt. Hurts scrambled for a 22-yard gain after Washington spread the defense wide, opening up the middle lane for the run.
All those plays led to touchdowns for Philadelphia, and you can’t have that if you’re trying to win tight games.
The Two-Point Attempt
Yes, Stefon Diggs’ costly penalty earlier in the fourth quarter cost Washington the opportunity to attempt a two-point conversion to tie the game at 17-17. But on that attempt to end the game, Washington tried a play where Daniels flipped the ball to tight end John Bates, wrapping back across the line of scrimmage to follow blockers up the middle. However, center Nick Allegretti couldn’t hold up his block on Moro Ojomo, who spun to the left side and stuffed Bates. It’s a play they’ve run through training camp and have run successfully, but as Daniels and Quinn said in the postgame presser, they didn’t execute it properly.
