Washington prevailed in this late-season, mistake-filled game

For the first time in a while, the Commanders entered a game as the underdog — in this case, the Eagles were favored by 3.5 points as visitors to Northwest Stadium in Landover.

Philadelphia was riding a 10-game winning streak, the longest in the NFL at the time and the longest in Eagles’ franchise history. No other team in the league except the Vikings (7) had more than 5 straight victories at this point in the season.

Washington, meanwhile, had bounced back from a 3-game midseason slump with a huge 42-19 victory over the Titans in Week 13, but following a Week 14 bye, barely survived to win 20-19 against a Saints team that started the 2nd-year backup QB and benched him at halftime in favor of a 5th round rookie.

Against the Saints, the Commanders offense was trying to adjust for the loss of RB Austin Ekeler (concussion) and WR Noah Brown (internal injury), the two leading receivers behind Terry McLaurin. In this game against the Eagles, newly-acquired WR KJ Osborn was inactive, meaning that Kliff Kingsbury would need to find solutions in the passing game from the same players who were available against the Saints.

Arguably, the bigger loss on offense the prior week in New Orleans had been center Tyler Biadasz, who was determined to be too sick to play just 90 minutes before kickoff. “Bad Ass” was healthy for this game against Philly, and his presence made a huge difference to an offensive line that had surrendered 8 sacks the prior week, but which had averaged just 2 sacks across the prior 11 games with Biadasz in the lineup.

While Washington had been playing extremely well early in games, the Commanders defense was one of the worst in the league in terms of giving up 4th quarter points to opposing offenses. The Eagles had the best 4th-quarter point differential in the NFL.

Both teams were fighting for playoff positioning. The Commanders were currently in the NFC’s 7th seed position and fending off several teams that were trying to unseat them, while, at the same time, the Commanders themselves were hoping to unseat the Packers, who were one game ahead of them in overall record, but who would lose the tie-breaker to Washington if the two teams finished with identical records.

Philly was one of three teams with a 12-2 record, but were, at the time, seeded 2nd in the NFC because the Lions had a better conference record. The Eagles hoped to keep winning in order to earn the top-seed and a bye week in the playoffs. As we know, thi loss to Washington was instrumental in keeping Philly out of the top seed.

Washington had played the Eagles in Philadelphia in Week 10, losing 26-18 in a game in which the Commanders had held the lead at the start of the 4th quarter. Saquon Barkley, the Eagles bell-cow running back, played a key role in that game, scoring two touchdowns in the final 5 minutes of the game to secure the win for the Eagles.

The Commanders would need to find a solution to stopping Barkley. The Commanders’ defensive front ranked 24th in run stop win rate (29.1%), while the Eagles’ offensive line ranked ninth in run block win rate (72.9%). Washington was also giving up the sixth-most rushing yards per game to running backs and was giving up 5.0 yards per carry.

When reviewing injuries, WR AJ Brown could be a concern for the Eagles — he had been limited on Thursday and Friday with a “knee/rest” designation. Brown seemed to be less than 100%, but would play.

Defensively, the Commanders had seen a major change since the Week 10 meeting between these two teams — the addition of CB Deshon Lattimore. His presence on the field (which put Benjamin St-Juste on the bench most of the time) was expected to limit the damage inflicted by Philly receivers, especially AJ Brown, who had gashed the Washington defense repeatedly since joining the NFC East in 2022. We all know now that this didn’t happen — Brown finished the game with 8 catches for 97 yards and a touchdown.

The hope was that if the Commanders would get off to the fast start that had been typical of their play in the ‘24 season but avoid the late-game struggles that had plagued them on their way to the current 9-5 record, this NFC East battle could be one that will excite Commanders fans. The game certainly excited everybody, but not because it followed this script. The game was a mistake-filled affair that featured at least one key injury that led Eagles fans to proclaim this a fraudulent victory. Commanders fans, on the other hand, mostly celebrate it as one of many season high points.

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First Quarter

A bad start for the Commanders offense
Philadelphia kicked off to the Commanders, who started the first drive of the game at the 40-yard line when the kickoff fell short of the landing zone. Great field position to open the game.

Jayden Daniels had an inauspicious start by sailing his 1st down pass over the head of a wide-open Olamide Zaccheasus on a short pass. Following a second incompletion, the Commanders faced 3rd & 10 early in the game. A checkdown to Brian Robinson earned 9 yards, and with the ball near midfield, Kliff Kingsbury called Robinson’s number again on 4th & 1, but the RB was stuffed behind the line of scrimmage. Instead of making a statement, Washington turned the ball over on downs inside their own territory.

Eagles take command early with the game’s first touchdown
Saquon Barkley exploded for 19 yards on 2nd & 10 for the kind of rush that the Commanders can’t afford to give up often today.

After an incompletion and a short run, the Eagles faced 3rd & 9 at the Washington 29-yard line. On 3rd down, the Commanders blitzed, and, though they didn’t sack Hurts for a big loss, he was tackled behind the line to gain, but a penalty for defensive holding gave Philly another first down at the Washington 18 yard line.

Barkley hit another big run to earn 1st & goal at the 5-yard line, and then, on 3rd & goal from the 2-yard line, Barkley walked into the end zone to open the scoring.

Following the PAT, the Eagles led 7-0. The scoring drive covered 49 yards in 8 plays in 2:55. Washington was in a hole early.

Commanders turnover #1
Following the Eagles kickoff, the Commanders offense started its second drive of the game at the Eagles’ 43-yard line after a 47-yard return by Luke McCaffrey!

The Commanders have fantastic field position

BUT

it’s squandered on the first play of the drive when Brian Robinson fumbles the ball — forced by Jalen Carter — and it’s recovered by the Eagles. Disastrous!

After having outstanding starting field position on two drives, the Commanders have run 5 offensive plays, earned 9 yards, and scored 0 points.

It looks like an early blowout as Eagles take 14-0 lead
Hurts converts a first down with an 11-yard pass to Davonta Smith, and on the next play scrambles up the middle for 22 yards. Just that fast, the Eagles have 1st down at the Commanders’ 24-yard line.

An intentional grounding call on the next play pushed the ball back to the 34-yard line, 2nd & 20, but Hurts made 13 of it back on a QB draw (or scramble up the middle).

With 3rd down coming up, Hurts was removed from the game under the concussion protocol and Kenny Pickett came on the field and threw a strike to AJ Brown for 10 yards and another 1st down at Washington’s 11-yard line. This game has been all Eagles so far.

Hurts would not return to the game.

Two plays later, it was 3rd & 3 at the 4-yard line; Pickett hit Brown for a 4 yard touchdown on a quick slant on the right side of the field against press coverage by Marshon Lattimore, who had no chance on the pass. After the PAT, the score was 14-0. The scoring drive covered 57 yards in 8 plays in 3:53.

So far, the Commanders haven’t appeared to be in the game in any way aside from McCaffrey’s long kickoff return. This has been Eagles all the way.

Washington absolutely needs to put together a touchdown scoring drive here to prevent a rout before the 1st quarter is finished.

Commanders go 3 & out
Kingsbury decided to open up with a screen pass to Dyami Brown, who was dumped for a 2-yard loss. This is ugly. Darius Slay, who made the tackle on Brown, followed it up with a PBU on 2nd down.

A Jayden Daniels scramble on 3rd down got just one yard, and Tress Way came on to punt for the first time today.

Following a 49-yard punt and 7-yard return, a personal foul called against the Eagles moved the ball to the Philadelphia 15-yard line.

Commanders defense gets a takeaway
Kenny Pickett stayed in the game and would end up playing all the way to the end.

On 2nd & 7, Frankie Luvu grabbed an interception!!

It’s Washington’s ball at the Eagles’ 25-yard line.

Commanders touchdown cuts the Eagles lead to 7 points
A roughing the passer call gave the ball to Washington 1st & goal at the 6-yard line. Robinson was held to no gain on 1st down and Daniels missed Zaccheaus in the flat on 2nd down.

On third down, Jayden found Jamison Crowder all alone in the middle of the end zone for the Commanders’ first score of the game. The earlier big play by Frankie Luvu changed the game.

After the PAT, the score was 14-7; Washington’s scoring drive covered 25 yards in 4 plays in 1:18. It’s a game again!

Barkley goes 68 yards to score the Eagles’ 3rd touchdown of the first half
On 2nd & 9 from the Philly 32-yard line, Saquon Barkley took a simple handoff and broke left, running 68 yards untouched for another Eagles touchdown. The score, after the extra point, is 21-7. The scoring drive lasted 2 plays and covered 69 yards.

Commanders turnover #2
The quarter came to an end with a pre-snap penalty against the Commanders that pushed them back to their own 41-yard line, facing 2nd & 14.

Second Quarter

During the break, CJ Gardner-Johnson was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The dead ball 15-yard penalty gave Washington a 1st down at the Eagles 44-yard line.

After a short run and an incomplete pass, it was 3rd & 8 at the 42-yard line. On the 3rd down play, Kingsbury called Jayden Daniels’ number for a called QB run right up the middle for 14 yards and a first down a the 28-yard line.

On 1st down, it looked like a sack on Daniels, but Jalen Carter was called for an unnecessary roughness foul (a terrible call on replay) that gave Washington another first down at the Philly 28 yard line.

For the 2nd time today, Brian Robinson fumbled the ball away on a first-down run!!

At this point, Jalen Hurts was officially ruled out.

Philly punts for the first time in the game
Picket underthrew AJ Brown against Marshon Lattimore, but Brown came up with the catch for a 45-yard gain. This looks bad.

After a penalty and a couple of short runs, it was 3rd & 8 at the Washington 43-yard line. On the money down, Kenny Pickett scrambled right and tossed the ball out of bounds to bring on the Philly punter for the first time today.

With 10:29 left in the half, the punt bounced out of bounds at the Washington 4-yard line.

The defense did its job; now the offense — again — needs to score a touchdown to stay in the game. They’ll need to go 96 yards to do it.

Commanders punch back with a long touchdown drive
Jayden gets them more than halfway there on one play! He hits Dyami Brown in stride for a 50-yard gain to the Philly 46 yard line!!

We finally see Chris Rodriguez on 2nd & 6; he runs for 5 yards, but then loses 2 yards on 3rd down. Facing 4th & 3 at the 39-yard line, Jayden uses his legs on a scramble for 5 yards to keep the drive alive. He’s really good at that!

On 3rd & 8 from the 32-yard line, Daniels throws a rainbow to the goal line that Terry McLaurin catches in the breadbasket right over his head for a huge touchdown! Two huge passes to Brown and McLaurin and the 4th down conversion by JD5 were the key plays on an 8-play, 96 yard drive that took 3:43.

With 06:46 left in the half, the score is 21-14. We still have a game!

Eagles forced to punt again
On 3rd down, PIckett found AJ Brown for a completion, but Lattimore tackled hm short of the line to gain.

Without Jalen Hurts, there’s no tush-push; the Eagles punt and Jayden Daniels brings his offense onto the field with 1st & 10 at the Washington 24-yard line and 04:51 on the clock.

With a TD drive here, Washington has the possibility of going to halftime tied in a game that had been dominated early by the Eagles.

Commanders and Eagles trade punts
Washington: Robinson is back in the game; he gained a yard on 2nd down to bring up 3rd & 5 at the 29-yard line. Jeremy McNichols caught a checkdown on third down, but gained only 1 yard. Tress Way came on to punt.

Philly: After a PBU by Lattimore and a short run, Philly had 3rd & 7 at their own 30-yard line. On the money down, The Commanders defense held Saquon Barkley short of the line to gain to bring up 4th & 2 as the game reached the 2-minute warning.

Following the time out, Nick Sirianni sent out his punt team. Following a 6-yard return by Jamison Crowder on a bobbled catch, the Commanders came on the field with a 1st down at their own 33-yard line with 1:52 on the clock.

Commanders turnover #3
Incredibly, Jayden Daniels over-shot Luke McCaffrey in the middle of the field — about 2 yards over his head — and Gardner-Johnson pulled in an easy interception at the WAS 49-yard line. This was a horrible play!

Washington blew a great opportunity to even the score before halftime with this atrocious throw.

Eagles miss a field goal before halftime
Two plays later, on 3rd & 1, Frankie Luvu tackled Saquon Barkley for a 3-yard loss to bring up 4th & 4 at the 43-yard line.

With 11 seconds on the clock, the Eagles kept their offense on the field, and Pickett hit Davonta Smith for a 1st down at the 38-yard line. Nick Sirianni sent his kicker out for a 56-yard field goal attempt. Jake Elliott dropped it short, and the halftime score was 21-14.

The Eagles would get the ball to start the second half.

Halftime Stats

Statistics via ESPN

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Third Quarter

Three turnovers have been the real difference in this game so far. The Eagles last 4 drives ended: punt, punt, punt, missed field goal. Washington’s defense picked up their game in the 2nd quarter. If the offense stops giving the ball away, this game is still winnable.

Eagles open the second half with a field goal
Lattimore was called for pass interference on 2nd down, moving the ball 38 yards the wrong direction. The replay showed that it was a cunning play by Brown to draw the DPI call.

Two plays later, there was another DPI flag against Lattimore; this one was a travesty and put the ball at the 11-yard line.

Two short runs by Barkley led to 3rd & 3 at the 4-yard line. On this huge play, the Eagles went wildcat to Barkley, who showed pass, but was tackled for a 2-yard loss by Johnny Newton.

Elliott came on to kick the field goal to make the score 24-14. The 6-play drive covered 69 yards with the two questionable DPI calls being the key plays.

Commanders turnover #4
Dyami Brown put both hands on a screen pass to the right and then the ball was on the ground following a hit by Zack Baun. It was ruled a fumble recovered by the Eagles, which looked like a good call to me. This is the 3rd Commanders lost fumble and fourth turnover of the game.

Turnovers are killing the Commanders offense.

Eagles add another 3 points
Gardner-Johnson was called for a 2nd personal foul and was ejected from the game. Philly fans spent months afterwards complaining that they would have won the game if only the officials hadn’t unfairly ejected the hot-tempered DB at this juncture of the game.

With 11:24 in the quarter, Philly has the ball 1st & 10 at their 42-yard line with a chance to expand the lead to 3 scores.

On first down, Clelin Ferrell stripped the ball out of Pickett’s hand from behind, causing a sack-fumble, but an Eagles player, Lane Johnson, landed on the ball to retain possession. Washington’s defense is playing well.

On 3rd & 16 from the 36, Barkley gained just a yard, but the drive is extended by a facemask penalty against Daron Payne. Another huge penalty to negate a great defensive stand.

The defense kept coming, though. Barkley was buried on 1st down.

Two plays later, it was 3rd & 9 at the Washington 26-yard line. A stop here could force a field goal and keep the Commanders in the game. On the 3rd down play, Lattimore drew his 3rd defensive pass interference flag of the half, giving the Eagles a fresh set of downs at the 29-yard line.

Several plays later, the Eagles faced 3rd & 8 at the 11-yard line. On the money down, Philly burned a time out before Dante Fowler broke through for a sack on Kenny Pickett from his LDE position.

Elliott hit his second field goal of the half from 40 yards to make it 27-14 with 03:31 remaining in the 3rd quarter.

Commanders score a touchdown to cut the Eagles lead to 6 points
The Washington defense is doing its job. Now it’s time for the offense to step up with a couple of scoring drives.

On 3rd & 4 from the 45-yard line, Jeremy McNichols broke a tackle to earn the first down, and then Daniels hit Zaccheaus for another 10 yards and another 1st down at the PHI 40-yard line.

Two plays later, Washington faced 3rd & 11, and Daniels threw incomplete on a good pass break up by the Eagles secondary on a target for Terry McLaurin in the middle of the field.

On 4th & 11, Jayden Daniels — stop me if you’ve heard this before — scrambled for 30 yards and a huge first down at the Philly 11-yard line as the 3rd quarter came to an end.

Fourth Quarter

On the 2nd play of the quarter, Daniels hit McNichols on a checkdown in the middle of the field; the RB ran the ball to the 4 yard line. On 3rd & 2, Zaccheaus caught a ball for a touchdown as he went to the ground on the right side of the end zone — his first touchdown reception as a Commander.

Following the PAT, the scoreboard showed Philly leading Washington by just 6 points, 27-21. The 11-play scoring drive covered 61 yards.

If the defense can keep up the pressure on Kenny Pickett and his offense, the good guys still have a chance to win this game.

Eagles are forced to punt again
After earning one first down, Barkley got stuffed by Daron Payne for a 4-yard loss. On 2nd & 14, Pickett was hit and dropped the ball.

It looked at first like a fumble recovered by Washington, but replay showed him to be pushing a shovel pass forward, and the ball was ruled incomplete.

On 3rd & 14 from the 38-yard line, the Eagles gained just 6 yards, and, on 4th down, punted to Jamison Crowder, who made the fair catch at the Washington 13-yard line.

Commanders take their first lead of the game with an 87-yard touchdown drive
After pushing the ball near midfield, on 1st down at the Philly 49-yard line, despite the Eagles having 12 men on the field, Daniels threw the ball about 20 yards down the right side of the field to Olamide Zaccheaus, who caught it, broke a couple of tackles, and scored a 49-yard touchdown!!

Following the PAT, Washington had the lead, 28-27. The scoring drive covered 87 yards in 7 plays in just 2:54, with the scoring play to OZ being the key play of the drive. Daniels had now thrown for 220 yards and 4 touchdowns.

With about 9 minutes left in the game, the Eagles started the next drive at their own 34-yard line.

Eagles kick their 3rd field goal of the half
Two Barkley runs earned 9 yards to bring up 3rd & 2. On 3rd down, the Washington defense forced an incomplete pass on a play action pass knocked out of AJ Brown’s hands by Marshon Lattimore.

On 4th & 2, Pickett completed a 4 yard pass to Davonta Smith to keep the drive alive at the Eagles’ 47-yard line. A gutsy call by Nick Sirianni that paid off.

Two plays later, the Eagles faced 3rd & 7 at midfield. On third down, Pickett, under heavy pressure, missed AJ Brown on the left sideline to bring up 4th & 7. The Eagles offense stayed on the field with 06:10 on the clock.

Pickett hit Brown behind the line to gain, but Benjamin St-Juste, who was on the field for Lattimore, over-ran the receiver, allowing him to gain 15 yards and keep the drive alive.

Two plays later, on 2nd & 9, Picket stepped into DT Jaylen Holmes, who sacked him for a 6 yard loss to the 40-yard line. On 3rd & 15, Pickett scrambled and slid down at the 31-yard line. Percy Butler flew over the top of Pickett, and the officials picked up the penalty flag they’d thrown.

Jake Elliott came on to attempt a 50-yard field goal to give his team a 2-point lead with under 4 minutes on the clock. The kick was good, and the scoreboard moved to 30-28 Eagles. The scoring play had covered 34 yards in 12 plays. Unfortunately, Dan Quinn called a time out ahead of the kick for some reason. Both teams have 2 time outs each.

Commanders turnover #5
Luke McCaffrey returned the ball to the 35-yard line. Washington has 03:41 to get a score and possibly win the game; even a field goal will be enough if it comes as time runs out.

Two plays later, the offense faced 3rd & 5 at the 40-yard line.

Daniels scrambled, and, under pressure, made a bad decision to throw in the middle of the field towards Luke McCaffrey. The ball was tipped and intercepted by Reed Blankenship. It was Washington’s 5th turnover of the day (and Daniels’ 2nd INT). With 02:12 on the clock, the game isn’t over, but the defense needs to make a quick stop.

Philly pads the lead with 4th field goal of the half
On 2nd & 13, Lattimore was in the injury tent and Ben St-Juste was on the field. He made a big tackle on AJ Brown to force the 3rd down play.

On 3rd down, the Eagles have a disastrous play from their point of view. With 02:02 on the clock, Pickett hit Davonta Smith in the hands in the middle of the field. The receiver was wide open, but simply dropped the ball. Philly fans have spent the past 6 months saying how “lucky” Washington was on this play.

Jake Elliott came on the field and put the ball just inside the right upright for a 40-yard field goal to expand the lead to 5 points at 33-28. The scoring drive covered 5 yards in 4 plays.

The kickoff came after the 2 minute warning, with 01:58 on the clock.

Commanders offense scores the winning touchdown
A penalty on Philly was added to the run back, and Washington started their final offensive drive of the game at the 43-yard line.

• 1st down – OZ for 5 yards.
• 2nd down – Robinson runs for 5
• 1st down – 11 yard completion to McLaurin on the left sideline. Terry rolled out of bounds to stop the clock.
• 1st down – Jayden Daniels evades the rush and scrambles 12 yards to the 23-yard line.
• 1st down – McLaurin in the middle of the field for 5 yards.
• 2nd down – Daniels scrambles up the middle for 3 yards (called time out)
• 3rd & 1 at the 14-yard line – Robinson runs for 3 yards.
• 1st down – spiked the ball with 10 seconds on the clock.

2nd & goal at the 9-yard line – TOUCHDOWN TO JAMISON CROWDER in the back of the end zone. MIRACLE!! Daniels’ 5th TD pass of the day!

It’s now 34-33 with 00:06 on the clock.

The Commanders line up for the 2-point conversion and McNichols puts the ball in the end zone to make the score 36-33.

Time ran out as the Eagles tried (but failed) to return the kickoff for a touchdown, with the Commanders ending the game with a recovered fumble.

WASHINGTON WINS TO GO 10-5 and end the Eagles’ winning streak

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Commanders | 2024 Week 16 Game Highlights

Full Game Stats

Statistics via ESPN

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