The Philadelphia Eagles took an unexpected, highly improbable loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday — but despite the blemish after 10-straight wins — they still appear to be the top team in the NFC with two games left in the regular season before playoffs.
From the first few minutes of the first quarter, it looked like the game was going to be a blowout in favor of Philly after the Eagles put up 14 points in the first seven minutes and Washington couldn’t find an answer on either side of the ball.
Saquon Barkley had over 100 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter alone. But Jalen Hurts suffered a concussion before the start of the second quarter — which allowed Washington to adjust its defensive game plan — forcing backup QB Kenny Pickett to beat the Commanders through the air.
Pickett wasn’t awful, finishing the game with 143 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception, but he couldn’t lead long offensive drives into the end zone and the Eagles settled for field goals far too often.
But even after two early touchdown passes from Jayden Daniels, the Washington Commanders trailed 27-14 at the end of the third quarter and had less than a five percent chance of winning the game according to Next Gen Stats.
Daniels — who threw two costly interceptions in key moments of the game that added to Washington’s five turnovers in the game —came through in the most clutch moments time and time again in the fourth quarter. With a combination of his running ability and precision passing, led Washington on quick scoring drives at the beginning of the final period, and with nine minutes remaining in the game, he connected with Olamide Zaccheaus on a 49-yard TD pass to give the Commanders a 28-27 edge.
But the Washington defense continued to allow the Eagles to drive into Commanders territory — and two Jake Elliott field goals in the final four minutes gave Philadelphia a 33-28 edge with less than two minutes remaining.
But as he’s done all season, the Commanders rookie QB orchestrated a picture-perfect game-winning drive, capping it off with a perfectly-thrown touchdown pass to Jameson Crowder which sealed the victory for Washington.
Daniels finished the day with 258 passing yards, five touchdowns and another 81 rushing yards in a dazzling performance.
On Tuesday night as families throughout the country celebrated Christmas Eve, Eagles star WR AJ Brown took to Instagram with a surprising message aimed at Daniels.
“You lit 5,” Brown posted with a fire emoji under a photo of Daniels posted to his personal Instagram page.
That’s high praise from one of the best receivers in the league who plays for Washington’s biggest rival.
