Highlights and lowlights from Philadelphia’s Week 16 loss.
After twice having too many players on the field on defense, this is what happens. After missing myriad tackles and losing pocket containment on a crucial fourth down, this is what happens. After twice losing 14-point leads, after twice losing receivers that leads to touchdowns, this is what happens. After giving up 22 fourth-quarter points, this is what happens: The Eagles tumble from their lofty perch as the NFL’s best team and make Washington Commanders’ (and 76ers’) owner Josh Harris a clapping maniac, the result of an Eagles’ heartbreaking 36-33 loss to Washington on Sunday at Northwest Stadium.
The loss snapped the Eagles’ franchise-record 10-game winning streak and leaves them with a 12-3 mark. They should still be assured to clinch the NFC East title in the closing weeks at home against Dallas and the horrid New York Giants, two teams with a combined 8-21 record.
The loss, though, made the postseason more arduous. The Detroit Lions are once again the NFC’s No. 1 seed, a game up on the Eagles at 13-2 with sputtering San Francisco and the overlooked Minnesota Vikings left. Even if the Lions go 1-1 in their remaining two games and the Eagles win out, as they should, Detroit still has a two-game lead in the tiebreaker against NFC opponents (9-1/7-3).
On Sunday, the Eagles played the last three quarters without Jalen Hurts, who left the game with 9:29 left in the first quarter due to a concussion when Washington linebackers Frankie Luvu and Bobby Wagner converged on him after a 13-yard scramble.
Kenny Pickett did a credible job in relief, completing 14 of 24 for 143 yards and a touchdown. His first-quarter interception led to Washington’s first touchdown, but he drove the Eagles down the field for two fourth-quarter Jake Elliott field goals and a 33-28 lead with 1:58 to play.
It was not Pickett’s fault the Eagles had too many players on the field twice on defense, once in which the confusion led to a 49-yard Olamide Zaccheaus touchdown and a 28-27 Washington lead with 9:06 to play. It was not Pickett’s fault Zack Baun and Reed Blankenship lost Jamison Crowder in the back of the end zone for the game-winning score with six ticks left. It was not Pickett’s fault starting safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was ejected from the game with 11:18 left in the third quarter after his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
So how did the Eagles get flagged for too many men on the field on defense—twice—to a 12-2 team in December during a crucial NFC East game? Is it asking too much from the Eagles’ coaching staff to have the proper personnel on the field—in December, 14 games into the season?
The Eagles’ defense, the NFL’s No.1-rated defense, allowed Commanders’ rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels to toss five touchdown passes, four combined to Zaccheaus and Crowder, who each had not caught a TD pass this season.
The last time any Washington quarterback tossed five TDs in a game was Mark Rypien against the Atlanta Falcons on November 10, 1991—about a decade before Daniels was born, and when Washington last won the Super Bowl.
Daniels completed 24 of 39 passes for 258 yards, five touchdowns and threw two interceptions. Washington was down 14-0, 21-7, turned the ball over five times, losing three fumbles, and were minus-three in the turnover battle—and still won. Entering the game, the Commanders had turned the ball over nine times all season.
The Commanders’ 22 fourth-quarter points were more than what the Eagles have given up in nine of their previous 10 games. The 36 points is a season high against the Eagles’ defense, which gave up 368 total yards of offense and allowed the Commanders to convert two of three fourth downs—one on Daniels’ 29-yard scramble a fourth-and-11, which was the play of the game.
Saquon Barkley finished with 150 yards rushing on 29 carries, with two touchdowns, but had only 41 yards on 22 carries after the first quarter. Barkley now has an NFL-leading 1,838 yards rushing, which puts him 268 yards away over the next two games (which is possible) to break Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards in 1984.
There was some good, some bad, and piles of disturbing ugly, in the Eagles’ wrenching 36-33 loss to the Washington Commanders.
The Good
Jake Elliott’s two fourth-quarter field goals, including his first make from 50 yards or more, putting the Eagles ahead, 33-28, with 1:58 play. Elliott had missed his first six tries from 50 yards and beyond this season, after he went 7 of 8 from 50-plus last year. Elliott had previously missed a 56-yarder at the end of the first half. An unreliable Elliott beyond 50 yards in the postseason looms as a large problem.
Safety Reed Blankenship’s interception with 2:53 to play, setting up Elliott’s second fourth-quarter field goal and some cushion for a 33-28 lead. Darius Slay made the play, first deflecting the pass intended for Luke McCaffrey.
Kenny Pickett starting well after Hurts left the game with a concussion, going 3-for-3 for 20 yards. He hit A.J. Brown for 11 yards on his first play on a third-and-7 at the Washington 21. Pickett hit Brown for a four-yard TD pass to go up 14-0. With Pickett in, however, Dan Quinn and the Washington brain trust opted to change direction and instead of a man defense, they moved to more of a zone look. On fourth-and-seven at midfield, Pickett still came through by connecting with Brown for 15 yards with just under six minutes to play. Pickett is not Jalen Hurts. But he did place the Eagles in a position to win the game.
Saquon Barkley rushing for 109 yards on 7 carries, which included two touchdowns, one a 68-yarder, in the first quarter. Barkley carried for 37 of the 49 yards when the Eagles scored a touchdown for the first time on their opening drive this season. Barkley began the drive running for 19 yards on the Eagles’ second play of the game, going left behind left guard Landon Dickerson and left tackle Jordan Mailata. It was a great designed play, with Mailata throwing aside Commanders’ linebacker Frankie Luvu, and Dickerson sealing off tackle Jer’Zhan Newton inside. On Barkley’s first touchdown, Dickerson takes out Luvu, who filled inside, and Mailata shoved Newton inside for an open lane. On the 68-yard touchdown, Barkley, if you notice, also ran left behind Mailata and Dickerson. By halftime, Barkley had 122 yards on 13 carries, averaging 9.3 yards a carry.
On the Barkley 68-yard touchdown, right guard Mekhi Becton pulling left, taking out Washington’s Jordan Magee, backup tight end C.J. Uzomah pulled left to make a key block downfield on Marshon Lattimore. Great work. Barkley went untouched.
Linebacker Zack Baun’s fifth forced fumble of the season (only T.J. Watt has more), jolting the ball free from Dyami Brown at the Eagles’ 42 with 11:18 left in the third quarter. Nolan Smith was there to make his second fumble recovery of the game.
Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s interception on Daniels’ overthrown pass down the middle with 1:44 left in the first half. McCaffrey was open down the middle. Daniels sailed it. The Eagles, however, blew it with a missed 56-yard field goal.
Jalen Carter stripping Brian Robinson Jr. and Smith coming up with the fumble at the Philadelphia 43 on the first play of the Commanders’ second drive. It set up Pickett’s four-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown and a 14-0 Eagles’ lead.
Edge rusher Josh Sweat taking down Robinson for no gain on fourth-and-one on the Commanders’ first possession at the Washington 49. It marked only the third time in 17 fourth-down attempts this season that Washington was stopped. On the play, Sweat came from the backside, and why Commanders’ tight end John Bates went up field to block at the second level and completely let Sweat run by is anyone’s guess. Why Commanders’ coach Dan Quinn did not have quarterback Jayden Daniels under center is anyone’s guess. Not a great start for the Commanders, who looked sunk early, though looked brilliant late when it counts.
Cornerback Darius Slay batting the pass intended for slot receiver Jamison Crowder on the second play of the game on a second-and-10 at the Washington 40. It was a portent of good things to come in the first quarter—that is where it ended. Later in the first quarter, Slay made a tackle for a two-yard loss and defended a pass on the Commanders’ third drive. With 6:03 left in the first quarter, the Eagles held Washington to eight plays for seven yards. Slay later deflected a pass that led to Blankenship’s fourth-quarter interception.
We are going to go a little off script and put Dom “Big Dom” DiSandro here. With 11:18 left in the third quarter, Gardner-Johnson was ejected from the game for his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. As DiSandro was leading the boisterous Gardner-Johnson off the field, the volatile safety kept yelling back at the officials, “What did I do though?” DiSandro’s expression toward Gardner-Johnson was priceless, as if to say, “Are you (bleeping) kidding me!” Gardner-Johnson defended himself on Twitter after the game, saying “got kicked out for nothing. I play with passion and fire! Guys were chirping all day what you expect!!” Gardner-Johnson further exacerbated the situation by giving Washington fans the double bird as he walked off the field. Expect fines to come. The Eagles were ahead, 24-14, when Gardner-Johnson was ejected.
The Bad
The Eagles’ first drive of the second half. It was good the Eagles reached the Washington four. It was bad the Eagles failed to score a touchdown, and had to settle for a field goal and allowed an inferior team playing at home to hang around. Why run the wildcat there? It was a big red zone start to begin the second half. It was the kind of failure that came back and bit the Eagles.
With 4:30 left in the first quarter, the Eagles getting flagged for too many men on the field on defense after the Commanders’ Frankie Luvu interception. The first-and-10 play at the Eagles’ 25 turned into a first-and-five. How does that happen this late into the season?
With 9:29 left in the first quarter, Hurts getting dinged on a second-and-20 at the Washington 34 on the Eagles’ second drive of the game. Hurts scrambled free out of the pocket for 13 yards when Washington linebackers Frankie Luvu and Bobby Wagner converged on him at once. Luvu buried his right shoulder into Hurts, who was helped up by Jordan Mailata and you could clearly see in Hurts’ eyes that he did not know where he was. The officials alertly saw it and escorted him off the field. Hurts was wobbled by the hit.
Hurts’ intentional grounding call on first-and-10 at the Washington 24 on the Eagles’ second drive after the Nolan Smith fumble recovery. Hurts should have been smarter with the ball.
Luke McCaffrey’s 47-yard return on the ensuing kickoff after Barkley’s first touchdown. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was there to bring him down. It was the only mistake the Eagles made in what was otherwise their best first quarter this season—that led to nothing.
The Ugly
Baun and Blankenship had great games—except for Washington’s last play. For whatever reason, Baun did not get enough depth in the end zone, and Crowder simply ran by Blankenship crossing the field to the back of the end zone. It resulted in the game-winning score with six seconds left to play. It was a game of blown coverages for the Eagles.
The Eagles with 12 men on the field when former Eagle and St. Joe’s Prep star Olamide Zaccheaus scored a 49-yard touchdown on an absolute Eagles’ collapse with 9:06 to play, giving Washington a 28-27 lead. It was the second time the Eagles had personnel issues on defense. The first one (above) was bad. This was ugly. It led to Washington’s go-ahead score in a game that the Eagles were in control. No one was around Zaccheaus when he caught the ball. A replay shows mass confusion beyond the line of scrimmage, with players scrambling to where they think they should be on the field. Slay did not know whether he was on or off. So, ask yourself again: How does that happen to a 12-2 team in December?
With 1:58 to play, Sidney Brown getting flagged on the ensuing kickoff after the Eagles pushed their lead to 33-28. Not smart, which is surprising, because rookie defensive back is a cerebral player. The penalty, the Eagles’ 10th penalty for 91 yards, added to Luke McCaffrey’s 29-yard kickoff return to the Washington 43.
A rare drop by DeVonta Smith on a third-and-five at the Washington 22 with 2:07 to play. Who knows if Smith would have scored, but a reception there would have taken more valuable time off the clock and pressed Washington to use more timeouts, instead of the Elliott field goal and giving the Commanders back the ball with 1:58 left.
Daniels’ 29-yard scramble to the Eagles’ 12 on a fourth-and-11, his second fourth-down conversion, on the last play of the third quarter. Three plays later, Zaccheaus scored his first Commanders’ touchdown on a four-yard toss. It pulled Washington, which had turned the ball over five times and had trailed 14-0 and 21-7, to within one score, 27-21, with 13:33 left. The Eagles were without their starting quarterback, Hurts, who left the game due to injury in the first quarter, starting safety, Gardner-Johnson, who was ejected from the game in the third quarter after his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and Sweat, who was out most of the second half with an ankle injury.
Gardner-Johnson called for his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of the game with 11:18 left in the third quarter after Baun forced a fumble. It is still a mystery as to what exactly happened. As Gardner-Johnson was being directed off the field by Dom “Big Dom” DiSandro, he yelled back at the officials, “What did I do though?” The Eagles were leading 24-14 when Gardner-Johnson was ejected.
Rookie corner Quinyon Mitchell, who has been so good all season, getting burned by Terry McLaurin on a third-and-eight for a 32-yard touchdown with 6:46 left in the half. The Commanders went from trailing 14-0 and 21-7 to hanging on at 21-14 at halftime.
Slay, who had played so well in the first quarter, getting beat long by Dyami Brown for a 51-yard reception on a first-and-10 at the Commanders’ four with 10:23 left in the half. It changed the dynamic of the game and led to the Commanders getting within 21-14 at halftime.
Defensive tackle Milton Williams flagged for roughing the passer on a first-and-10 at the Eagles’ 12. The half-the-distance penalty brought the ball to the Eagles’ six, and three plays later, Washington had new life as Gardner-Johnson lost Crowder in the back of the end zone for the Commanders’ first score.
Pickett’s interception by Luvu on a second-and-seven at the Eagles’ 25. Luvu baited Pickett, looking like he was going to blitz, then fell back into coverage and was there at the Eagles’ 25.