By: Kylan Watson

The Philadelphia Eagles entered the final three weeks of the season with a lot on the line, whenever they win their next game they would clinch the NFC East Division title, the 2^nd seed in the loaded NFC, and get a couple of weeks to get healthy for the playoffs. With all of that in mind, they faced the Washington Commanders in Landover, MD this afternoon. Each team traded blows in this game and despite Philly dominating most of this game, a Jayden Daniels last minute touchdown pass to Jamison Crowder helped Washington seal this game 36-33.

The Eagles found their offensive rhythm early in this game, they had great field position thanks to the defensive unit stopping Washington’s opening drive on fourth down. Philly took advantage of the shortened field and got their first offensive touchdown in the first quarter during the 2024-25 NFL Regular Season. On their next drive Jalen Hurts carved Washington’s defense up like a chef cooking a Christmas dinner. However, Hurts hit his head after being tackled to the ground and did not return because of a concussion.

Once Hurts went down the Eagles offense slowed down in the third quarter and the Commanders loaded the box to stop Saquon Barkley. Without the threat of a run game Philly had to rely on Kenny Pickett’s arm to help them win the game and once he settled down after turning the ball over. He did enough to keep Philly in an advantageous position to win this contest, but they just could not do it and kept missing golden opportunities to close this game out in all phases of the game.

The Eagles Special Teams Unit did not have a good showing in this game, they kept giving up prime field position to the Commanders and that put them in great position to put points on the board. Philly was able to stop Washington multiple times when they had a full field to work with. However, multiple stupid penalties took big defensive plays off the board and gave Washington enough life to win this game.

The Eagles defensive unit got Washington to turn the ball over five times in this contest and usually that is enough to win a game, but the Commanders took advantage of multiple defensive lapses by Philly. For example, on a play in the third quarter the Eagles had too many men on the field and Washington found a wide-open receiver, who was able to score a touchdown that gave the Commanders the lead. Philly’s defensive unit is the best defense in the league but cannot have miscommunications against a quarterback like Daniels.

He made them pay for everyone as he completed five touchdown passes in this game. When he was not finding the holes in their defense with his arm. He was keeping plays alive with his feet. He made Philly’s defenders look like they were standing still as he made them miss on his way to a pivotal first down that put Washington in the red zone. The Eagles failed to put a spy on him to limit his effectiveness with his legs and that was their undoing in this contest.

Despite those defensive mistakes the Eagles offense had a chance to seal this game, and Pickett made a great pass over the middle to DeVonta Smith, and he dropped the ball. That drive ended in a field goal to give the Eagles a three-point lead. Then Daniels goes right down the field and has his third comeback victory this season to end the Eagles win streak and their chance at the number one seed in the NFC.

Philly needs to get healthy and watch the tape of this game to fix the defensive communication and special teams positioning as they prepare to face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon. They cannot afford to make that many mistakes against an opponent again even one without their starting quarterback.

The Eagles need to take advantage of having an explosive running back and use the screen and short passing game again. That was highly effective against the Pittsburgh Steelers and would be just as effective against the Cowboys’ aggressive defensive line. Maintaining balance and taking advantage of the short passing game will put them in great position to beat Dallas next week. With a victory next week, they can clinch the division title and secure at least one home game for the postseason.