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Eagles pull away from Commanders in NFC East showdown
The Eagles extended their NFC East lead, scoring 20 fourth-quarter points to beat the second-place Washington Commanders 26-18 on Thursday night at Lincoln Financial Field.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley ran for 146 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns, while quarterback Jalen Hurts put Philadelphia ahead with a touchdown run to start the final quarter.
The Commanders’ defense limited explosive Eagles receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith for most of the game. But Barkley gashed them as a runner and a receiver, while the Commanders could not match his offensive output against one of the NFL’s top defenses.
Washington has already won three more games than it did all of last season and is ahead of schedule in coach Dan Quinn’s first season. But the Commanders also showed that if they want to win the division, they’ll need more firepower to combat the Eagles’ diverse and explosive attack.
The Commanders averaged at least 5.3 yards per play in each of their first nine games. In the past two weeks they’ve averaged 4.1 and 4.2, respectively. That will need to improve for them to progress past being a pleasant surprise this season.
Troubling trend: The offense was held to fewer than 300 yards for the second consecutive game — albeit against two of the NFL’s top defenses in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Both defenses caused problems for Daniels, but the Eagles also pressured him consistently. Washington converted only 3 of 12 third downs after going 5-14 a week ago.
NFL.com
Eagles rookie CB Quinyon Mitchell silences Commanders star Terry McLaurin
Mitchell silenced Commanders star receiver Terry McLaurin. The rookie lined up opposite McLaurin on 20 snaps Thursday. He was targeted zero times on those reps. McLaurin’s only two targets (one catch for 10 yards) came against other DBs.
“I knew that I didn’t really get thrown at,” Mitchell said after the win, via the Philly Inquirer.
McLaurin gave the first-year DB the highest compliment possible.
“He’s a good corner,” McLaurin said. “I think he plays well. He doesn’t really play like a rookie.”
Pro Football Talk
Questionable coaching by Dan Quinn in the fourth quarter doomed the Commanders
Dan Quinn’s odds of winning the coach of the year award got a little longer tonight. Or a lot.
Two major coaching flaws stand out from Thursday night. Both from the fourth quarter.
First, facing fourth and two from the Eagles’ 26 with 8:01 to play and down 12-10, Quinn opted to eschew a potential go-ahead field goal from 44 yards and went for it. It failed.
And so instead of potentially giving the Eagles the ball, down one point with less than eight minutes to play, the Commanders set the stage for a touchdown drive that, with the extra point, made it a two-score game.
Despite that, it was still a two-score game even after an interception followed by a 39-yard touchdown run from Saquon Barkley. At 26-10, the game was not over.
And yet there was no urgency from the Commanders. They started the next drive with 4:38 to play. Way too many seconds ticked away as they approached the end zone. The closer they got, the worse it seemed.
It took the Commanders 2:38 to go from their own 30 to the Philly 24. At the two-minute warning, they converted a fourth and two, and 19 seconds evaporated before the next snap. Then, after a four-yard gain to the 16, 23 more seconds disappeared. Next, after a one yard gain, the clock ran from 1:18 to 56 seconds. After a 10-yard gain from the 15 to the five, another 22 seconds elapsed between plays.
Eventually, the Commanders scored with 31 seconds left.
Dan Quinn went against the analytics, which said Commanders should kick the field goal
According to the analytics model published by Ben Baldwin, a field goal attempt would have improved the Commanders’ win percentage by 2.1 percent compared to going for it on fourth down.
Quinn went against the analytics and kept his offense on the field on fourth-and-2. The Commanders were stopped, and the Eagles got the ball back and dominated the rest of the game, winning 26-18.
There’s a misperception that analytics always say coaches should go for it. In general, analytics are more bullish on going for it than coaches are, but there are plenty of times when the analytics say kicking the field goal is the better option. And when a field goal will give you a lead in the fourth quarter, the analytics will usually say kicking is better. That’s what they said in this case.
The Athletic (paywall)
Eagles win vs. Commanders: Key takeaways
Defense falls in final round
Don’t put this loss on Washington’s defense, even if the group went from bending to cracking to breaking in the second half. Frankie Luvu (two sacks), Jeremy Chinn and Sainristil were among the players flying around the field in the first half. They hit hard and covered well while holding the Eagles to three points before halftime.
But as the game progressed, Philadelphia’s offense began delivering jabs and haymakers. The Commanders stood tall, but eventually, the blows were too much for a unit tasked with being on the field for far too long since the offense finished 3 of 12 on third downs. Instead of keeping Philly’s playmakers mostly in check, Barkley hurt them late. The defenders won’t use tired as an excuse, but the game evolved like a team gasping for breath.
Commanders.com
Instant analysis | Commanders struggle to finish in 26-18 loss to Eagles
A clear theme is starting to emerge for the Commanders; it showed up last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, when Mike Williams got behind Benjamin St-Juste for a go-ahead touchdown that led to a 28-27 defeat, and it appeared again in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles, who used the fourth-down stop as a springboard for a 26-18 win over Washington that tightened their hold on first place in the NFC East.
The theme: every moment is magnified against the top-tier teams, and failing to execute will result in losses.
And yet the team’s clear issues with consistency, particularly on offense, are the reasons why the smaller moments have carried significant weight. Jayden Daniels was held to less than 200 passing yards and just 18 on the ground. He was sacked three times and put under pressure for most of the night. That led to uncharacteristic misses from the rookie, as only two of his completions went to wide receivers.
But it wasn’t just Daniels who was out of sync. The entire offense was noticeably off, and it showed in how quickly the team had to punt the ball away. Seven of the Commanders’ 11 drives ended in five plays or less. They were held to 4.2 yards per play and 3-of-12 on third downs, both of which accounted for them being limited to 262 yards on the night.
The offense’s inability to sustain drives also undermined what was largely an inspired performance from the Commanders’ defense.
Washington Post (paywall)
Is a two-game skid a blip or a disaster? It’s the Commanders’ choice.
After their first losing streak of the season, the rebuilt Washington Commanders find themselves at a pivot point.
What next?
It took five days for Washington to fall from its perch atop the NFC East — an apex at which they were the buzz of the NFL — and thud into Thursday night’s 26-18 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, who now sit comfortably in first. It will be 10 days before the Commanders take the field again. They clearly need them to recover. And they need to decide how they’ll respond.
“It’s easy to preach brotherhood when everything’s going good and when you’re winning and having a good time and things like that,” said veteran receiver Terry McLaurin, a focal point of this rebirth, an afterthought Thursday night. “… What your program is built on, this is when it needs to stand out.”
These two losses in a row, to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia teams that are a combined 15-4, don’t represent a complete collapse. Not close. But there are scratches in the armor, and that’s across the board.
The key, then, is what happens between now and Nov. 24 against Dallas.
“We knew that adversity comes,” Quinn said. “It just does. That’s our game. That’s why we love it so much. There’s hard parts — and tonight’s hard.”
It’s harder still because maybe it didn’t have to be that way.
When Quinn entered his postgame news conference, he was well aware what the first question would be — so he headed it off.
“Bold call,” Quinn said.
Also: Wrong call. An opportunity to take the lead on the road in the fourth quarter of an important divisional game shouldn’t be squandered. Combine it with some other curious decisions — not to attempt a Hail Mary at the end of the first half when there’s an abundance of evidence that Daniels can make such a play work, and a seeming lack of urgency on the final drive that led to a touchdown in what was still a two-score game — and Quinn left Philly with some of his first head-scratching moments for a reenergized fan base to ponder.
Is this the kind of group that can shake off losses that dropped them to 7-4 and turn it around to get to 9-4?
These Commanders would appear to know [the current situation]. A week from Sunday, they’ll have to prove it. Losses to the Steelers and Eagles could either be a blip in a season of revival, or the seeds of a collapse. It’s their choice.
Upcoming opponent
Blogging the Boys
NFC East update: Giants won’t let Cowboys fall below them
Things are going so bad in Dallas, they can’t even get ahead of the Giants in the 2025 draft order.
The chasm between winners and losers in the NFC East grew wider in Week 10. But even if you’re fully invested in the Cowboys’ 2025 draft positioning, disappointment is still coming thanks to one of our division rivals. No matter how bad things are getting in Dallas, the New York Giants keep finding ways to be a little worse.
Before America’s Team suffered another humiliation against the Eagles last Sunday afternoon, the Giants lost to the Panthers that morning in Germany. QB Daniel Jones’ two interceptions helped keep Carolina in the game long enough for it to get to overtime, where they finally won with a field goal.
That’s what Cowboys fans are reduced to at this point; rooting for the Giants to win so that we can get a better draft pick next April. The Commanders’ loss to Pittsburgh last week didn’t even matter as there’s no realistic chance of Dallas catching them, or anyone else, in terms of a division win or other postseason goals. The focus has moved to the future and even that can’t come without frustration thanks to the G-Men.
The Cowboys have to wait until Monday night for another likely defeat from the Houston Texans. About the only positive you can say, at least for Jerry Jones’ sake, is that the sun won’t be an issue in the primetime game.
Even in failure, Dallas can’t get ahead of New York in the 2025 draft order this week. But it would shorten the gap as the Giants are on a bye, reducing their loss-column cushion. By the time we get to the Thanksgiving game between them, it could become a fascinating display of two teams trying not to be obvious about tanking.
Podcasts & videos
Jeremy Reaves + Pierre Garcon on the NFC East and the Eagles | Next Man Up | Washington Commanders
On video wrapping up a second consecutive loss. Expectations have been raised so back to back losses sting. The 4th down decision: why the play failed. Couldn’t stop Barkley all night. Are they ready yet to beat top teams? More @ESPNRichmond https://t.co/ifgjE1xv6j
— John Keim (@john_keim) November 15, 2024
Rough night. Lotta questions. Try to keep big picture too. New pod https://t.co/piA2VPVVxW
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) November 15, 2024
Photos
Commanders.com
PHOTOS | Commanders vs. Eagles, Week 11
Check out the top photos of the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field during their Week 11 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. (Photos by Emilee Fails/Washington Commanders)
