The Washington Commanders were leading at halftime for the second game in a row against a playoff-contending opponent, and they were doing many things well, especially on defense against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“We just made our tackles,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “We were able to get a good beat on some of the things (the Eagles) were trying to do, and they did a good job adjusting.”
But then things fell apart. A key moment came midway through the fourth quarter when the Commanders went for it on fourth down and failed to convert.
However, the bigger issues going forward are the defense’s struggles to stop the run and the health of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, especially after the offense had two of its worst performances of the season.
“Losing the last two weeks, you knew this adversity is coming,” coach Dan Quinn said. “Every team’s got it. Sometimes it’s earlier, sometimes it’s later. I know how we’ll respond based on the guys in the locker room and how hard they go for one another.”
The Commanders are now 7-4 after losing 26-18 in prime time to the Eagles, just five days after Pittsburgh beat them 28-27. In the second half, Washington allowed Philadelphia to rush for 140 yards out of 228 total, including two touchdowns by Saquon Barkley.
“Even though you bottle him up for three quarters, that one play can get him going,” Wagner said, dismissing the idea that the defense wore down as the game went on.
Quinn felt his players “emptied the tanks” and “felt the end of the rope getting close” after holding the lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The offense also shares some of the blame. The final eight points and 75 yards came late in the game after the Commanders were already down 26-10, with the Eagles playing more conservatively in defense.
After gaining 242 yards against the Steelers, Washington only totaled 262 yards on Thursday night. “We just weren’t playing our game,” said running back Brian Robinson Jr., who rushed 16 times for 63 yards and a touchdown in his return from a two-game absence due to a hamstring injury.
“I really can’t point out why we couldn’t really get our momentum going, but it’s a unit thing. We’ve got to get better.”
Daniels has been playing through sore ribs since getting hurt against Carolina on October 20. His right hand was also cut and bleeding—he’s not sure how it happened—but the No. 2 overall pick downplayed any concerns about injuries affecting his performance.
“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be on the field right now,” Daniels said. He has completed 59.5% of his passes in the last four games, down from 75.6% earlier in the season. “No player at this point is 100% healthy and it was a short turnaround, so kudos to the guys that battled back to get their bodies back right.”
