There are levels to greatness.
The Washington Commanders have made unbelievable strides and come a long way in less than a year with new ownership in Josh Harris. In another season or two, they might be a Super Bowl contender especially if their rookie quarterback, Jayden Daniels, keeps ascending.
The Philadelphia Eagles are not ready to give up the NFC East crown just yet.
The Commanders were resilient and gave the Eagles all they could handle but could not get anything going on the offensive side of the ball, fell woefully short on a game-changing fourth-down gamble and eventually lost to the better team, the Eagles, 26-18.
Running back Saquon Barkley played his role as the closer to perfection, scoring on two long touchdown runs in the fourth quarter to put away the Commanders. The Eagles improved to 8-2 on the season, winning their sixth game in a row and for the moment they have separated themselves from the competition in their division, the Commanders (7-4), who are a game and a half behind Philadelphia.
The Commanders are on the way, with Daniels, the No. 2 pick out of LSU, leading the charge. However, even though they are formidable, they still need at least one more offseason to build up the roster. The Eagles are the blueprint they could learn from, with a team that has a star-filled offense and a defense that keeps improving by the game and came up big Thursday night. While the Detroit Lions (8-1) are the talk of the NFL, Philadelphia’s current winning streak has shown the Eagles are still a huge threat to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, like they did two years ago against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Washington and their fans should be excited about its future. But the Eagles showed the Commanders that the present still belongs to them, at least for now.
The Commanders had an emotional one-point loss against Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday, but they were the fresher team that looked more ready to play early on.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Eagles had a decent drive on their first series but missed a field goal by place kicker Jake Elliott. The Commanders’ defense dug in a bit, then Daniels led a touchdown drive. Halfback Brian Robinson Jr. was stymied at about the 2-yard line but used his strength and drove the pile into the end zone for the score. That was an early statement.
Also in the first half, signal caller Jalen Hurts rolled over, face down, and grabbed his helmet.
The Eagles quarterback’s head was spiked into the turf by Washington linebacker Frankie Luvu in the second quarter and bounced off the ground. Hurts was evaluated for a concussion — “I guess I beat the protocol,” he joked and stayed in the game.
“When you see grass coming out of his helmet, yeah man, he got rocked a few times,” offensive lineman Lane Johnson said. “I thought he did a good job coming in the second half, and really putting it behind him.”
The defenses was the story in the first half, or perhaps it was just typical rough play on a short week for a Thursday night game. The Eagles finally put together a drive inside the Commanders’ end zone late in the first half, but it stalled and they settled for three points. Elliott, who missed two kicks in the first half, made the 21-yarder. The Commanders took a 7-3 lead into halftime.
“Really,” coach Nick Sirianni said, “what we talked about at halftime was this was going to be a grimy, gritty game.”
Thursday night was supposed to be one of the best matchups of the entire season, a game between one of the league’s biggest surprises in Washington trying to take back first place of the NFC East. On a Sunday, it might have lived up to that. Through the first half, it was tough for either team to get into a grove.
Finally, in the fourth quarter, the Eagles showed some life.
The Eagles did not score their first touchdown until the final frame. Barkley was tackled at the one and a Hurts tush push was automatic from there. Elliott missed yet again, this time hooking an extra point wide left. The Eagles led by two, 12-10.
The Eagles’ defense played well, and the Commanders made a controversial decision that blew up in their face. Robinson was stopped twice on second- and third-and-short. Instead of trying a field goal to take the lead 13-12, the Commanders were aggressive and went for it. Daniels bobbled the snap, attempted to run wide but was stopped well short of the first down. That was a turning point in what was a close game.
Hurts ran for the go-ahead score, Saquon Barkley rushed for 146 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
The game got away from Washington after that. Barkley rushed for a 23-yard touchdown, then Reed Blankenship caught a rare interception from Daniels. Barkley scored a 39-yarder after that and a game that was close for three quarters, with the Commanders looking like they could pull off an upset on the road, had turned into a blowout.
Howie Roseman, the Eagles GM. has done a great job building a Super Bowl contender. They have drafted well. They have added key free-agent additions, including Barkley, who they acquired from the New York Giants, went over 1,000 yards rushing for the season on Thursday night and has given the offense the dynamic playmaker in the run game that makes the offense very diverse.
Washington could look at its opponent on Thursday night and see what it needs to do to win the NFC East in the future. The Eagles’ win was a reminder of how much work they have already put into being one of the NFL’s elite teams.
The Commanders play four of their next five games at home, starting November 24 against the Dallas Cowboys.
The Eagles play another night game on November 24 against Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams.
