The game was there for the Commanders to win Thursday night in Philadelphia. Washington had the opportunity to win and win it early.
Repeatedly the offense had the chance to land a knockout blow early against an Eagles team that appeared to be trying too hard, out of sorts, and tripping over themselves: A bungled reverse that went for a loss of 13 on a sack, Jalen Hurts’ wild throws sailing out of bounds or hitting the turf, and kicker Jake Elliott missing a pair of field goals.
The game was there for the Commanders' taking and with it, first place in the NFC East and the prize of controlling their own destiny with six games remaining.
Instead, Washington will have 10 days to stew about dropping their second game in five days and falling to 7-4 on the season after a 26-18 defeat, a scoreline made closer by a last-gasp drive with under 30 seconds to play. A bad loss, and one they can't let send their season into a tailspin.
"To be the heavy hitters that we want to be, you’ve got to be able to close and be in those, but there’s no moral victory side of things," head coach Dan Quinn said after the game.
Their opponents were dreadful for the first half. They allowed them to hang around and hang around. It cost Quinn's team in the end.
Heading into the locker room after the game, Eagles defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson was heard saying, “Washington. Respect y’all, but y’all know this s--- runs through us.”
The Commanders had the chance to change that and show that they are more than just a good early-season story and are in fact, serious contenders. But 23 unanswered points from the Eagles sealed the deal.
This loss to open Week 11 will sting not because Washington was steamrolled – though the defense did allow four scoring drives of 74 yards or more – but from an offense failing to grasp the chance to seize control of the game and division.
The once-hostile environment of Lincoln Financial Field had channeled their discontent toward their own team after the Eagles missed their second field goal of the half, a Philly tradition more popular than roast pork with broccoli rabe.
The Commanders took over at their 41-yard line ahead by a touchdown. This was the time to step on the Eagles’ throat. Silence the crowd and then send a fanbase teetering on self-flagellation into a frenzy.
But on first down, Jayden Daniels was sacked for a loss of four. On second down, he lost double that amount on another sack. A get-off-the-field run on third begot a 40-yard punt.
A first missed opportunity.
The defense picked up the slack forcing a punt for the third time of the half and Daniels got the ball across midfield when he found Zach Ertz for an easy third-down conversion on the fifth play of the next drive.
But the rookie – his ribs clearly not allowing him to move as well as he normally does despite his claims to the contrary – generated nothing on the next three plays and punted again.
Another missed opportunity.
Washington ran 19 plays in the second quarter after the second missed kick and gained just 50 yards, 23 of which came on a 19-second drive to end the half.
"Not anything different than what they had done," Quinn said of the Eagles defense led by long-time DC Vic Fangio. "They played aggressive, and we’ll be back at them again in five or six weeks... But, yeah, this one, just not delivering like we were really ready to go fight for it. And when you don’t do that, obviously you’re pissed and you’re bummed.”
A generous third-down pass interference call before a long catch and run by Austin Ekeler put Washington on the edge of the red zone on the first drive out of halftime. But, despite getting as close as the 20 on a 2nd-and-2, Washington managed just a 45-yard field goal from Zane Gonzalez for a 10-3 lead.
Daniels and the offense were again gifted a chance to respond after the defense bent but didn’t break and forced a second red zone field goal. They got a first down, but a five-play, seven-yard drive – ended by a third-down sack – resulted in another punt.
“Yeah, we have to capitalize. I have to play better," Daniels said. "There are some throws I want back for sure. I think we all just have to look at ourselves in the mirror and say how can we get better moving forward?"
Five drives after the Eagles were on the ropes and just three points to show from them. On the night, Washington went 3-for-12 on third downs and had just 264 yards of offense on 63 plays for a 4.2-yard average.
Missed opportunity after missed opportunity.
Washington was down 12-10 when they got the ball next after a 76-yard Eagles touchdown drive. They held out for the game's first 48 minutes, but the defense broke on that drive and they never responded.
The rookie quarterback found some rhythm hitting John Bates, Ertz, Terry McLaurin (for his first catch of the night), and Bates for gains of eight, 16, 10, and nine yards to put them at the Philly 25. Finally, there was a sign of life.
But back-to-back Brian Robinson rushes on 2nd- and 3rd-and-inches went for negative two yards. And Quinn eschewed a 44-yard field goal try and a shot at a lead only for Daniels to bobble the snap and run to his right for no gain on 4th down.
"Bold call, but I would also say we were prepared for that moment," Quinn said. "I don't love the execution. But we've been an excellent 4th down team So going into it, we knew were gonna have to take our shots against a tough division team on the road. We thought that was an appropriate one."
Some public analytics data suggested a field goal attempt, but Gonzalez is no sure thing, so the head coach’s decision was at least understandable. The bigger issue was after Daniels had connected on three straight passes, why did offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury take the ball out of the rookie's hands on the previous two plays?
That question becomes even more maddening when realizing that Washington faced a 2nd-and-6 or less eight times to that point. And all eight times Kingsbury chose to run the ball gaining just 25 yards. And, capped by the drive's final no-gain play, the five second-half 2nd down runs resulted in negative one yard.
With 7:55 to play in the fourth it was just another missed opportunity.
The out-of-gas defense allowed a 74-yard touchdown drive capped by Saquon Barkley going relatively untouched for the final 26 yards on the ensuing position. (Quan Martin popped the ball free on the drive's first play, a 32-yard completion, but an Eagles tight end was first on the loose ball.)
Daniels returned to being confused and was intercepted on the first play of the next possession.
"We’ve got to execute," Daniels, who threw for 191 yards on 22 of 32 passing for a 22.1 QBR (out of 100), said. "We haven’t been executing how we were before at the beginning half of the season. So, we’ve got to go back and, like I said, look at ourselves in the mirror. How can we get better?"
Two more Barkley runs, the latter going 39 yards untouched, gave the Eagles the knockout blow Washington failed to throw and land.
Game over.
“We knew that adversity would come. It just does. That’s our game. That’s why we love it so much. There’s hard parts, and tonight’s hard," Quinn said. "The last two games were tough. They test your resolve, and they build some of your resilience. It’s a difficult four- or five-game stretch, whatever it is. And it also emphasizes the ability to go close it, be there at the end and go win it. Those are the lessons for us to say to be the team we can be.
"...So over the last two weeks, not to finish – and that’s not one side of the ball, that’s collectively finding that blood in the water and saying, ‘We’re going to go end this thing.’ And we’ll get there. But over the last two weeks, we weren’t able to demonstrate that and express that to the fullest level."
Shorter Quinn: It was a missed opportunity.