Ian Eagle was on the TV call of Commanders-Steelers Sunday, and the Westwood One radio call of Commanders-Eagles Thursday night, so he’s seen the squad twice in five days. He also called the Carolina game, too, so he has a general idea of how much of this two-game losing streak is regression versus playing two really good teams back-to-back in a short week.
“It’s more the latter; I do believe that in this league, you are judged week-to-week, and that’s part of it. The game tape is on display for everyone to see the results are what they are, and you can’t change them after the fact, and you are what your record says you are,” Eagle said. “But, there's nuance to it based on your schedule. Are you winning the games you're supposed to win? That's been the case for the most part for the Commanders. But when you have to step up and weight class, how do you handle yourself? Pittsburgh game, not just in it but in a position to win it against the Steelers, and we’re talking about (two fourth-down foibles) that are tangible, and you look back and say if those plays went another way, the result might be different.”
The same may have gone against Philly on the short week, with Dan Quinn’s decision not to kick a field goal in the fourth maybe the turning point.
“Short week going on the road against Philadelphia, a hot team riding a five-game winning streak and it comes down to a decision late,” Eagle said. “Not saying that if they kick the field goal, they win the game; odds are, based on the feeling in the game, you sensed they were gonna bust one open in the run game at some point, but circumstances change when you're playing from behind. If the field goal is good, you're up by one, and maybe the play selection changes for Kellen Moore and the Philadelphia Eagles. I don't think Commanders fans should walk away feeling as if the season is lost – there’s been great improvement, clearly the culture has changed, and all these things that you've talked about the last several weeks, but the proof is in the pudding: two winnable games, and the team went 0-2.”
That said, is there anything different Eagle is seeing from Jayden Daniels, who was hurt in the Carolina game and was clearly not the same guy the last two weeks?
“Everything he had touched up until that point had basically turned to gold. He’s got a very clear maturity about him, doesn't make the same mistake twice and limited the errors, as we saw with interceptions – but when you start pressing, when you need something, that's when mistakes are often made, and that's what happened last night in the interception to Blankenship,” Eagle said. “His decision-making has been so good in going down early, trying to avoid hits, and chucking the ball at a receiver's feet if he's got nothing going on. I don't categorize it as regression, I categorize it as you're going through the league for the first time, and in this case, a defensive coordinator in Vic Fangio who has seen everything that you can see in the NFL, so you do have to give credit to the opponent.”
Eagles still sees ‘many, many highlights’ for Daniels this season, but…
“There’s still a clock when it comes to rookies that you have to go against, and the clock is reality as a rookie,” Eagle said. “You've got to take some lumps and you've got to learn some lessons. He's avoided a whole lot of those in his rookie year, but it doesn't mean they're not gonna come.”
Take a listen to Eagle’s entire visit above, as he talks about Washington’s defense and the respect they are garnering, the struggle getting the ball to receivers on Thursday night, and more!