Give Josh Johnson credit. If Sunday in Philadelphia was the last stop on his 19 year, 3 league professional football odyssey, he gave himself and the Washington Commanders one hell of a goodbye.
The 39 year old threw for one touchdown and ran for another to lead the Washington (5-12) to a 24-17 win in the 2025 season finale over the Philadelphia Eagles.
The game did not start optimistically for Washington. Johnson put together an impressive 1o minute drive covering 79 yards on 17 plays but on 3rd and goal from the Philadelphia six yard line, Johnson couldn’t hit Treylon Burks in the end zone. Jake Moody came out to put points on the board.
And missed a 24 yard field goal.
That sparked the Philadelphia Eagles offense. Backup quarterback Tanner McKee took the offense down the field and capped a 9 play, 80 yard drive with a touchdown throw to a wide open Grant Calcaterra. The backup was open because, once again, a safety was slow to react in coverage, givingPhiladelphia a 7-0 lead.
The Commanders came back to tie the game on a Chris Rodriquez 1 yard TD run, capping an 8 play, 65 yard drive. Rodriquez and Jacory Croskey Merritt combined to rush for 94 of the team’s 143 rushing yards in the game.
The teams then traded miscues. First, the Eagles missed a conversion on 4th and 2 on the Commanders 6 yard line when McKee failed to connect with Calcaterra. Washington gave the ball right back when Josh Johnson was intercepted by Jalyx Hunt, giving Philadelphia the ball on Washington’s 22 yard line with less than two minutes left in the second quarter.
The Eagles looked to take the lead into the locker room but McKee was intercepted by Jeremy Reaves who returned the ball to the Philadelphia 30 yard line. Johnson drove the offense to the Philly 38 where Moody connected on a 56 yard field goal to give Washington a 10-7 halftime lead.
The miscues continued in the third quarter. Johnson mishandled a shotgun snap from center Nick Allegretti, Hunt made the recovery for his second of the game setting the Eagles up on Washington’s 28 yard line. Eight plays later, Tank Bigsby scored a touchdown to give Philadelphia a 14-10 lead.
The Eagles stretched the lead to 17-10 before Johnson was able to tie it on a two yard touchdown pass to tight end John Bates with 9:35 left in the fourth quarter.
The 39 year old journeyman wasn’t done. On Washington’s next series, Johnson drove 77 yards on eight plays to the Eagles one yard line. On third and goal, Johnson rolled left and ran in for the go ahead score to give the Commanders a 24-17 lead.
The Eagles, playing with an entire squad of backups had two late possessions with a chance to tie the game but Washington’s defense was able to keep McKee and Philadelphia out of the end zone and give the franchise its fifth win in an otherwise miserable year.
There will be a huge number of changes this offseason. Washington has more than 20 free agents, many will not be back in 2026. The team also has a lot of salary cap money available for free agency but only five picks in the 2026 draft.
A year ago, the Commanders were on the verge of going on a deep playoff run that left fans dreaming of a Super Bowl in the near future. This year feels more like the second phase of a rebuild whose timetable is uncertain.
Bob Matthews is a 33 year veteran broadcast journalist, spending the last 29 years of his career in Virginia. Bob has covered both news and sports stories and for the last three seasons, the Washington Commanders. He looks forward to continuing to provide coverage to Sportsjourney.com both on the website and through his podcast, The Bob Matthews Show.
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