The Philadelphia Eagles organization likes to cast itself in the role of Rocky Balboa, but as the sun set on Lincoln Financial Field Sunday night, it was the Washington Commanders that played the role of the underdog that took the champ the distance.
In the end, a hero play by Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and a costly mistake by the Commanders defense gave Philadelphia a 24-22 win, but Philadelphia and the rest of the division have been put on notice. This is not the 2025 version of the Washington football team.
“The loss sucks,” quarterback Jayden Daniels said. “You don’t want to come out and lose, but credit Philly. We shot ourselves in the foot too many times, and it haunted us at the end of the game.”
Anyone worried that Daniels would not recapture his rookie year form can relax. Although his numbers were pedestrian, 18 for 34 for 164 yards and two touchdowns, he delivered in crunch time with two fourth-quarter touchdown drives to almost pull off the Week 1 upset.
“Division game and a loss, that stings, a lot,” head coach Dan Quinn said after the game. “With the team, I liked our fight, that competitive nature and what that means. The miscues hurt us in this game and when those are the margins, those are the lessons I want to apply moving into Week 2.”
Washington took an early 3-0 lead when rookie kicker Drew Stevens drilled a 55-yard field goal to cap an opening eight-play drive.
The Commanders defense looked good as well, limiting the Eagles offense to two total offensive yards in their first two possessions. That changed with 1:35 left in the first quarter when Hurts found Dontayvion Wicks on a 64-yard pass. Three plays later, Hurts found Dallas Goedert in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown to make the score 7-3.
Washington’s defense kept running back Saquon Barkley in check for most of the game as well. Barkley got 42 of his 83 rushing yards on one carry in the second quarter, which set up Hurts’ second touchdown pass, a 9-yard strike to Wicks to make the score 14-3.
Instead of falling behind further, the Commanders offense found its footing thanks to the running game. Bill Croskey-Merritt rushed for 25 yards as Washington put together a 12-play, 61-yard drive that ended with the second-year running back scoring from the 1-yard line to cut Philly’s lead to 14-9 at the half.
The Eagles took a 17-9 lead into the fourth quarter, but Daniels finally found his rhythm when Washington needed it the most.
With 12:12 left in the game, and facing 3rd down and 14, Daniels found rookie Antonio Williams on a deep ball that got the Commanders down to the Eagles’ 14-yard line. Two plays later, Daniels found Stefon Diggs for a 10-yard touchdown, his first as a Commander, to make the score 17-15. Diggs was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty that made the Commanders settle for a field goal to cut the lead to 17-16.
The Eagles seemed to put the game away on the next series.
Facing a 3rd-and-21 play, Hurts scrambled 22 yards for a first down, then found Goedert on a 43-yard touchdown pass when the tight end got behind the Washington secondary. It was the mistake that cost Washington the game, although Daniels nearly overcame it.
Getting the ball back with five minutes left, Daniels was at his best, completing four of six passes on a 12-play, 63-yard drive. The last one was a 1-yard completion to Williams, who was able to hold onto a low throw that hit the ground but was ruled a catch because he was able to control it with a strong grip.
With the score 24-22 with about a minute left in the game, the Commanders went for two, but Daniels’ shovel pass to tight end John Bates was stopped. Philadelphia recovered the onside kick to effectively end the game.
Quinn came away encouraged, but with a sense that there is a lot of work to do before Week 2 against Dallas.
“There’s going to be a lot to teach off of after this,” he said. “I’m not surprised by our fight and our battle, but as a division loss, that stings, badly.”
Post Game Notes:
Sonny Styles had an impressive pro debut. The first-round draft pick from Ohio State recorded four tackles, two for a loss, one quarterback hit and the first sack of his career. The sack was particularly impressive as Styles ran completely over Saquon Barkley to get to Hurts.
Rookie kicker Drew Stevens missed a 55-yard field goal and had an extra point blocked.
In addition to Styles, Frankie Luvu and Odafe Oweh also had sacks.
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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