Eagles annoyingly lose to Commanders with Jalen Hurts getting knocked out of the game, 36 to 33

The Philadelphia Eagles are 12-3 after losing to the Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium on Sunday. Final score: 36 to 33.

This was a pretty wild game.

And it’s one the Eagles nearly had won despite losing Jalen Hurts to a concussion, forcing Kenny Pickett to play.

Facing 3rd-and-5 before the two-minute warning, DeVonta Smith dropped a wide open first down conversion that would’ve allowed the Eagles to run the clock out.

Instead, settling for a Jake Elliott field goal allowed the Commanders to go on a nine-play, 57-yard touchdown drive to win the game.

Kudos to Jayden Daniels and the Washington offense for putting up a big performance against the NFL’s top-ranked defense. The Commanders really battled despite turning the ball over FIVE times. They were aided, of course, by the Eagles making too many mistakes and playing sloppy football.

In the end, this is a costly loss. With a win, the Eagles would’ve officially clinched the NFC East and been no worse than the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff picture while staying alive for a first-round bye. Now, the Eagles will have to wait until Week 17 for their opportunity to clinch the division.

Next up for the Eagles: a return to Lincoln Financial Field to host the Dallas Cowboys.

Read on for a recap and stay tuned for BGN’s postgame coverage

FIRST QUARTER

• The Eagles won the opening coin toss and elected to defer to put the Commanders’ offense on the field first. Braden Mann’s kickoff went well short of the landing zone, which was a penalty that allowed Washington to start at their own 40-yard line. Not ideal. With a blitz bearing down on him, Jayden Daniels overthrew a wide open Olamide Zaccheaus. Darius Slay did a nice job of breaking up a Daniels pass over the middle to bring up third down. Facing 3rd-and-10, a short completion to Brian Robinson picked up nine yards. Facing 4th-and-1, the Commanders lined up in pistol … and Robinson was stuffed by Josh Sweat (unblocked for some reason) and Jordan Davis! Big stop by Vic Fangio’s defense.

• The Eagles took over at the plus 49-yard line. Jalen Hurts’ first throw to A.J. Brown was behind the receiver and incomplete. Saquon Barkley ripped a 20-yard run on his first carry for a gain into field goal range. The Eagles went tempo and Hurts went deep to Brown in the end zone but Marshon Lattimore didn’t bite on the double move and the pass was incomplete. Facing 3rd-and-9, Hurts stepped up against a blitz and took off running short of the marker … but the Commanders were flagged for defensive holding (Jahan Dotson’s facemask was being grabbed). Barkley broke another run to the five-yard line. Two more Barkley runs resulted in a Barkley touchdown! His first score since Week 13. EAGLES 7, COMMANDERS 0.

• The Commanders took over at the plus 43-yard line after a big Washington kick return from Luke McCaffrey. One play later, Jalen Carter punched the ball out of Robinson’s control for a Nolan Smith recovery! What an awesome start by the Eagles (outside of the kickoffs).

• The Eagles took over at their own 43-yard line. Hurts completed a pass to DeVonta Smith for a first down. Then Hurts took off running for 22 yards. Hurts got called for intentional grounding against a blitz to knock the offense back. Hurts picked up 13 yards but got pulled off the field after his helmet hit the ground on a run. Facing 3rd-and-7, Kenny Pickett fired a strike to A.J. Brown for 10 yards and a first down! OK, Kenny! Pickett completed another pass to Brown to bring up third down. Facing 3rd-and-3 from the 4-yard line, Nick Sirianni called a timeout with play clock winding down. It seemed like Hurts might come back in but he was kept out and headed back to the locker room. Facing 3rd-and-3 for real, Pickett threw a strike to Brown on a quick slant for a touchdown! OK, Kenny!!! Awesome job by the backup QB to be ready for his first significant action this season. Especially after he really struggled back in the summer. EAGLES 14, COMMANDERS 0.

• The Commanders took over at their own 22-yard line. Darius Slay had a big TFL and then a big pass breakup. Facing 3rd-and-12, Daniels took off running and Nakobe Dean tackled him for a very short gain (just barely not a sack). Three-and-out!
• The Eagles took over at their own 15-yard line after a special teams penalty on Jeremiah Trotter Jr. After one Barkley carry, Pickett threw a pick to Frankie Luvu. Welp. Pickett looked good on his first drive but it would’ve nice to just keep pounding the rock there.
• The Commanders took over at the plus 25-yard line. Then the Eagles immediately got hit for 12 men on the field for a five-yard penalty. C’mon. Milton Williams got flagged for roughing the passer (soft call) for shoving Daniels on a throwaway to give the Commanders 1st-and-goal at the 6-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-goal after a Zaccheaus drop, Daniels hit Jamison Crowder in the end zone for a Commanders touchdown. Cooper DeJean tried to pass Crowder off to C.J. Gardner-Johnson but CJGJ didn’t seem to be on the same page. EAGLES 14, COMMANDERS 7.

• The Eagles took over at their own 31-yard line with Pickett still in the game. Barkley broke a run 68 yards to the house untouched for a touchdown! BEAST! EAGLES 21, COMMANDERS 7.

• The Commanders took over at their own 33-yard line.

SECOND QUARTER

• CJGJ got called for unsportsmanlike conduct during the commercial break to turn 2nd-and-14 at the minus 41-yard line into 1st-and-10 at the plus 44-yard line. The broadcast showed CJGJ getting flagged after getting punched in the face. Cool? Seems like CJGJ was talking shit but I fail to understand how that negates a penalty on Washington. Facing 3rd-and-8, Daniels took off running up the middle on a QB trap for an easy first down. Nolan Smith got to Daniels for a sack but the refs called Jalen Carter for pushing Sam Cosmi after the play (Cosmi flopped, refs sure love these Commanders!). Then Cooper DeJean punched the ball out of Robinson’s control and got the recovery! Ball don’t lie.

• The Eagles took over at their own 10-yard line as Hurts was ruled out of the game. Pickett aired it out deep to A.J. Brown, who caught the ball for 45 yards despite defensive pass interference from Lattimore (no call, naturally). Facing 3rd-and-8, Pickett scrambled right from a clean pocket and threw the ball away to bring up a Braden Mann punt from the plus 43-yard line.

• The Commanders took over at their own 4-yard line after a successful coffin corner punt by Mann. Slay gave up a big play downfield to Dyami Brown for 50 yards to immediately move into plus territory. Facing 3rd-and-1, Milton Williams and Jalyx Hunt stuffed a Chris Rodriguez Jr. run for a loss. Facing 4th-and-4, Daniels was looking to pass before running up the middle for a first down. Annoying. Facing 3rd-and-8, Daniels hit an open Terry McLaurin for a touchdown with Quinyon Mitchell trailing. 8-play, 96-yard TD drive with the Eagles’ usually excellent cornerbacks allowing explosive plays. EAGLES 21, COMMANDERS 14.

• The Eagles took over at their own 25-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-6 after two Barkley runs, Pickett’s completion to Brown was just short of the sticks. Facing 4th-and-1 from their own 34-yard line, Nick Sirianni cowardly punted instead of going for it despite having a nearly unstoppable play in the Eagles’ playbook. Don’t care that Hurts isn’t in, the OL is still really good.
• The Commanders took over at their own 24-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-5, Slay limited a checkdown to a 1-yard gain. Nice three-and-out stop.

• The Eagles took over at their own 27-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-7 after a Brown drop (bad pass from Pickett but still need the star WR to help out the backup QB) and a short Gainwell run (please stop giving him carries on 2nd-and-long?), a handoff to Barkley picked up five yards. Facing 4th-and-2 from their own 35-yard line, the Eagles originally pretended to go for it (no one was buying it), let the two-minute warning hit, and then punted it.

• Crowder bobbled a punt and then almost fumbled it before somehow holding on. The Commanders took over at the minus 33-yard line. Daniels overthrew a pass over the middle right to CJGJ! The safety ALMOST dropped it but somehow managed to re-catch it as the ball was falling to the ground!

• The Eagles took over at the plus 49-yard line with 1:44 on the clock and two timeouts to work with. Facing 3rd-and-1, Grant Calcaterra got badly beat by Frankie Luvu to allow Barkley to get tackled for a loss. Facing 4th-and-4, the Eagles let the clock run down and took a timeout at 0:11. Pickett completed a pass to DeVonta, who got out of bounds … but DeVonta going backwards forced the Eagles to take their final timeout. Sirianni brought on Jake Elliott for a 56-yard field goal attempt and the kick was on line … but short. Elliott up to 0-6 from 50+ this season. Just hasn’t been his year.

THIRD QUARTER

• The Eagles began the second half at their own 25-yard line. Lattimore got called for pass interference on a Pickett deep pass to move the ball to the plus 35-yard line. Another DPI on Lattimore moved the Eagles to the 11-yard line. Two Barkley runs brought up third down. Facing 3rd-and-3, the Eagles lined up with Barkley as the wildcat QB but the RB didn’t have anyone open and he slid down for a loss. Sirianni brought Jake Elliott in for the 24-yard field goal. Nice to go up two possessions but still a missed opportunity.

• The Commanders took over at their own 37-yard line. Zack Baun forced a fumble after a short Commanders catch for another Nolan Smith recovery! After the play, CJGJ got penalized for a second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and was ejected.

• The Eagles took over at their own 42-yard line. Pickett got strip-sacked after Calcaterra was a liability as a blocker yet again but the Eagles were fortunate to recover. Pickett’s hand seemed to be in pain after the play. Facing 3rd-and-16, Barkley got facemasked on a coward’s draw to give the Eagles a first down. Pickett made a nice completion to DeVonta for a first down. Facing 3rd-and-9, Pickett targeted Brown and Lattimore was called for DPI yet again. Clearly a penalty. Facing 3rd-and-7, a scrambling Pickett delivered a strike to DeVonta for a first down. Facing 3rd-and-8 after Lattimore got away with mugging Brown in the end zone (not to mention another Commanders took a shot to Brown’s head), Pickett got sacked by an unblocked blitzer. Elliott’s 40-yard field goal was good. Two long second-half drives result in just six total points. But at least this one took 8:13 off the clock. EAGLES 27, COMMANDERS 14.

• The Commanders got good field position once again to take over at their own 39-yard line. Jalen Carter forced a Daniels throwaway despite being doubled. Facing 3rd-and-4, a spinning Jeremy McNichols got beyond the marker. Baun, perpetually a beast, sniffed out a screen to knock the Commanders back. Then Jalyx Hunt and Slay tackled Zaccheaus on a bubble screen for no gain. Facing 3rd-and-11, Daniels’ pass bounced off Mitchell’s helmet and had a chance to be caught but landed incomplete. Facing 4th-and-11, Daniels took off running through missed tackles for a 30-yard gain to end the third quarter. UGH. That just can’t happen.

FOURTH QUARTER

• The Commanders began the fourth quarter at their plus 11-yard line. Baun exploded into the backfield for a TFL. Facing 3rd-and-2, Daniels hit former Eagle Olamide Zaccheaus for a touchdown. One-score game with 13:33 to play. The vibes are not feeling good. EAGLES 27, COMMANDERS 21.
• The Eagles took over at their own 31-yard line. Pickett had a pass deflected at the line of scrimmage but then a Barkley run went for a first down. Need to feed No. 26. Barkley got tackled for a loss with multiple unblocked defenders in his face. Facing 3rd-and-14 after an obvious Pickett throwaway that was somehow ruled a fumble being overturned, a checkdown to Gainwell brought up a Mann punt.
• The Commanders took over at their own 13-yard line with 11:10 left to play. Facing 3rd-and-5, Daniels hit Robinson for a first down and there was a flag on Isaiah Rodgers for defensive holding anyway. Isaiah Rodgers had good coverage on a deep shot that went incomplete. Daniels hit Zaccheaus, who was left open with the Eagles’ defense caught in the middle of substitution, for a 49-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Terrible. EAGLES 27, COMMANDERS 28.

• The Eagles took over at their own 35-yard line with 9:01 left in the game. Facing 3rd-and-2 after two Barkley runs, Pickett’s pass to Brown was bad and Brown couldn’t hold on as he went to the ground. Facing 4th-and-2, the Eagles went for it … and Pickett completed a first down pass to DeVonta, who got banged up (wind knocked out)? Barkley dropped a pass that would’ve went for a chunk gain. Facing 3rd-and-7, Pickett’s pass to Brown was too high and incomplete. Facing 4th-and-7, Pickett completed a pass to Brown short of the sticks … and Brown broke a tackle for a first down! CLUTCH. Facing 3rd-and-15 after Pickett stepped up into a sack, Pickett took off running and the Commanders were originally flagged for hitting Pickett on the slide but the refs picked the flag up. Facing 4th-and-7, Sirianni brought Elliott in for a 50-yard field goal attempt. The Commanders called their first timeout to try to ice him. Elliott’s kick was … GOOD! Up to 1/7 from 50+. EAGLES 30, COMMANDERS 28.
• The Commanders took over at their own 35-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-5, Daniels’ pass was nearly picked by Slay but it bounced off his hands and into the waiting arms of Reed Blankenship for an 18-yard return! HUGE PICK!!!

• The Eagles took over at the plus 27-yard line with 2:53 left in the game. Facing 3rd-and-5 after a Pickett throw to Brown, DeVonta dropped a wide open catch for a first down that would’ve ended the game. WHAT THE HELL. Elliott was brought in for another 40-yard field goal that just snuck inside the right upright. Phew. EAGLES 33, COMMANDERS 28.
• After a special teams penalty on Sydney Brown, the Commanders took over at their own 43-yard line with 1:52 on the clock and one timeout remaining. The Commanders quickly moved into plus territory. The Commanders quickly moved into the red zone with clock running. Reaching 3rd-and-1 at the plus 14-yard line, the Commanders called their final timeout with 0:23 on the clock. The Commanders ran the ball for a first down and spiked the ball at 0:10. Daniels found Crowder in the end zone for a touchdown. The Commanders went for two and got it. EAGLES 33, COMMANDERS 36.

• The Eagles tried lateraling on the final kickoff to no avail.

EAGLES LINEUP NOTES

• Kenny Pickett entered the game at quarterback when Hurts left.
• Oren Burks entered the game at linebacker when Dean left.
• CJGJ was ejected in the third quarter for his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Tristin McCollum came in to play safety next to Reed Blankenship.

• Isaiah Rodgers entered the game when Slay left.

EAGLES INJURY NEWS

• Jalen Hurts (concussion) got pulled off the field after his helmet hit the ground midway through the first quarter. It looked like he was going to re-enter the game before he was held out and taken back to the locker room. Hurts was later ruled out early in the second quarter.

• Will Shipley (concussion) headed to the locker room late in the first quarter.
• Nakobe Dean went down midway through the second quarter. He re-entered the game on the next Commanders drive.
• Josh Sweat (ankle) visited the locker room late in the second quarter. He was originally ruled questionable to return. He returned to the game in the second half.
• Jordan Davis went down late in the second quarter. He looked pained after a cut block and was helped off the field by Sirianni and a trainer. Davis re-entered the game in the third quarter.
• Kenny Pickett’s hand seemed to be hurting after he got strip-sacked in the third quarter. Pickett looked banged up again in the fourth quarter and Tanner McKee was shown warming up.
• Darius Slay got banged up in the fourth quarter. He was in and out.