Eagles Postgame Report: Eagles Overcome Commanders And Major Offensive Mistakes

The confidence was there for many fans, but it was quickly tested by the Eagles.

They started off with a 25-yard reception to AJ Brown that moved them into field goal position before they stalled and then Jake Elliott came out to screw everyone and miss a makeable 44-yard attempt. Then the Eagles defense forced a three-and-out before Devonta Smith and Jahan Dotson combined drops for stall the next drive.

The Eagles defense responded with perhaps the worst drive they’ve had of the year, allowing 58 yards on only four plays and not making a single clean tackle, allowing a touchdown.

The teams traded three and outs before a good return by Cooper DeJean resulted in good field position and a field goal attempt where Elliott screwed them again with another missed field goal. The two teams then traded three-and-outs before the Eagles defense looked trashed again but benefitted from three straight self-inflicted wounds to get the ball back.

The Eagles offense took their last drive of the half 87 yards while bleeding the clock to just 19 seconds. Unfortunately, Hurts stood in the backfield and nearly took a sack instead of throwing the ball on 3rd down from the 3, where every single Eagles receiver was in the endzone and open at at least one time. Because of yet another asinine decision by their QB, the Eagles settled for a field goal and Elliott decided to actually do his job that time. Unfortunately, that still left the Eagles trailing after their failures for the entire rest of the first half.

The Eagles gave up an 18-yard pass to start a drive where the Commanders had just 19 seconds (partially because the Eagles began to preserve clock at the end of their previous drive). A drop on an otherwise easy 12-yard gain kept the Commanders from being able to attempt a field goal and the half ended with the good guys losing 7-3.

It was a rough start to the half as what should have been a stop for the defense turned into a total BS DPI call on DeJean that wound up handing Washington 3 points in a one-score game. Huge gains by Barkley defined the next drive until Hurts passed up another wide-open receiver across the middle to throw some garbage that didn’t even make it to AJ Brown on the outside, so the Eagles QB decided once again a field goal was a better option than throwing to a receiver who was open in the end zone, leaving the Eagles still losing, now by 4.

The Eagles forced a punt to get the ball back and the Eagles went on a 75-yard drive for a touchdown led by 37 yards off Barkley and Gainwell, but downed at the one-yard line, Hurts was handed another touchdown on the tush push in a drive he really didn’t earn it. Jake Elliott then missed the extra point, making him about as effective on the night as a random fan from the stands and leaving the Eagles leading by only two.

The Eagles defense came out to get gashed repeatedly by the tight ends. Ultimately, they made a stand that might have been too late, but the Commanders went for it on 4th down and the defense stood tall. That left the Eagles in the lead and the ball with a bit under eight minutes on the clock. In a near disastrous play, the Eagles got a huge play for 32 yards deep to Dallas Goedert who fumbled the ball. Grant Calcaterra came in with a key recovery that kept the drive alive for a 23-yard Barkley touchdown run.

The strike was quick so Washington had time to get back in it, but Jayden Daniels was promptly picked off by Reed Blankenship on his first attempt of the following drive. Barkley came out and burned just 12 seconds of game clock before he had the 46 yards needed for a touchdown to put the Eagles up by 16.

Washington responded with a touchdown drive, but with only 4:38 left in the game, the Commanders took 4:10 seconds to do it. They had to make the 2-point try, recover an onside kick, then score a touchdown and make another 2-point try in 28 seconds just to tie the game and get to overtime.

Zach Ertz kept that hope alive with an incredible catch on the line over DeJean after a ridiculously long scramble by Daniels. That hope was dashed by a very easy recovery by Dallas Goedert on the onside kick that allowed the Eagles to hold on for the win despite a terrible all-around offensive game.

The Eagles are now 8-2 and on a six-game win streak entering two of their toughest games remaining on the schedule against the now healthy Rams and the Ravens.

Offensive MVP: Saquon Barkley

In this game it really came down to AJ or Barkley. It was Barkley who was able to keep the team moving through the self-inflicted injuries, however (through no fault to Brown). Barkley had 100 yards rushing and 52 receiving by the time the Eagles took a two-score lead. He added a touchdown. After the game seemed over, he added another 46 yards on two rushes to score his second touchdown, piling it on.

Defensive MVP: Reed Blankenship

Milton Williams and Jalen Carter deserve some recognition in this one, but it was Blankenship who finally called game. He was one of the team leaders in tackles (10), but he made the single most important defensive play of the night for the Eagles, coming down with the interception that allowed the Eagles to quickly go up two scores in the fourth quarter and essentially seal the game.

Game Notes

• Saquon Barkley, basically the only positive on offense aside from the 25-yard AJ Brown reception while Hurts muddled through the first half, passed 1,000 yards on the season in the first quarter of the game tonight.
• Grant Calcaterra: that fumble recovery was key and cannot be overstated. In a game were the Eagles shot themselves in the foot so many times, that fumble could have been a back-breaker. Instead, it remained a huge play that moved the ball down the field and ultimately led to the huge momentum swing in the Eagles favor.
• Jalen Carter, what a night. The DT has been playing more and more snaps and has remained effective throughout. He had seven tackles in this one, including one for loss, while pretty regularly having to deal with double teams and pressuring the QB anyway.
• I’ll put it this way: If Jake Elliott didn’t have a history in Philly, the kicker might be looking for a new job tomorrow. He was an absolute bum and they could probably have had Braden Mann or maybe a special teamer kick in his place an they would have done just as well. This guy is one of the highest-paid kickers in the league and missed three separate kicks and left seven points on the field while simultaneously handing Washington short fields. He could easily have been the reason they lost this game.
• The Eagles started off with the bubble screen to Dotson, finally using him as they should have been all season. It went for 8 yards. They did not attempt anything similar the rest of the game.
• Jalen Hurts was once again ugly for the first half, just standing there and making no decision at all. Taking unnecessary sacks and staring at open receivers before deciding to throw poor passes that didn’t get to them or arrived when coverage was able to recover. It was an absolute slop fest and was an example of the exact reason this team is not dominant despite the personnel – they could have the entire team open and for half of nearly every game their QB is unable to make any decision at all in the proper time. In this one, the mired play seemed to effect the whole game the the Birds essentially needed to move to rushing and pulling the OL to get any rhythm.
• Another differential between this game and a loss: Hurts did not turn the ball over. He was bad nearly the entire game, but he didn’t make those major mistakes that would have allowed Washington to run away from it. If he can limit his worst games to games like this, that will be a welcome sight (at least figuratively, obviously it’d be better if he still looked good in his worst games).

Injury Notes

• Landon Dickerson was injured in the first series of the game (third play) and exited while Tyler Steen took over. He returned for the second offensive drive.
• Jalen Hurts went into the medical tent for a concussion evaluation after having to settle for a field goal to end the half but was cleared.

Washington Commanders @ Philadelphia Eagles – November 14, 2024