Take a mental picture of what happened Sunday afternoon at Northwest Stadium. The Commanders’ 36-33 victory over Philadelphia will be a game that someday everyone in the D.C. metro area will claim to have attended.
Those who thought it would be close and took Washington +4 were cursing at 1:30 p.m., shaking their heads at 2:30 p.m., shrugging at 3:30 p.m. and rejoicing at 4:30 p.m.
They didn’t clinch a playoff berth, but the Commanders proved they belonged in the postseason by rallying against the best team in the division (albeit without their quarterback).
First Down: A great quarterback can elevate a subpar roster, or at least one that’s in transition. Jayden Daniels threw five touchdown passes, including a strike to Jamison Crowder with six seconds left that put Washington ahead for good.
Crowder is one of those guys who contributes on any roster but is somehow able to make plays when you need him to — and he caught a pair of TD passes against the Eagles.
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And even though the offense turned the ball over five times, the defense held Philly in check after their 21-point first quarter by making big stops when they were needed.
One month after allowing 20 points in a loss at Philly, it was rather sweet to see the team put 22 points on the board in the final period against the Eagles.
Second Down: Washington can punch its playoff ticket Sunday night by beating Atlanta, although a loss by Tampa Bay would secure a berth for the Burgundy and Gold by the time they take the field.
The Falcons can wrap up the NFC South with a win plus a Tampa Bay loss. And despite having lived in the No. 7 seed like a recent graduate in his parent’s basement, the team can improve their seeding.
Green Bay’s Monday Night win over New Orleans keeps the Packers one game ahead of Washington, but they visit Minnesota in Week 17.
A loss to the Vikings plus a Washington win would catapult the Commanders into the No. 6 seed as they’d have the better conference record. Something to think about when you tune into Packers-Vikings at 4:25 p.m. Sunday.
Third Down: Washington went 7-13 on the money down with Daniels completing 6-8 passes for four conversions and one interception. The rookie also scrambled once (failed to get the first) while a planned run moved the chains.
Brian Robinson Jr. and Jeremy McNichols both carried for first downs while Chris Rodriguez Jr. was stuffed short of the marker.
Robinson was the top option, catching both passes thrown his way for one conversion.
Yardage breakdown: 2-3 on third and short, 3-5 when needing four to six yards, 2-5 on third and long. Defensively they held Philly to 3-16 with just once conversion coming after halftime.
Flag on the Play: Washington was whistled six times for 93 yards, with five of those penalties coming on the defensive side of the ball that included three pass interference calls against Marshon Lattimore.
There was also a defensive hold against Noah Igbinoghene and a facemask called on Daron Payne. The lone offensive penalty was a false start on Terry McLaurin that was wiped out by a Philly unsportsmanlike conduct foul.
After fifteen games the most common flags have been false starts and defensive pass interference (16), while the most penalized player on the team remains guard Sam Cosmi (8).
Sunday’s most costly flag? The defensive hold on Igbinoghene turned what would have been a fourth and three from the Washington 23 into a first and ten at the Washington 18. Philly would reach the end zone three plays later.
Fourth Down: While they enjoyed the call of FOX’s No. 2 team this past week, Sunday Night Football means Washington gets Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth.
Have fun waiting for the game to come on TV, as Sunday’s slate has been picked clean with two games on Christmas, a Thursday night game in Chicago and three games Saturday.
CBS especially suffers with a weak lineup that features a double-digit defeat team in all four of its games (including Tennessee-Jacksonville to double your fun).
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