What a whirlwind week for Washington, losing two games in five days to drop a game-and-a-half behind Philadelphia in the NFC East.
The 26-18 loss saw recurring concerns on defense, from the inability to stop the run (the Eagles finished with 228 yards on the ground), while the offense never really got out of second gear (Terry McLaurin held to one catch on two targets).
But even with the losing streak, the team is on track to make the playoffs. Their projected Wild Card round foe? Philadelphia.
First Down: Choosing to run on a fourth and 2 from the Philly 26-yard line when a field goal would have retaken the lead was debated, but the inability to gain one yard on the combined two previous downs was telling on a night where the ground game averaged 3.3 per carry.
Jayden Daniels’ first interception since October and his restrained running had many wondering about his health. And the defense was toast by the end of the night, allowing three fourth-quarter touchdowns. Saquon Barkley gained 74 of his 146 yards rushing in the final period. That’s two straight games where the D bent for three quarters before eventually breaking in the final frame.
Second Down: On a week where the Commanders and Eagles played for the division lead, the rest of the NFC East was in semi-shambles.
Dallas is 3-7 after losing at home to Houston 34-10, and the only thing worse than going 0-5 in your stadium by the average score of 37-14 is trying to open the AT&T Stadium roof only to have debris fall to the turf.
And although the New York Giants were on their bye week, they made news Monday morning by announcing the demotion of starting quarterback Daniel Jones with folk hero Tommy DeVito taking his place.
One looks forward to Jersey Boys and Goodfellas references, the most inconspicuous agent in the world, and debates over if a grown man should have his mother make his bed daily.
Washington’s idle Sunday left us available to watch dueling 1 p.m. divisional games featuring Baltimore-Pittsburgh and Chicago-Green Bay. In each, the current trends continued: Ravens-Steelers was a one-possession affair for the tenth straight game while the Bears’ last-second field goal attempt was blocked as the Packers won their 11th straight in the series.
We also had a “scorigami” when Detroit drilled Jacksonville 52-6, although one thought the Jags, with their history, had 52-6 losses in their DNA.
Third Down: Washington moved the chains on 3 of 12 attempts, with Daniels completing 3 of 6 passes for three conversions (two coming on the final scoring drive). He was sacked once and failed to get a first down on his scramble.
The top option? Zack Ertz caught a pair of passes for conversions. Brian Robinson Jr. got three carries, but one was on the final play of the first half and another was a draw play on third and 22. He did lose one yard on a third and one that preceded the fourth down in the final quarter. Jeremy McNichols ran for a first down on Washington’s final touchdown drive.
Yardage breakdown: 1-2 on short-yardage, 2-7 when needing four to six yards and 0-3 on third and long. Philly’s offense went 9-16 on third down while making four of five attempts in the second half.
Flag on the Play: Washington was whistled five times, with four accepted penalties (a hold on a 3rd and 22 was declined). Two penalties came on special teams (illegal block above the waist on a punt return and a delay of game on a field-goal attempt), one was on offense (Dyami Brown for holding) and one was on defense (illegal contact on Mike Sinister).
The costliest flag? Sainristill’s illegal contact in the second quarter came with a little over a minute left in the first half, helping to get the Eagles into field goal position for their first points of the night.
Fourth Down: After playing in prime-time with Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit calling the action, the Commanders return to the early window of a FOX doubleheader.
Given the market size of the two teams, plus the inherent Cowboys bump (regardless of their short-term disaster and long-term ineptitude, they draw eyeballs like nobody else) means the No. 2 team of Joe Davis and Greg Olsen come to Northwest Stadium.
Olsen is calling his second game at Northwest Stadium, while Davis sees this team for the first time due to his month of MLB Playoff responsibilities.
Meanwhile, an exceptionally soft CBS slate gives us a limited menu of must-watch games the Sunday before we fill up with a Thanksgiving triple-header.
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