PHILADELPHIA — Nobody saw this coming, the Eagles defeating the Washington Commanders Sunday on a 54-yard field goal by Jake Elliott in overtime.
Certainly not Jake from State Farm, the smiling insurance commercial star who watched the game from a Super Box at Lincoln Financial Field with Jason Kelce’s mother Donna, also a TV star.
No one had the Eagles falling behind by double digits for the first time this season, much less getting penalized for offside on the Tush Push. Allowing Commanders quarterback Sam Howell, who was tossed around like a rag doll last week to throw for almost 300 yards? What have you been inhaling?
But we all had the Eagles walking into the tunnel with a 4-0 record because player for player, no team matches up with them in the NFC, although Deebo Samuel would like to believe the undefeated San Francisco 49ers and quarterback Brock Purdy are an exception. See you in two months at Lincoln Financial Field.
This victory was due largely to Jalen Hurts throwing for 319 yards and two touchdowns and peeling off a season-long 24-yard run on one of the rare occasions he wasn’t spied on. That jaunt kept the defense honest.
It was about veteran A.J. Brown collecting 175 receiving yards, including two touchdowns and linebacker Nick Morrow, who had four career sacks entering the game, putting Howell on his back three times.
The Eagles made it difficult for themselves. But the Commanders were thoroughly prepared right down to the Tush Push, the Eagles subsequently flagged for lining up offside on the first one. Left guard Landon Dickerson was fingered for the penalty. For their efforts, the Commanders deserved better than a 34-31 setback leaving them 2-2 in the NFC East. Deserves, Clint Eastwood liked to say, has nothing to do with it.
“There are a ton of things to clean up in every phase and every guy could have done something better out there today,” Hurts said. “But when you find ways to win in those moments and you persevere, and you stick together, that makes a team come together. That makes us stronger and that builds a special togetherness.”
In the first half the Eagles could not stop a version of the Andy Reid offense that ended their dream in Super Bowl LVII in Glendale. New Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, formerly of the Chiefs, played to the skills of Howell, the quarterback using quick throws over the middle to exploit openings in the Philly defense. It was surgical.
The Eagles trailed, 7-0, after the first possession and except for a lengthy drive of their own to knot the score at 7-all, were reduced to a field goal offense the rest of the first half. They trailed by 10 points at the intermission, their largest deficit of the season.
It was more of the same in the second half although the Eagles shifted into their grind mode. They went ahead, 21-17, in the third quarter on a 59-yard pass from Hurts to Brown, though Washington’s Brian Robinson burst up the middle for a 15-yard scoring run, tying the contest at 24-24 with 8:01 left.
It was the Eagles’ turn to go ahead when Brown beat Emmanuell Forbes Jr. on a fade with 1:43 left. Brown drew a taunting penalty for dropping the ball on the ground next to the fallen cornerback, forcing Elliott to kick off from the 20 and helping the Commanders start at the 36-yard line. With two seconds left, Howell found Jahan Dotson with a 10-yard scoring pass, but Ron Rivera blew off the two-point conversion in favor of the PAT, sending the game to overtime.
The Commanders came within a replay review of keeping their drive alive, receiver Terry McLaurin (eight receptions for 86 yards) just getting a toe on the sideline chalk to negate a would-be first down..
Hurts then took matters into his own hands, his intentional grounding penalty for wildly overthrowing Brown notwithstanding.
“I thought he played clutch, just clutch,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said of Hurts. “Whether it was the overtime drive, whether it was the drive where we scored with about a minute-plus left. We didn’t have a lot of possessions in the first half, and we needed that end-of-half drive to get going.”
In OT, Elliott put a merciful end to a game that had been taken over by the officials. Referee Ron Torbert’s crew assessed 18 accepted penalties, including 11 on the Eagles.
Make no mistake, this triumph gave the Eagles an identity just as Jake did in those State Farm commercials. Their pass game is solid enough to carry them down the homestretch. Their ability to rally is there.
“We needed a game like this for us,” Hurts said. “I guess we wanted to play a little bit longer tonight.”
Source: Berkshire mont