The historic win streak comes to an end, as the Eagles drop their first game since September to the Washington Commanders in a 36-33 showdown. Despite the fact that the Eagles can still clinch the NFC East, the #2 seed, and through a convoluted series of fortunate events, possibly the #1 seeds, Eagles fans have mixed reviews of the loss. Some are handling it well, noting they’d rather see a loss come now than in January, while others have feelings of embarrassment and frustration. So how did the Eagles get to this point? There are several key reasons to this loss, some more obvious than others.

No Jalen Hurts: It’s evident that the offense had to make some serious adjustments after Jalen Hurts left the game after only 11 plays, taking a helmet-to-helmet hit from Commanders LB Frankie Luvu in the first quarter. Kenny Pickett’s initial drive was optimistic, as he went 3/4 passing, ending the drive with a 4-yard touchdown to AJ Brown. However, it became increasingly obvious that Kenny couldn’t meet the expectations of Jalen Hurts, causing the Eagles offensive coordinator, Kellen Moore, to make drastic adjustments to get things done. Pickett couldn’t get the ball down the field to put the birds in scoring position after the 68 yard rushing TD from Saquon Barkley, to which the offense relied on kicker Jake Elliott to make four field goals. Dealing with his own injury (ribs), the offense had to rely on the run game, which was easily picked up on by the Commanders Defense. An offense can only do so much from that point.

Penalties/Officiating: I’m not going to flat out say that the refs blew this game for the Eagles, but there were some moments where the officiating was questionable, and should be further investigated. Safety CJ Gardner-Johnson was ejected from the game after accumulating two personal foul penalties. Both of his fouls were related to taunting/trash talking. The first instance, CJGJ was trash talking Commanders WR Dyami Brown, to which the receiver responded with a shove/punch to the face resulting in CJGJ’s helmet falling off. The only one to receive a penalty, was Gardner-Johnson, despite the fact that the physical contact by Brown was done in front of a referee. Make it make sense. The Eagles would get relief due to at least three pass interference calls on Commanders CB Marshon Lattimore. However, no penalty called on the hit to Hurts, no penalty called on Dyami Brown for throwing a punch, and no penalty called on the clear as day false start by Commanders RT Cornelius Lucas on the game-winning TD pass from Jayden Daniels to Jamison Crowder are just a few examples of the questionable officiating that were catalysts to this Eagles loss

Jayden Daniels: The rookie QB for this Washington team has been a breath of fresh air for an organization that has been through more starting QB than some fans have been alive. Despite the 2 interceptions, Jayden Daniels went 24/39 for 258 yards and 5 TD’s, along with 9 carries for 81 yards. Even as an Eagles fan, it would be unrealistic to discredit the performance this young man has been putting on this year. He carved through the Eagles defense both on the ground and in the air for a fourth quarter comeback. This game more than likely cemented his position as OROTY

Defensive Struggles: Yes, even with accumulating 5 turnovers, our defense has to finish the job to the last whistle, and they were unable to get the job completely done. There were factors within and out of our control. Not having veterans like Bryce Huff & BG hurt the team before the first whistle. CJGJ getting ejected sucked. Then losing players throughout the game such as Josh Sweat, Jordan Davis, Darius Slay & Nakobe Dean don’t help out either. However, our defense has been susceptible to giving up scores wit under 90 seconds left in the game (regardless if we win the game or not) we saw it in this loss, the loss to Atlanta, and the wins against Washington/Baltimore. At least four games in which our defense has given up a touchdown. This cannot happen, especially with playoffs just weeks away. To prevent this, our defense has to get off the field in a timely manner, which comes with stopping conversions. Just within the past couple games, including this one, we’ve given up 3rd & 8’s, 4th & 7’s, 4th & 11’s and more 3rd/4th down scenarios that could’ve & should’ve been stopped. Going into the playoffs, Vic Fangio & company seriously need to review film and come up with a game plan for preventing these types of scenarios from happening again.

Overall, a loss sucks, no matter the implications. Losses near the end of the season tend to hit differently. There are so many what if scenarios that have to occur in order for us to come up with the best plan heading into the playoffs. The Eagles needed this win to comfortably win the division and they couldn’t get it done. Thankfully, there is room for optimism, as we know the loss is not an end all deal. Our focus at this point should be the health of Jalen Hurts and the team as a whole. We still have chances for a fantastic playoff run & Super Bowl hopes are still alive. The Commanders had their Super Bowl, we’ll have the real one soon enough. Go Birds! 🦅

Photo Credit - Bleed Green Nation

Cover Photo Credit - NBC4 Washington.

Michael Roscoe - Olde City Sports Network/ 2nd and 15: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast