The Washington Commanders were flying high ahead of their Week 11 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football. At 7-3, the Commanders had led the NFC East through nine weeks but trailed the Eagles by a half-game before Week 11.
Washington had won seven of its last eight games before Week 11, with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels leading the way.
Things started well for the Commanders that day, as Daniels led Washington on a four-play, 58-yard drive on their second drive of the game to take an early 7-0 lead. However, the offense would stall against Philly’s top-ranked defense but still managed a 10-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter, thanks to a terrific defensive effort.
For whatever reason, Washington’s offense wasn’t up to the task of pulling off the road upset. The Eagles pulled away for a 26-18 win, and Philadelphia outscored Washington 20-8 in the fourth quarter.
The Commanders’ second and final touchdown came on their final drive when Daniels found tight end Zach Ertz with less than a minute remaining. It was a 15-play, 70-yard drive.
Washington finished the game with 264 total yards. Almost half of those yards came on the two touchdown drives early in the game and at the end. So, in between those two drives, the Commanders managed only 136 total yards.
What went wrong?
Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury discussed that first meeting, taking the blame for offensive struggles.
“I think the ability to learn from what we did the first time we played,” Kingsbury said. “I’m on a short week. I mentioned this before, but I had way too much in, and I felt like we played tentative. I didn’t call a very good game. So, now I have the full week process and just see how they played this the first time, try to make the proper adjustments and then see how far we’ve come since then.”
That’s not an excuse from Kingsbury; it’s a reality. Thursday night games are difficult for everyone, which is why we see so many sloppy games. Remember, Washington was coming off a close, physical battle with the Steelers on Sunday. Pittsburgh, like Philadelphia, had one of the NFL’s top defenses.
Something else Kingsbury didn’t mention was Daniels’s health. The rookie passer injured his ribs in a Week 7 win over the Panthers, and the injury lingered for weeks. Daniels has looked more explosive over Washington’s last two games, which is a good sign heading into Sunday.
Unfortunately, the Commanders are more short-handed on offense, with running back Austin Ekeler and Noah Brown on injured reserve. Also, Ertz is in the NFL’s concussion protocol and his status for Week 16 is uncertain.
