Landover, Maryland.This was the day you’ve been waiting for if you wanted to know what the Eagles offense may look like without quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Hurts suffered a concussion less than six minutes into Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders, leaving the Eagles to face the challenging task of defeating a strong club without their captain.
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Rookie Jayden Daniels led the Commanders on a nine-play, 57-yard drive in the closing two minutes to give Washington a 36-33 victory at Northwest Stadium, but they came very close behind Jersey-born quarterback Kenny Pickett. Despite forcing five turnovers, the Eagles lost.
The Eagles’ 10-game winning streak and attempt to win their 13th NFC East division title were both stopped by the defeat. At 12-3, they must lose their next two games against the Detroit Lions (13-2) in order to guarantee the top NFC spot. If the Eagles defeat the Cowboys or Giants in the last few weeks, they will win the division.
With six seconds left, Daniels completed the winning drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jamison Crowder, improving the Commanders to 10-5 and strengthening their effort to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2020 while preserving their slim chances of capturing the NFC East.
The Eagles almost won the game because to Saquon Barkley, the defense, and Pickett.
Shortly after Hurts exited the game, Barkley rushed for 150 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including one from 68 yards out. Jake Elliott’s fourth field goal of the second half was made possible by an interception by Reed Blankenship, which was the last of the defense’s five takeaways.
In the meantime, Pickett replaced Hurts in the first quarter and again in the last quarter, making some spectacular passes right away.
He found A.J. Brown for a 15-yard gain and a first down on a fourth-and-seven play from the 50, which was the biggest of those passes. With 1:58 left, Elliott made his first 50-yard field goal of the season after the Eagles were within eight yards of Pickett’s run on a third-and-15 play.
The Eagles were ahead by five points at that point.
Hurts’ departure due to a concussion during the Eagles’ second offensive series was the day’s and the first half’s major story.
That was just one of five touchdowns scored by the two sides in a frenetic first half.
By the end of the first quarter, Barkley had rushed for 109 yards, and the Eagles defense had three takeaways, but Philadelphia was still seven points up at the half.
Along with the five lessons learned, the Eagles defense opened the game with a fourth-and-one stop, which gave the offense the ball against the Washington 49. The Eagles scored their first touchdown on an opening possession of the season eight plays later, including four runs from Barkley. Before scoring on a two-yard run, Barkley had runs of 13 and 19 yards.
After an 11-yard pass from Hurts to Brown and a 22-yard run by Hurts, the offense swiftly advanced into Commander’s territory after the Eagles’ second possession began with a forced fumble by Jalen Carter that was recovered by Nolan Smith.
Hurts got free on a 13-yard run after being penalized for purposeful grounding. However, Hurts and Washington linebacker Frankie Luvu collided head to helmet as the play came to a close. An independent physician who was paid to investigate all possible concussion-causing plays called Hurts off the field, even though he had no plans to leave.
Pickett put the ball at the Washington 11 right away by completing a 10-yard pass to Brown. Ultimately, the Eagles had to call a timeout when they faced a third-and-three from the Washington 4-yard line. Hurts then placed his helmet back on, intending to play the rest of the game. He was ultimately escorted to the locker room and removed off the field, never to be seen again.
The Eagles led 14-0 as Pickett completed the drive with a touchdown pass to Brown.
This was only the beginning of this crazy situation.
Washington’s first touchdown of the game occurred on a third-and-six pass from Daniels to Crowder, which was set up by a Pickett interception by Luvu.
With Barkley’s 68-yard touchdown run, the Eagles responded right away and took a 21–7 lead.
An eight-play, 96-yard drive that began with a 50-yard pass from Daniels to Dyami Brown and culminated with a 32-yard touchdown throw to Terry McLaurin after he had gotten underneath rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell brought Washington within a touchdown early in the second quarter.
After Elliott missed a 56-yard field goal to finish the first half, the Eagles were only able to convert one of their three takeaways into scores.
The Eagles kicked a field goal on their first possession of the second half after two 61-yard pass-interference penalties on Brown from Marshon Lattimore. Zack Baun’s forced fumble resulted in a fourth takeaway, which allowed Elliott to score another field goal halfway through the third quarter, giving the Eagles a 13-point lead.
However, the fourth lesson also concluded with one of the numerous tense confrontations between the teams, which resulted in C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s dismissal from the game. Before going into the tunnel, the Eagles safety gave the Washington supporters a double bird as he left.
Early in the fourth quarter, Daniels connected with Olamide Zaccheaus, a wide receiver who had previously played for the Eagles and St. Joseph’s Prep, for a touchdown on a third-and-two play, cutting the Eagles’ advantage to seven. When Daniels broke out of the pocket for a 29-yard gain on a fourth-and-11 play in the last play of the third quarter, the real damage had already been done.
The Eagles were left behind in the score after a frantic finale.
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