Christmas Comes Early as the Eagles Beat the Commanders
The Eagles repeat as NFC East Champions for the first time in 21 years!
‘Twas the Saturday before Christmas
And all through the house
The Eagles took on the Commanders
By heading down south
Philly went down to handle its business with care
In hopes that the NFC East would be all theirs
The Commanders were broken with injury to blame
Relying on Marcus Mariota and some dudes I can’t name
The Birds’ offense looked disjointed
As they typically do
But with the players they have, the talent shone through
A.J. caught nine, coming down with each lob
Proving good things happen when you tweet about your job
Barkley got going and ran with the wind
Totaling 132 yards in a much-needed win
Hurts used his legs and scored points with his arm
Tyler Steen fought 8 Commanders and was led away by Big Dom
Goedert caught a touchdown as he usually can
Tying the franchise record for touchdowns by an Eagles tight end
Special teams struggled and made Philly fans scoff
Jake Elliot missed three straight kicks like his leg just fell off
The defense bent early, but made Washington dread
As visions of championships danced in their heads
The Commanders couldn’t move as hard as they tried
Jordan Davis played bigger than his 6’ 6” size
Brandon Graham got a sack, and DeJean caught a pick
Quinyon Mitchell covered well, and Zack Baun made hits
History is repeating like it’s 2004
As the Eagles are back-to-back NFC East Champions once more
Even better that Dallas is gone from playoff contention
A reminder that those bums are not worth a mention
On Jalen, on A.J., on Saquon, on Smith
On Brandon, on Cooper, on Jalyx, on Ship
With playoff experience and talent alone
This team could make another run at the Super Bowl
They’ll enter the playoffs as the 3 seed at least
With an offense that’s average and a defense elite
As I imagine Nick Sirianni exclaimed, as he left the field out of sight
“Merry Birdsmas to all, and to all a good night!”
If you watched the game like me, feel free to skip the Game Recap and check out Trending Up/Trending Down
GAME RECAP
The Eagles were taking on a Commanders team that’s been decimated by injuries. The path to a W was clear, but a bad start for this Eagles team left any chance of winning in doubt. On the opening kickoff, Eagles returner Will Shipley fumbled the ball, giving the Commanders possession right outside of the redzone. The league’s 3rd-best redzone offense worked its way towards the endzone with a strong running attack led by Commanders running backs Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Chris Rodriguez, and a dink and dunk passing attack from Marcus Mariota. After Mariota missed open Commanders wide receiver Treylon Burks in the endzone, the Commanders were forced to settle for a field goal to go up 3-0.
The Eagles went 3-and-out on their first drive, giving the Commanders another crack at it. Mariota and the offense went into no-huddle to build some momentum. Mariota hit Terry McLaurin on a comeback route as he was falling to the ground to convert a first down. Later in the drive, Mariota hit Treylon Burks for 16 yards, but the play was called back due to a holding penalty. The Eagles’ defense held the Commanders to a 4th and 14 to get the ball back. During this drive, Nakobe Dean went out with a hamstring injury and would not return.
On Philly’s second drive, they used quick tempo out of the empty formation to get to work. Hurts hit DeVonta Smith for 16 yards before running for 14 yards. He hit AJ Brown for 15 yards before lofting a beautiful pass to DeVonta Smith in the endzone that Smith couldn’t hold onto. Hurts then hit AJ Brown for 16 yards before finding DeVonta Smith in the endzone for Philadelphia’s first touchdown to go up 7-3.
The Commanders took the field at the end of the first quarter, but their drive was stifled by a Brandon Graham sack, his 3rd in two weeks. With the ball back, Philadelphia continued to operate out of the empty. Saquon found some running room before Hurts hit AJ Brown for 24 yards. The drive stalled out at Washington’s 25-yard line, ending in a missed kick by Jake Elliot, who has now missed a kick in 4 of the last 5 games.
With the ball back, Mariota hit Terry McLaurin for 42 yards against Eagles cornerback Adoree Jackson. Washington was getting some traction running the ball into the teeth of the defensive line. Using their running game to work down the field, the Commanders end the drive with a touchdown run by Jacory Croskey-Merritt to take the lead at 10-7.
On Philadelphia’s next drive, A.J. Brown singlehandedly took this team down the field. Brown had a career high of 8 first-half catches. On 3rd and 8 with 25 seconds left, A.J. Brown caught a 4-yard pass to make it 4th and 4 in Jake Elliot’s field goal range at 57 yards. Elliot missed the kick wide right again, but an offside penalty by Washington gave the Eagles a first down. With the additional yardage, Jake Elliot attempted a 52-yard kick only to miss wide right again, his third straight missed kick of the game.
During the Commander’s first drive after half-time, quarterback Marcus Mariota went out with a right hand injury. The Commanders went 3-and-out, giving the Eagles the ball back. The Eagles ran a disjointed drive, but were bailed out by multiple mistakes made by the Commanders. On 4th and 7, Jalen Hurts was intercepted on a pass to A.J. Brown, but it was called back due to illegal contact on Washington. On a 3rd and 8, a pass interference call on the Commanders against DeVonta Smith in the endzone gave Philadelphia the ball at the 1-yard line. After being stuffed on two consecutive tush pushes and a Landon Dickerson holding penalty, the Eagles went from 1st and goal at the 1-yard line to 3rd and long. Jalen Hurts hit Jahan Dotson for a touchdown, but a Fred Johnson holding penalty backed them up 10 yards. On 3rd and 15, Jalen Hurts found Dallas Goedert for his 10th touchdown of the year, tying a franchise record to bring the Eagles up 14-10. According to NBC Sports Dave Zangaro, the 10:35 drive was the Eagles’ longest drive of the season by plays and second longest by time.
Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota was officially out of the game, and third-string quarterback Josh Johnson took the reins. Johnson threw a bad pick to Cooper DeJean to get the Eagles the ball back. On 2nd and 6 from Washington’s 22-yard line, Saquon Barkley took the hand-off from Hurts and carried the rock for 12 yards and a touchdown to bring Philly up 21-10.
Later in the fourth quarter, Saquon Barkley ripped off a 48-yard run after spinning out of contact behind the line of scrimmage. Backup running back Tank Bigsby capped off the drive with a 22-yard run. The Eagles converted a two-point conversion on a Saquon Barkley run to make the score 29-10. With the game out of reach, the Commanders made it down to the goal line due to a Kelee Ringo pass interference call and ended up scoring on a Chris Rodriguez run and converting a two-point conversion to make it 29-18. But it was too little too late. Eagles win.
TRENDING UP
Jordan Davis: The big man had a big game in the midst of what’s been a big season. Davis was absolutely disruptive today, blowing up a series of Chris Rodriguez runs and pressuring the quarterback. Even in the absence of Jalen Carter, Davis is an absolute force in the middle of the defensive line. All praise goes to Peloton.
Brandon Graham: BG is showing the age ain’t nothing but a number. Playing defensive tackle again today, Graham got consistent pressure and recorded his third sack in two weeks. As a 36-year-old man who occasionally gets injured from things like sleeping and walking quickly, seeing a 37-year-old BG thrive makes me proud.
Tyler Steen Against the World: Tyler Steen is a real one. After the Eagles converted a two-point attempt in the fourth quarter, all hell broke loose. At the center of it was Tyler Steen. He was like the Undertaker fighting in the Royal Rumble. Coming to the aid of his teammate, inspired by the Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul fight, and probably just wanting to work out his anger issues, Steen took on half of the entire Commanders’ defense by himself in this impromptu brawl. His role in the fight led to his ejection from the game. Maybe he isn’t the best blocker, but any dude crazy enough to take on like eight other giant dudes is someone I want on my team.
Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigbsy: It was a big game for STankquon Bigley (testing out names for this backfield, and this is the only choice). STankquon combined for two touchdowns and 169 yards. Barkley had huge runs in this one, including a 21-yard score and a 48-yard run where he spun out of contact behind the line of scrimmage. It’s great to see the running game get going again with the playoffs coming up. If STankquon can build off this momentum, this team can go far in the postseason.
The Year 2004: The year is 2004. The top songs range from “Yeah!” by Usher to “The Reason” by Hoobastank. Facebook was just founded, and everyone was wearing Uggs, tracksuits, and Von Dutch. People were rushing to theaters to see Kill Bill Vol. 2 and Anchorman. It was a significant year, not only because people relentlessly wore trucker hats in public, but because this was the last time there was a repeat champion in the NFC East. At the time, that was a Philadelphia Eagles team led by Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens on their way to the Super Bowl. We’re back baby, as the Eagles have repeated as NFC East Champions again for the first time since 2004. It feels good to be back (but let’s please leave Von Dutch and Hoobastank in the past).
TRENDING DOWN
Jake Elliot: My sources tell me that Jake Elliot’s leg has fallen off. He’s lost the ability to make field goals. The streets are calling him “Jake the Miss.” Elliot has missed field goals in 4 out of 5 of the last games, including three straight misses in this one. In a league where kickers are getting better and nailing field goals from insanely long distances, Elliot is struggling. He currently has the 3rd lowest field goal percentage in the league, which is not great for the league’s second-highest paid kicker. Elliot is a crucial part of the team, but his struggles make everything harder.
Will Shipley: A fumble on the opening kickoff and a strange decision to bring the ball out of the endzone on another kickoff to back the Eagles up to their own 19-yard line. If Shipley is going to be the primary returner, he needs to be better.
Scoring Before Halftime: One low-key struggle the Birds have had all season is their pre-halftime offense. Getting the ball with a little over 3 minutes left before the half, Sirianni’s poor clock management resulted in the Eagles settling for a Jake Elliot field goal with 18 seconds remaining. Sirianni and Patullo lack aggression in these situations and seemingly play for the field goal instead of the touchdown. Not great if you ask me, reader (were you asking me?)
Galaxy Brain Playcalling: Early in this game, the Eagles lined up to go for it on a 4th-and-1. They lined up in the shotgun formation and attempted to draw the Commanders offside. The Manders (Coms? Commies?) defense didn’t bite. It was a strange call given the circumstances. If you want to draw them offside, why not line up in the tush push formation to make them think you’re going to run the play you run like 99% of the time in this situation? It’s another sign of this team overthinking things a little too much when the Occam’s Razor approach would do.
Emotional Coaches Challenge: Listen, sometimes you need to get things off your chest. When Jacory Croskey-Merritt was called short of the first down on a 3rd down, the officials replay assist looked at the play again and confirmed the call. Commanders coach Dan Quinn clearly was not into the ruling and decided to challenge the replay assist’s ruling. The officials already took a second look at the play to confirm their ruling so the chances a third look overturns that is slim. The Commanders ended up converting on a 4th-and 1 so Quinn burned a timeout for no reason. This is why breathing exercises are important.
Kelee Ringo: With the game in hand, the Eagles put in their backups on defense. Kelee Ringo immediately committed pass interference against Treylon Burks to give the Commanders the ball at the goal line. They scored on the next play. Nothing has ever been more on character.
HOT TAKES
Success Out of Empty Formation: The Eagles have struggled to find an identity this season. This game showed that they’re still in the process of finding one, but there were some glimmers of what that might be. One sign of hope was Philadelphia’s success out of the empty formation, specifically with the use of a little tempo. Early on, Washington insisted on playing a base defense and Patullo correctly spread them out by letting Jalen operate out of empty. Going empty gives the Eagles so many options. They worked their way down the field by hitting their wide receivers against a stretched-out Commanders defense. Whenever there wasn’t a play to be made down the field, Hurts simply ran the ball for solid gains, which operated as a checkdown. The Eagles have seen success on Hurts runs out of empty all season. It’s a great tool for them to continue to lean on to put that extra stress on the defense.
An Ode to Chip Kelly: It’s insane to think of a time when former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly wanted to trade the entire city of Philadelphia for the chance to draft Marcus Mariota (current Commanders backup and very okay quarterback). In an attempt to get the second overall pick from the Tennessee Titans in the 2015 draft, it was rumored that Kelly offered two first-round picks, a second-round pick, any defensive player on the team (rumored to be Fletcher Cox) and Nick Foles. The Titans thankfully declined the trade. That 2016 first-round pick helped us draft Carson Wentz, who along with Cox and Foles, brought Philadelphia our first Super Bowl title. I don’t know what’s worse: Kelly offering that to Tennessee or Tennessee not accepting the offer.
THINGS ONLY I CARE ABOUT
Is Tress Way the Greatest Punter Name of All-Time? In today’s NFL, no one has better names than punters. Tress Way sounds like the name of a guy who grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who does nothing but kick a ball a long distance all day, which is exactly who he is. It’s an incredible name, rivaled only by Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez (who sounds like a world-renowned matador) and Pittsburgh’s Corliss Waitman (who sounds like the villain in a Mission Impossible movie). It’s time we celebrate punters for their contributions to the world of names.
Why is There a Cam Ward Documentary on Tubi? “From the producers of the Blaine Gabbert Story comes a story about a quarterback who rose to prominence before being drafted by the Tennesee Titans ruined his life. Written and directed by Cam Ward comes “The Cam Ward Story.” Ok, I convinced myself to watch this.