The Eagles on a short week were a slog up until the fourth quarter.
The defense kept Jayden Daniels and an upstart Washington offense in check, but when the Eagles had the ball, Jalen Hurts was struggling to find his openings, Jake Elliott was missing kicks, and the Birds just kept hitting a wall.
Then the rushing attack through Saquon Barkley found the crack and finally blew it open late.
The Eagles erupted for 20 fourth-quarter points down at Lincoln Financial Field, taking Thursday night's critical NFC East battle against the Commanders, 26-18, to make it six straight wins for the Birds and firm control over the division at 8-2.
These are the pivotal moments that got them to it…
Back to bad habits
The slow starts reared their ugly head again.
The Eagles' first four possessions all ended on fourth-down stops, which set up the Commanders to barrel through for the game's opening touchdown after a Braden Mann punt fell way short to the Washington 42.
Austin Ekeler drove a wheel through traffic for 34 yards to the Philadelphia 24, then Brian Robinson Jr. shot 18 yards up the gut to the 1, taking the punch in on the next play to put the Commanders up, 7-0, in the first.
Brian Robinson down to the 1-yard line!#WASvsPHI on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/CNSDfy7LQX— NFL (@NFL) November 15, 2024
The Eagles' offense did no damage through the first quarter.
To Nick Sirianni and the staff's credit though, they did make the conventional calls and went for the field goal at the end of the first and fourth Philadelphia possessions…
High and wide
It's just that Jake Elliott missed them both.
The first attempt from 44 yards out on a 4th and 13, and then the second from 51 yards away on a 4th and 7.
Elliott was about as automatic and clutch as a kicker could get last season, going 30-for-32 on his field goal tries, which included a perfect 7-for-7 rate from 40-49 yards out and 7-for-8 from 50-plus yards away.
Something has been off the past few weeks though – well, not including Sirianni's high-risk fourth-down calls.
Elliott has missed three field goals in the past three games now (a late, near-haunting one against Jacksonville and then the two on Thursday night against Washington), and for the season, he stands at 14-for-19 on his attempts overall.
Kicker is always a trick position in the NFL. It's never a problem until it is, and it might be for the Eagles now.
It cost them six points early on Thursday night, but to Elliott's credit, he did hit one from 21 yards way late into the half to make it a 7-3 ballgame at the intermission – after an 87-yard march from Jalen Hurts and the offense hit a wall down at the Washington 3.
MORE: Saquon Barkley is outrageously good, but a kicking problem arises
Hold the line
The Eagles' defense, which has been rejuvenated since returning from the early October bye several weeks ago, did their part and kept the team in it.
Outside of that one touchdown spotted from advantageous field position, the Commanders were forced into four punts for the entirety of the first half aside from the final ticks going into the break, and to open the second, the Eagles put up a wall on Jayden Daniels in the red zone to limit damage to just a field goal and a 10-3 hole.
Washington was far from running away with anything. They only had 164 yards of total offense with 2:27 left in the third quarter, and Austin Ekeler accounted for 88 of them.
The problem was that Hurts and the offense were stagnating, unable to crack the Washington defense, which, in fairness, did get pressure on Hurts and played some blanketing coverage in key spots.
But at this point, you know how it goes with the Philadelphia offense…
Big play Barkley
If the Eagles are struggling, all it takes is for one big play from either Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, or DeVonta Smith to change everything.
So, on a 3rd and 6 midway through the third, there went Barkley on a release for 43 yards in the open field down to the Washington 17:
Saquon gets loose for 43 yards!#WASvsPHI on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/gqwJicK0Vm— NFL (@NFL) November 15, 2024
The Eagles only managed a field goal off of that though, which Elliott course-corrected on to make from 31 yards.
It closed the gap down to four, but still left the Eagles' offense searching for that gear to finally get going.
Fourth and finally
It took until late into the third quarter and into the first chunk of the fourth to finally find it.
A 17-yard completion to Brown and then consecutive chunk runs of 14, 13, and 7 yards from Kenny Gainwell pushed the Birds down to the Washington 4.
Barkley then put them at the 1 with a three-yard rush to the left called short, which brought on the "Tush Push" to do its job as Hurts broke the plane for the lead.
Tush push ➡️ SIX#WASvsPHI on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/loGx1KfUPR— NFL (@NFL) November 15, 2024
The only setback was that Elliott pulled the extra-point attempt wide, only leaving the Eagles up two. It really wasn't his night.
Fourth and nowhere
Then it was the defense's turn to make its stand.
Daniels worked a few medium passes down to the Eagles' 25, but on a 2nd and 1, Robinson on the run went nowhere with Jalen Carter and Nakobe Dean there to bring him to the ground.
On 3rd and 1, the Washington running back was sent back a yard courtesy of Brandon Graham and Zack Baun.
Then going for it on 4th and 2, Daniels bobbled the snap, Carter burst through the line, and the Commanders QB was put back on his heels, peeling out scrambling and trying to turn the corner to salvage the drive.
Zack Baun, who has been a revelation for the Eagles at linebacker, had other ideas, making the tackle well short of the marker for a crucial turnover on downs.
BAUN VOYAGE 😏@zackbizzaun | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/oNVxwYBR3h
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 15, 2024
Cleared for takeoff
The momentum had shifted. It was obvious.
Hurts threaded a pass to a wide-open Dallas Goedert at midfield. The ball got punched out of his grasp from behind, but took a fortunate Eagles roll forward that Grant Calcaterra was tailing and able to fall on for a massive gain to the Washington 30.
Hurts to Goedert! FUMBLE! But @Eagles recover 😅#WASvsPHI on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/rMC5tskYuN— NFL (@NFL) November 15, 2024
Then Barkley put on the finishing touches, taking off on a 23-yard run for the score and a 19-10 Eagles lead after Elliott rebounded to make the extra point.
SAQUON FOR SIX!#WASvsPHI on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/5RIq2x720b— NFL (@NFL) November 15, 2024
That'll do it
Washington's wheels fell off.
Reed Blankenship picked off Daniels on the second play of the ensuing drive to take the ball right back.
PICK! Reed Blankenship takes the ball back for Philly.#WASvsPHI on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/fRkZgGRnWX— NFL (@NFL) November 15, 2024
And Barkley had one more touchdown in him – this time on a 39-yard pitch that put Thursday night away.
SAQUON AGAIN! The @Eagles pulling away on TNF.#WASvsPHI on Prime Video
Also streaming on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/pnyd9XtzBk— NFL (@NFL) November 15, 2024
The Eagles were well on their way to 8-2 and complete control over the division from there.
A Zach Ertz touchdown and two-point conversion with 28 seconds left proved inconsequential after the Eagles sealed it with a recovery of a last-ditch onside kick try.
MORE: Eagles' defense rises to the occasion in prime-time win over Commanders
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