The last undefeated team has finally fallen. The Philadelphia Eagles have lost their first game of the season to their divisional rivals, the Washington Commanders, as they were completely dominated at the line of scrimmage all game long.
What a gameplan from Ron Rivera, OC Scott Turner, and the rest of the Commanders coaching staff as they not only figured out how to beat the sole remaining undefeated team in the NFL, but they also did it in a dominating fashion. Relying heavily on their running game and short passing game, the Commanders took the sting out of the Philly offense as they simply kept the ball away from them.
It’s extremely rare to see an undefeated team get completely outplayed in time of possession and ball control by a .500 team, but Washinton did it. The Commanders finished the game with 40:24 TOP versus Philly’s 19:36, they ran 81 plays versus Philly’s 47, they had 25 First downs versus Philly’s 18, and they had 21 3rd down conversion attempts to Philly’s 8.
It’s insane how much pressure the Washington Commanders offense, which we all have to admit isn’t a work of art, put on the Eagles defense to win their team the game. And a lot of the credit for the execution of such a fantastic gameplan comes down to two players: Taylor Heinicke and Brian Robinson Jr.
Heinicke is the quarterback for this Commanders team. I know Washinton brought in Carson Wentz this offseason, the team is paying him over $30M+ this season, and he has been a warrior throughout all of his injuries and the internal turmoil of the Snyder regime, but the players galvanize together so much more when Henicke is under center.
Whether it is from his hardworking, determined NFL upbringing or his passionate, emotional style of play, Taylor Henicke has obviously become a huge rallying point that this team has gotten behind in the wake of said Snyder controversies. Plus, he’s just winning more than Wentz.
In the six games that Carson Wentz has started for the Commanders this season, they have only won two of those games (Jaguars, Bears). Now, that’s not too bad when you consider that Wentz is the Commanders quarterback after all, but that facade soon fades away as the reality that Taylor Heinicke has won three out of four of his starts (Packers, Eagles, and Colts) against better opposition hits.
Yes, Heinicke is not as talented as Wentz, but he’s a far superior game manager than the former Eagles quarterback. And this game proved it.
Throwing 17/29 for 211 yards and 1 INT, Heinecke expertly kept Washington’s long drives alive with key 3rd down conversions (he had 12 of them) as he handed the ball off to Brain Robinson Jr. when the Eagles sat back, and he threw for short-yardage First downs when they blitzed him.
Heck, he even managed to recover a botched snap that went twenty yards behind him into a simple incomplete pass by scoping the ball up and throwing it back to the line of scrimmage in a single motion. And, the reason why that’s important as that led to Brain Robinson’s power-rushing (literally as he ran through Fletcher Cox and Chaucey Garder-Johnson) touchdown right at the end of the first half to give them the crucial 17-14 lead.
Nevertheless, I would be remiss to not point out the monster game that Terry McLaughlin had. Catching 8 passes for 128 yards, McLaughlin has quickly turned into one of the most vocal leaders both on and off the field for this young Commander team.
As for the other star, Brian Robinson Jr., this guy is turning into a legit superstar RB before our very eyes.
After nearly getting murder during this offseason and overcoming a terrible gunshot wound to his leg, Brian Robinson has taken all of his adversity and let it fuel him in all of his carries. Like I said, he was literally running over the 8-0 Eagles defenders, such as future hall-of-famer Fletcher Cox, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, and T.J. Edwards, on his way to 26 CAR for 83 yards and 1 TD.
At one point, he was carrying four Eagles defenders on his back as he got closer to the endzone on the drive that eventually ended in his TD run. The guy is incredible and a true inspiration for perseverance and dedication after a devastating tragedy, which is a symbol of the Commanders season franchise in recent times.
With Daniel Snyder’s, or the Pariah of the NFL as I call him, time coming to an end, perhaps this new group of core players can finally right the wrongs of the past and make the Commanders a proud franchise once again.
As for the Eagles, they just had a horrible night.
Jalen Hurts (17/26, 175 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) tried his best to overcome the numerous turnovers (they had 4 in one game!) the offense committed throughout the game, but it was never enough as he just wasn’t on the field to score. The Washington gameplan was just too good.
I’m not even going to blame the defense either as they did pretty well to hold the Commanders offense to 26 points (Commanders defense scored a TD on final play of the game) as they were on the field for a whooping 40 minutes, the most minutes of their season to date by a mile.
Regardless, the Eagles (8-1) will still win the NFC East as they are the best team in the division, while I think the Commander (5-5) will find it difficult to hold off the Packers and Seahawks/49ers for the 7th seed. But, they have that spot as of this moment, so maybe they will.
We’ll have to wait and see.
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