HOW WEIRD WAS IT? LET US COUNT THE WAYS
Say this for your Washington Commanders … They
aren’t for the faint of heart … Or, did you miss
Sunday’s wild and whacky 36-33 victory over the
Philadelphia Eagles … who led 21-7 after one period
… when running back SEQUON BARKLEY already
had 109 yards and touchdowns of two and 68 yards …
while the Team Formerly Known as Redskins was well
on its way to turning the ball over five times including
a couple of rookie-like throws for interceptions by
JAYDEN DANIELS?
“This is a weird game,” said Fox play by play man
JOE DAVIS at halftime. By then the favored (by 4 ½
points) Eagles led 21-14 … and had long since lost
quarterback JALEN HURTS with a concussion …
There were enough penalties that kept drives alive to
last a season … The Eagles’ A.J. BROWN exposed
the Commanders’ MARSHON LATTIMORE, who
arrived from New Orleans a few weeks ago as a
shutdown cornerback … but was charged with three
interference calls (and could have had at least that
many more) trying to keep up with Brown ... who
caught eight passes for 97 yards and one touchdown …
and both teams did some of their best work on fourth
down, believe it or not. Washington converted four of
six … and still left us wondering why, on two failed
attempts of a yard or less, why they went to shotgun
mode rather than put Daniels under center and either
sneak for it -- or hand the ball to a running back in
close proximity to the line? Both times the deep
handoff gave the Eagles defense time to read, react and
stuff the Commanders with a loss.
In the end, two things made it possible for Washington
to win its 10th game for the first time since 2016 while
snapping a Philadelphia winning streak at 10 … and,
no, both didn’t begin with Jayden and end with Daniels
… who once again carried the Commanders with his
arm, completing 27 of 39 passes for 257 yards and a
personal-best five touchdowns. The 2023 Heisman
Trophy winner from LSU also ran nine times for 82
yards … including a 30-yard zig-zag dash on fourth
and 11 from the Eagles’ 41, leading to the first of two
TD tosses to OLAMIDE ZACCHAEUS in the fourth
quarter … Davis: “This franchise has had 27 starting
quarterbacks in the 24 seasons of this century … [and]
it finally has its guy.”
For all of Daniels’ brilliance … the Commanders were
beneficiaries of dropped passes – by Barkley at the
Washington 30 … and by DeVONTA SMITH, wide
open inside the enemy 15, with 2:02 to go – that forced
Philadelphia to settle for field goals by JAKE
ELLIOTT, who kicked four, all in the second half
when the Eagles led by as many as 13 (27-14) …
KENNY PICKETT, former first-round draft choice
of the Steelers, replaced Hurts … allowing the
Commanders to concentrate on Barkley .. who finished
with 150 yards on 29 carries.
So, how weird was it? Well, Elliott had been 0 for 6
from 50 yards or more this season before hitting one
from 50 to give Philadelphia a 33-28 edge 1:56 from
the end. He was short from 56 yards earlier … Like
Zacchaeus, JAMISON CROWDER also had two
touchdown receptions for Washington, the first of the
year for both … against the NFL’s best defense,
statistically speaking … Daniels hit a wide-open
Crowder in the back of the end zone from nine yards
out for the winning score with :06 left … after right
tackle ANDREW WYLIE clearly moved before the
snap. “He’s moving a half-tick early, Olsen said. “I
think it was a good non-call.”
Until next time ...
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