By admin 
On paper, the Washington Commanders Week 1 loss to the division rival Philadelphia Eagles came down to their final play of the game (more on this later), but those last few seconds were a culmination of a bunch of issues Washington battled all game.
The Eagles held on to defeat the Commanders 24-22 thanks to a goal line stand on a two point conversion as the road team couldn’t complete the comeback against the reigning division champs.
But it was a long Sunday that featured an anemic Washington offense through the first half of the game that got progressively better as the late afternoon game turned to evening. For a while it looked like the Commanders would get blown off the field, but after a few adjustments, the Commanders were able to leave Philadelphia with at least some moral victories to build off ahead of their road trip to Dallas next week.
Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly from the Commanders loss.
The Good
Moral victories don’t get you into the playoffs, but after a half where it looked like the Commanders couldn’t compete with the Eagles, the team showed a lot of grit in clawing back. Here’s how they did it.
Washington’s Defense Is Faster, Better Than Last Season
Through much of the early parts of the 2025 season the Commanders defense was historically bad, especially at giving up big plays. So the team started from scratch, firing the defensive coordinator, using their first round pick on a middle linebacker, spending big on free agent pass rusher Odafe Oweh, and reimagining the secondary.
The early results were great. The team got consistent pressure on Hurts by bringing extra rushers on more than a third of the Eagles passing plays. The Commanders sent-five men on 12 of the Eagles 33 drop backs, generating pressure on 8 of them, according to the NYT.
While the Eagles still put up 24 points, that’s much better than the nearly 27 points per game the defense averaged giving up last season when it ranked 27th in the league in that category.
Special Teams Shines Bright
In a play that will undoubtedly be a SportsCenter Top 10 highlight and be replayed throughout the season, Commanders special teams gunner Tyler Owen made the play of the game when he ran through three Eagles, flooring two of them with stiff arms, before reaching the ball carrier, body slamming the Eagles punt returner. It was a teaching tape type of play that should put Owens on the map.
Tyler Owens could not be stopped 😳
WASvsPHI on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPluspic.twitter.com/d4Tyw1MnqS
— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026
New, undrafted rookie kicker Drew Stevens also had a nice day on special teams, hitting a long of 55 yards and making a field goal from 48 yards after wide receiver Stefon Diggs was flagged with an unsportsmanlike penalty after a touchdown. Officially, he ended the day 1-for-2 after missing a 54 yarder wide right, but he showed he’s got plenty of leg to hit from beyond 50.
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Second-year kick returner Jaylin Lane also had a couple of nice returns to set up the offense. Between the kick game, the punt coverage, and the kick return production, special teams had a pretty good day Sunday.
It wasn’t all good though. In addition to the miss, the Eagles blocked an extra point that became the deciding factor in the game
The Commanders Didn’t Quit
After only two scoring drives heading into the fourth quarter, it would have been easy for the Commanders to fold against a strong team playing at home. Instead, the team rebounded to put itself in position to win the game in the final minutes.
But the Commanders offense got much stronger as the game went on, especially in the fourth quarter. Jayden Daniels went 9/11 with 99 passing yards and 2 TDs in the final frame. It’s the type of performance the team can build off of going forward.
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The Bad
Coming into the season, the biggest concern for the team was the offensive line after All-Pro Laremy Tunsil went down with what could be a season ending injury in training camp. The team looked internally at his replacement, knowing that they would be facing three of the toughest fronts in the league in back-to-back-to-back weeks to start the season.
O-line Struggles With Pressure
At one point, Daniels was pressured on 6 of his first 9 drop backs to start the game. When the O-line did finally give him some time with a solid pocket, he couldn’t find anyone downfield.
The All-22 tape from the game won’t drop until Tuesday or Wednesday, so we will have to wait to see if there were players open and Daniels missed them, or if the Eagles were locking down the Commanders receivers. Either way, the passing game was basically non-existent for large stretches of the first half and it was due to Daniels having to bail out of plays early to escape sacks. Which he did.
The Eagles only had one sack all game, despite the consistent pressure.
The Two-Point Conversion
At first, I wanted to put the two-point conversion play call in the ¨ugly¨category. Initially hated the tight end shovel option play call that fell short of the goal line and sealed the Commanders fate. But on subsequent viewings, there was a player in the flat who was wide open who would have walked in for the game-tying score had he been given the ball.
Instead, Daniels looked his way briefly before shoveling the ball inside. The Eagles defensive front, which had been stellar all day, made a great play when Moro Ojomo easily got around his block and made the play behind the line of scrimmage.
Moro said NOPEEEE pic.twitter.com/yhEgQ3vobu
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 13, 2026
The Ugly
The Washington Commanders have new offensive and defensive coordinators who’ve never held that job before. So there were always going to be some growing pains. But it did get ugly in Philly Sunday, especially on offense.
Commanders First Half Offense Was Anemic
The Commanders are an offense in search of an identity. So going up against the Eagles top rated defense to start off the season was always going to be a tough task.
The Eagles completely bottled up Terry McLaurin, the team’s top offensive threat, who finished the game with just 2 catches for 14 yards. While rookie Antonio Williams and free agent veteran signee Stefon Diggs each snagged 4 passes for 64 yards and 55 yards, respectively, no other Commanders receiver had more than two for the game.
Thank goodness the offense came alive in the fourth quarter, because it was getting ugly quickly, especially in the first half. But as the game progressed, what looked like complete ineptitude at first started to just look like unfamiliarity.
Stefon Diggs’ Silly Penalty
Stefon Diggs broke the seal, scored the team’s second touchdown of the day in the fourth quarter on a simple slant route where he beat his defender quite easily. Digs then jumped in the air and wrapped his legs around the goal post. This is a big no-no in the league now, you can’t touch the goal post during a celebration anymore, and the refs quickly threw a 15-yard flag on the play.
That flag ensured that the Commanders couldn’t go for two points to tie the game then, forcing them to kick the extra point instead and delaying the necessary two-point try until later in the game.
Diggs was apologetic after the game, saying that he just got a little too excited. He said he’s been in the league a long time and in the moment he forgot that they had changed the rule. While Stevens was able to drill the extra long extra point, the Commanders did lose an opportunity to do more.
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This story was originally published September 14, 2026 at 2:33 PM.