Recap – Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles – Week 4

October 2, 2023

By Noonefromtampa

Washington Comes Up Short in Overtime, Loses 34-31

First Quarter

The Eagles won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. After the touchback on the opening kickoff, the Commanders offense, led by Sam Howell, marched down the field through a mixture of runs and passes for a 75 yard scoring drive. After starting with a 1 yard run by Brian Robinson, Howell hit Terry McLaurin on consecutive plays for 15 and 14 yards. Another key play was a 15 yard pass to Curtis Samuel. Washington also benefitted from a defensive holding call on a third down play they did not convert, giving them a first and goal at the Eagles 4 yard line. After a three yard run by Robinson, Eric Bieniemy called a great misdirection play with a jet sweep by Samuel who went untouched into the end zone. Joey Slye converted the extra point. Commanders 7, Eagles 0.

After the touchback on the ensuing kickoff, Philadelphia responded with their own 75 yard drive, behind the running of D’Andre Swift and the passing of Jalen Hurts. The drive opened with a 9 yard pass to Swift and a 10 yard pass to A.J. Brown. The other big plays were another 11 yard pass to Brown and a 7 yard pass to Swift which also drew a facemask penalty against Benjamin St-Juste. A pass to Dallas Goedert down to the 9 was followed by two Swift runs which ended with a 5 yard rush for a touchdown. Jake Elliott converted the extra point. Commanders 7, Eagles 7

Second Quarter

Washington’s next drive, which began in the late first quarter, started with a 10 yard run by Antonio Gibson. Three plays later with a third and four, Howell hit McLaurin for a 24 yard completion. After an offside penalty, Howell hit Logan Thomas for a 27-yard completion with was augmented with a person foul for a helmet hit. Two plays later Robinson was fighting to get into the endzone when he fumbled, and McLaurin recovered the ball in the endzone for the touchdown. Commanders 14, Eagles 7

Over the next three series, the teams trade punts back and forth. The Eagles picked up 24 yards before punting. The Commanders and then the Eagles both had three and out series, with both teams losing yardage.

The Commanders offense then started to click again. Jahan Dotson caught a nine yard completion to start the drive, and Robinson picked up the first down on a 3 yard run. On third down and four, Dyami Brown caught pass out of a bunch formation and streak up the sidelines for 35 yards before being pushed out of bounds. Washington benefitted from a pass interference call on James Bradberry but were unable to the first and goal into a touchdown. Slye then converted a 27 yard field goal. Commanders 17, Eagles 7.

With less than two minutes on the clock, the Eagles got the ball back. The big plays on this drive were a four down push-tush play which Hurts took outside to pick up the first down, and a 37 yard completion to DeVonta Smith which set up a 41 yard Elliott field goal to end the half.  Commanders 17, Eagles 10.

Third Quarter

The Eagles started on their own 25 after a touchback to start the second half. They mainly kept the ball on the ground, and Washington was able to generate pressure on Hurts on passing attempts. The big play on the drive was a perfectly timed pass to Brown for a 27 yard completion. Two plays later Daron Payne hit the quarterback’s arm on third down forcing an incompletion. Then, Elliott hit a 47 yard field goal. Commanders 17, Eagles 13.

On the subsequent drive, Washington only picked up 6 yards and a pass interference call on Darius Slay on the next before having to punt after a Dotson drop on third down. The Eagles started on their own 26 yard line after Tress Way‘s punt. After picking up one first down via a penalty on Jamin Davis and another on two short passes, the Eagles hit a big 59 yard touchdown to Brown, who seemed to avoid the entire Washington secondary in his run after the catch. There was also a roughing the passer penalty called on the play which the Eagles used to put the ball on the one yard line and convert the 2 point play. Eagles 21, Commanders, 17.

The Commanders were able to pick up 17 yards and a first down before another third down sack ended the drive. That put the Washington defense back on the field with little rest.

Philadelphia went with the ground game to start the drive and picked up 16 yards on a run by Kenneth Gainwell. Goedert then caught a 17 yard completion. After a 3 yard loss, Swift picked up 8 yards. Kendall Fuller was called for defensive pass interference on third down, which gave the Eagles a first down. After an 11 yard completion to Smith, the Eagles ended up in a third and 11.

Fourth Quarter

The Eagles then elected to run the ball and Gainwell lost two yards and fumbled.  Luckly for the Eagles, Lane Johnson recovered it. Elliot hit a 36 yard field goal. Eagles 24, Commanders 17.

After the “all Eagles” third quarter, the Commanders offense came to life in the fourth quarter. Howell was under a lot of pressure on obvious passing downs but managed to get key completions. The drive was also aided by a personal foul on the Eagles for hitting Howell out of bounds. Howell then hit Samuel for a key catch for 7 yards to pick up a first down. On the next two play, Robinson picked up 9 yards and then had a 15 yard rushing touchdown. Slye convert the extra point to tie the game. Eagles 24, Commanders 24.

To start the next Eagles drive, Hurts avoided a sack by Montez Sweat and picked up 24 yards on a scramble. Emmanuel Forbes made back-to-back good plays on Brown, nearly intercepting a poorly thrown pass from Hurts on third down to force a punt.

After the punt, on third down Howell picked up 21 yards on a scramble up the middle for a first down. The drive fell apart at that point, with a no gain, sack, and false start penalty, putting the team in a third and 22 to go situation. Howell ran for 5 yards when everyone was covered.

Britain Covey returned Tress Way’s 20 yards to the Eagles 43 yard line. After Washington was able to stop the Eagles on first and second downs, Hurts hit an 11 yard completion on third and eight. Brown then had a 10 yard catch, followed by a 6 yard Swift run. Instead of running down the clock and taking the field goal, Hurts then hits Brown for another deep touchdown completion over Forbes. Brown was called for taunting on the play, and that advantage combined with 1:42 on the clock gave Washington an opportunity to tie. Eagles 31, Commanders 24.

Gibson returned the Eagles’ kickoff from the 20 yard line 29 yards. Howell led a masterful 2 minute drive, completing passes to Samuel for 11 yards,15 yards to Brian Pringle, 16 yards to Brown, and 8 and 11 yard completions to McLaurin. With two seconds on the clock, Howell hit Dotson for the touchdown and Slye made the extra point to tie the game. Eagles 31, Commanders 31.

Overtime

Washington won the coin toss and took the ball to start. They went three plays and out after a deep catch by McLaurin was ruled out of bounds. After an unusual, shanked punt by Way, the Eagles were able to move the ball 33 yards into Washington territory. They overcame an intentional grounding call on Hurts that put them in a third and 17 by picking up 9 yards on a Smith catch. That enabled Elliot to hit a 54 yard field goal to win the game. Eagles 34, Commanders, 31.

Notes

Much better play calling by Eric Bieniemy this week versus last week. Howell also played with more composure. He still needs to dump it off and take less sacks.

The offensive line will need an overhaul after the season.

Not sure I understood matching up Emmanuel Forbes on A.J. Brown. Brown just overpowered the smaller player most of the game.