Game Recap Week 18 – Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles

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January 5, 2026

By Noonefromtampa

Commanders Fourth Quarter Comeback Leads to Win over Eagles

First Half

Washington won the coin toss and deferred until the second half. Will Shipley returned the opening kickoff 29 yards and was tackled by Quan Martin. Tanner McKee, starting for Jalen Hurts at quarterback, threw a 17 yard completion to DeVonta Smith. A false start and 7 yard sack by Daron Payne put the Eagles in a second and 22 yards to go. Tank Bigsby ran for 13 yards, but a third down incompletion forced an Eagles punt.

Josh Johnson, starting his second straight game, opened for Washington with a 16 yard completion to Deebo Samuel. A mixture of runs by Jacory Croskey-Merritt and throws by Johnson to Terry McLaurin and Samuel enabled Washington to have an almost 10-minute drive. The drive ended at the Eagles 6 yard line with a missed 24 yard field goal by Jake Moody, who hit the right upright.

The Eagles responded with an 80 yard scoring drive. Bigsby ran four times for 15 yards but the major damage was done through the air. Smith caught passes of 8 and 27 yards. Jahan Dotson had a 15 yard reception and Grant Calcaterra caught the 15 yard touchdown pass against Martin. The successful extra point made the lead 7-0.

After a touchback on the kickoff, Ben Sinnott caught successive passes but for only a total of 3 yards. McLaurin caught 25 yard pass to get the first down. Chris Rodriguez had a 12 yard run over the right side. Two plays later, Treylon Burks drew a defensive pass interference call in the end zone and Rodriguez scored the touchdown two plays later. Moody made the extra point to tie the game at 7-7.

After another touchback, the Eagles drove into Washington territory again. Darius Cooper had a 10 yard catch. Drake Jackson was called for being offside giving the Eagles and second and 1 instead of a third and six. Bigby caught a checkdown and took it 31 yards down to the Commanders 14 yard line. The Eagles only picked up 8 more yards and turned it over on downs after failing to convert the fourth and one.

The Commanders started their next drive at their own six. Rodriguez ran for 2 yards then Burks caught a 6-yard screen pass, with Rodriguez picking up the first down with a 7 yard run. Another Rodriguez run for 3 yards took the clock down to the two-minute warning. Using play action, Johnson threw late to Samuel was intercepted by Jalyx Hunt at the Washington 22 yard line.

Cooper caught a 17 yard pass but was called for taunting which put the ball back at the 20-yard line. After and incompletion and Bigsby no gain running play, Jeremey Reaves intercepted McKee’s throw to Dotson and returned it 28 yards to the Washington 29 yard line.

With 48 seconds left on the clock, Johnson completed passes to Jeremy McNichols for 8 yards and McLaurin for 14 yards to start the drive. After Washington used their last timeout, Johnson scrambled for 11 yards setting up a 5 -yard field goal attempt by Moody, which was good, giving Washington a 10-7 lead going into halftime.

Second Half

Washington was unable to do anything to start the half, going three and out. Tress Way had his first punt of the game, which was downed at the Eagles 9 yard line.

Bigsby was able to pick up a first down with an 11 yard run and Dotson caught a 9 yard pass. But the Eagles were unable to convert a third and one, when Washington’s defense stuffed Bigsby at the line. Braden Mann punted it 45 yards to the Washington 31 yard line with no return.

Chris Paul was called for a false start, giving Washington a first and fifteen. Rodriguez ran for 9 yards and then McLaurin was knocked down and the Eagles were called for holding giving the Commanders a first down. After taking a timeout, Johnson fumbled the snap which was recovered by the Eagles at the Washington 28 yard line.

The Eagles were able to convert a third and eight with a 9 yard catch by Britain Covey. Bigsby then ran three straight time for 7 yards, 5 yards and 3 yards down to the 3-yard line. Bigsby scored two plays later, with the successful extra point the Eagles took a 14-10 lead.

Washington went three and out again and punted it away. The Eagles were able to drive down the field for a 39 yard field goal. Key big plays included 12 yards completions to Covey and Kylen Granson along with a 13 yard run by Bigsby. The Eagles now led 17-10.

After the touchback, John Bates caught a pass for 11 yards. Croskey-Merritt ran twice for 11 yards. Johnson scrambled for 9 yards and Croskey-Merritt picked up the first down with  4-yard run to the Eagles 30 yard line. Johnson threw deep to Samuel who was interfered with in the end zone. Croskey-Merritt was stopped short of the goal line and Sinnott was called for a false start. McLaurin was knocked down on his route leading to another pass interference call. Croskey-Merritt was stopped for a 2 yard loss. Washington then took their final timeout. Rodriguez gained one yard and the Bates caught the touchdown pass. Moody made the extra point to tie the game at 17-17.

Washington’s defense was able to force an Eagles three and out. Washington started at their own 23 after the punt.

Johnson threw deep to McLaurin, who was interfered with again for a 32 yard penalty. Rodriguez ran for 11 yards and 2 yards. Rodriguez caught a checkdown and took it 18 yards down the Eagles 14 yard line. Johnson scrambled for the first down after two rushing plays picked up 3 yards. After Rodriguez ran for 3 yards, Sinnott was called for another false start. Rodriguez ran for 4 yards back down to the one. Johnson ran it in for the touchdown on the RPO bootleg. The extra point was good, giving the Commanders a 24-17 lead.

After the touchback, McKee hit Shipley for 12 yards. Javon Kinlaw stopped Shipley for a 1 yard loss on a screen play. Payne forced McKee to throw it away on the last play before the two-minute warning. On third and 11, Dotson caught a 16-yard pass for the first down. Two incompletions and 7 yard completion to Granson put the Eagles in a fourth and three. McKee overthrew an open Granson forcing a turnover on downs.

Rodriguez ran for 6 yards on first down but was stopped for no gain on second down. Third he only gained one yard on third down forcing a Way punt.

Starting at their own 28, McKee threw two incompletions and was sacked by Von Miller. His fourth down throw went wide out of bounds.  Washington took the kneel down to win the game.

Thoughts

The offense really needs to work on reducing false starts this offseason. They are leading the league in that category.

It’s nice to win but it didn’t help the draft position. Washington ends up 3-3 in division games.

Washington’s front office and coaching staff have a lot of work to do in the offseason.

Outside of the Vikings game, they played much more competitively in the games after the bye week.

First touchdown since week 12 in the 2022 season: