Burgundy & Gold Reaction: Eagles Secure Win

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September 16, 2026

by David Earl

Did Washington Show Us Who They Are Defensively?

 

There are losses where you walk away thinking your team simply wasn’t ready. Then there are losses where you walk away frustrated because you know your team had a real chance to win. This was that game. I’m not going to pretend they played a great game.  There were too many mistakes, too many missed opportunities, and too many big plays allowed by a defense that is supposed to be built around speed and aggression. I also came away from this game not as concerned about Washington defensively as I would have been if Philadelphia’s offense had simply dominated them for four quarters.

The defense was aggressive but aggression doesn’t matter if you give up explosive plays, as we saw Sunday. This is probably the biggest thing I took away from the game. You had to like what Daronte Jones was trying to do, which worked for much of the game. Washington wasn’t sitting back and hoping Philadelphia would eventually make a mistake. They were attacking and bringing pressure. They were making Jalen Hurts uncomfortable, sacking him 3 times, as the constant pressure clearly affected him much of the game.

The problem was that when Washington didn’t get home, there were some enormous breakdowns behind the pressure which you simply cannot do against Philadelphia. Saquon Barkley ripped off a 42-yard run off a poor angle from Leo Chanel who could have had him for a 4-6 yard gain. Hurts converted a third-and-18 with a 22-yard scramble while Dallas Goedert had touchdown receptions of 17 and 43 yards. That’s 4 plays that completely changed the complexion of the game. Take away those 4 plays and we’re talking about a very different defensive performance, but that is a “What if” scenario and just simply a poor excuse.

The one absolute positive is the defense wasn’t physically overwhelmed for four quarters by a Philadelphia offensive line notorious for bullying opposing defensive lines, especially late into games. In fact, Washington’s run defense was pretty solid outside of Barkley’s 42-yard run. Philadelphia finished with 136 rushing yards, but without that one explosive run, the Eagles had only 94 yards on their other 24 attempts averaging 3.9 yards per carry. That’s a pretty respectable number against Philadelphia and Saquon Barkley.

The Goedert touchdowns bother me more than Barkley’s run, as a great running back found a crease, mad somebody miss and turned it into 42 yards. Starting with the second of Goedert’s touchdowns, the 43-yard touchdown, shows just how damaging the play was, with Goedert breaking away from the Washington defense and turning the catch into a huge score. This wasn’t as much of a blown coverage but confusion leading into a big play. There was some controversy as to whether a false start should have been called and the defense clearly thought so as they were caught standing flatfooted at the snap. Regardless of the confusion, the lack of playing through and not being caught on your heels cost them a back breaker of a touchdown.

On his first touchdown a communication problem between the corner Mike Sainristil and free safety Jeremy Reaves looked to be an issue. Sainristil may have had to release there so that can’t be entirely on him but he was also a liability in this game, if we are being honest. The clearest statement of his poor performance was on Jalen Hurts’ touchdown to Dontayvion Wicks. Sainristil had him man to man in the red zone, but applied little contact off the line and gave him separation into the end zone before making a cut. Wicks was egregiously wide open for an easy touchdown.

While the defensive front performed at a very high level, the secondary as a whole was just the opposite. Although we can take away many positives defensively, what we can say with certainty is that Washington allowed four plays that had a major impact on the game: Barkley’s 42-yard run, Goedert’s 17-yard touchdown, Goedert’s 43-yard touchdown, and Hurts’ 22-yard run on third-and-18. The Hurts run might be the most frustrating of all because Washington needed to stop a third-and-18. Instead, Hurts picked up 22 yards and kept the drive alive. So, they were not perfect and still have much to clean up before Dallas next week.

The Offense a Work in Progress

Jayden Daniels’ numbers weren’t particularly impressive – he completed 18 of 34 passes for 164 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions with a 52.9 percent completion rate. You clearly saw a quarterback without any important live action play in the preseason mainly showing minimal chemistry early on with his wide receivers. Aside from the developing chemistry through most of the game and the ill-timed drops, what was impressive is where the numbers do not show. Instead of forcing throws into what was blanket coverage over Washington’s wide receivers most of the game, Daniels simply threw the ball away and playing for the next down. More importantly, when Washington absolutely needed something late, Daniels did not turn the ball over, which gave them a chance; plus, we saw a more in rhythm quarterback in the 4th quarter completing 9 of 11 passes for 2 touchdowns. The offense wasn’t dead but clearly out of sorts for most of this game, compounded by facing a great Eagles defense. That’s important because this is a different offense with David Blough calling the plays. Instead of pressing Daniels, he made the smart decisions and nearly came through in the 4th quarter. What helped heading into the 4th quarter Daniels made plays with his legs rushing for 31 yards, including a 14-yard run, and Philadelphia had to account for him every time he left the pocket.

The running game needs work. Washington ran the ball 32 times for 132 yards, which is  only 4.1 yards per carry. Jacory Croskey-Merritt carried the ball 16 times for 63 yards and a touchdown, averaging just 3.9 yards per carry and a fumble recovered by right tackle Josh Conerly. Daniels was Washington’s most efficient runner, averaging 6.2 yards per carry, but they cannot lean on his legs again as Washington needs its running game to become more consistent through the running backs.

Then there’s Stefon Diggs. He caught his first pass as a Commander on the opening drive, and Washington clearly intends to use him as an important part of this offense. Washington didn’t bring Diggs in because they needed another guy who could catch five-yard passes. They needed another receiver who can change how defenses have to defend Daniels. As that chemistry is going to take time, the 2 critical drops and unsportsmanlike conduct plays just cannot happen.

Once Terry McLaurin, Diggs and the encouraging play by rookie WR Antonio Williams are fully integrated into what Blough wants to do, defenses are potentially going to have a much harder time simply loading up against Daniels and the running game. While the interior of the offensive line was not nearly as bad as I thought they would be, this trio could also help cover some of this group’s deficiencies too.

The offensive line does deserve some credit here, too. Philadelphia has a defense capable of putting pressure on a quarterback, but Daniels was officially sacked only once for one yard. He wasn’t constantly running for his life, and Washington was able to keep the pocket reasonably clean for much of the afternoon. The offense also did something important when it got into the red zone – they scored touchdowns on all three trips. That’s a very good percentage, and it’s one of the reasons the Commanders were still in position to win the game late. The issue was getting there consistently as the third-down offense has to improve and the running game needs more explosive plays as Daniels continues to grow as a passer in this new offense. Too many drives stalled before Washington could put itself in position to score. This consistency and much of the offensive issues could have been ironed out, at least partially, if Dan Quinn allowed this offense to play meaningful plays in the preseason.

 

 

 

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