Instant analysis | Commanders struggle to finish in 26-18 loss to Eagles

Washington’s offense opened the second half with another spark, getting down to the Eagles’ 20-yard line with an eight-yard run from Robinson. They were met by a wall once again, made by a mix of their own mistakes and a seven-tackle performance by defensive tackle Jalen Carter. Daniels was tackled for a loss on second-and-2 and missed on a pass to Terry McLaurin on third down, which led to them settling for a 45-yard field goal.

Meanwhile, the Eagles were starting to find their rhythm on offense. They responded to the Commanders’ field goal with one of their own, this time a 31-yarder from Elliott. Then, after the Commanders moved just seven yards downfield on five plays, they found the end zone for the first time after Hurts barreled into the end zone on a quarterback sneak, giving them a 12-10 lead.

That led to the decision from Quinn to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the Eagles’ 26-yard line. Daniels bobbled the snap and turned right, looking for open space to run free. He might have found it, too, had it not been for Blankenship cutting underneath Noah Brown to knock him out of bounds for no gain.

It was the moment of the game, and the defense, which had bent but held firm for most of the night, finally broke. The Eagles scored two on seven offensive plays, separated by an interception from Daniels. Barkley broke loose on a 23-yard score to put the Eagles up 19-10 and then again on a 39-yard romp to make the score 26-10.

By the time Washington was able to muster a response — a 15-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a touchdown and two-point conversion from Zach Ertz — the game had been all but decided in Philadelphia’s favor.

First appeared on www.commanders.com

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