The Eagles were the hottest team in the NFL, riding a 10-game win streak until Jalen Hurts got concussed and left the game in the first quarter while up 7-0 and in the middle of what would end up being another touchdown drive. Hurts received a hit to the head as he was on his way down after a 13-yard run and tried to get up and give the official a thumbs up, saying he was good to play. Hurts were still forced to go to the medical tent to be evaluated for a concussion; after that, he tried to get back in the game yet again but wasn't allowed to as he was brought back into the locker room and, not long after, was ruled out for the game. Since 2022, the Eagles have been 0-3 in games. Hurts has missed due to injury.
Everything Went Wrong
Usually suffering a divisional loss late in the season while battling for the one seed in the NFC would be worrisome, however, the amount of things that had to go wrong for the Eagles to lose this game by just three points shows that there's nothing to worry about. To start the game, Frankie Luvu dove head-first into Jalen Hurts, who was already down and defenseless. Somehow, the refs didn't throw a flag, yet they still made him leave the game, which means they KNOW he was illegally hit in the head. Later in the game Milton Williams slightly pushed Jayden Daniels a half a second after he threw a ball, Daniels flopped and got a roughing call.
Despite allowing 36 points, the Eagles defense forced FIVE turnovers. Only one of those was with Hurts in the game, and the Eagles scored a touchdown after the turnovers. The other turnovers came with Kenny Pickett leading the Eagles' offense, scoring a whopping six points off of four turnovers. The only two touchdown drives Pickett was a part of were led by Hurts for 70% of it and a 68-yard TD run by Saquon Barkley. CJ Gardner Johnson was ejected from the game after receiving his second personal foul penalty for getting punched in the face. I wish that were a joke; a player got PUNCHED IN THE FACE and was thrown out of the game for it. See for yourself.
The Commanders were also gifted 15 yards after being sacked because Jalen Carter made contact with a Commander offensive lineman during the play, didn't know contact wasn't allowed in a football game. I guess just illegal hits to the QB's head are allowed.
The cherry on top of this poorly officiated game was the refs' missing a blatant false start by Commanders Tackle Cornelius Lucas on the Commanders' game-winning TD.
All this to say, there's no excuse for the Eagles offense to score 12 points in quarters 2-4 after putting up 21 in the first and for the defense to give up 22 points in the fourth quarter, but no team can win a game without their franchise QB when the referees are constantly helping their opponent. The NFL needs to look into this game not only because it's a bad look for their officiating but also because it's an AWFUL look to see past a player getting hit in the head and not call it after trying so hard to minimize concussions and brain damage in the sport.
Saquon Barkley
Saquon Barkley was held to just 65 yards on the ground against the Steelers and exploded for 150 this week, including a 68-yard TD run early in the game. He is now 267 yards away from breaking the NFL's all-time single-season rushing record. His remaining opponents are the Cowboys and Giants. He ran for just 66 yards on a season-low 14 carries against Dallas last time, but the Cowboys give up 135.9 rush yards per game this season, the fifth worst in the league. The last time Saquon went toe to toe with his old team in New Jersey, he went for 176 yards on just 17 carries. The Giants have the second-worst rush defense in the league, giving up 142.6 yards per game. Barkley needs to average 134 yards in each game to break the record. Because he's going up against two of the worst rush defenses in the league at home and has six games with 134+ yards this season, it's far from impossible for him to break the record. Even if he doesn't, he sets career highs in carries, yards, and touchdowns and is on pace to set a career-high in yards per carry. Record or not, Saquon has had, BY FAR, the best season of his career and has had an MVP-caliber season. Eagles fans have been blessed to have this man on the team this year.
A Look Ahead
Even with the loss, there is still a chance for the Birds to get the one seed in the NFC. They face the 7-8 Cowboys and 2-13 Giants to finish the season. Philly has already beaten both teams, holding them to a combined nine points, and both games will be at home for the Eagles, so it should be two fairly easy wins. The current one-seed Detroit Lions face the 6-9 49ers and then division rival 13-2 Minnesota Vikings in Detroit. The Vikings play the 11-4 Packers at home and then travel to Detroit to face the Lions in a game that could decide who wins the NFC North and who ends up with the one seed. It's unlikely the Eagles will end up being the one seed. Still, ironically enough, if the season ended today, they would face the Commanders in the Wildcard round in Philadelphia, the perfect opportunity for revenge.
Final Score: Commanders 36, Eagles 33
Dixon's Three Stars
1st Star- Saquon Barkley (29 Carries, 150 Yards, 2 TDs)
2nd Star- AJ Brown (8 Receptions, 97 Yards, 1 TD)
3rd Star- Darius Slay (7 Tackles, 1 TFL, 3 Pass Deflections)
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