PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Eagles (11-6) dropped the regular-season finale to the Washington Commanders 24-17 (5-12) at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday. With the loss, the Eagles are locked in as the third-seed in the NFC and will host the San Francisco 49ers next week in the opening round of the playoffs.
The start of the game looked a bit bleak for the Eagles. After just a four-play opening drive for Philadelphia, the defense had to withstand a 17-play, 79-yard drive by the Commanders that chewed up nearly 10 minutes off the clock before Jake Moody doinked a 24-yard field goal off the upright.
McKee and the offense found a rhythm on their second drive. McKee connected on three straight passes, including a 27-yard connection to Smith on third and one to give the wideout 1,000 yards on the season for the third time in his career and first since 2023 to end the opening quarter in a scoreless tie.
Smith is now tied for the second-most 1,000-yard seasons in franchise history only behind A.J. Brown, who recorded his fourth such season last week.
Four plays later, McKee delivered a strike to tight end Grant Calcaterra on a 3rd and 7 for a touchdown to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter..
The Commanders answered swiftly on their ensuing drive. A 25-yard reception by Terry McLaurin and a defensive pass interference call against Jakorian Bennett for 23-yards put Washington on the one-yard line with Chris Rodriguez ultimately punching it in for the score to tie the game at 7-7 with 9:03 left in the second quarter.
The Eagles’ offense once again marched down the field, highlighted by a nifty move by Tank Bigsby, who ducked under the arms of a would-be tackler to turn a short pass into a 31-yard gain. However, Nick Sirianni opted to be aggressive and go for it on 4th and 2 from the six-yard line and McKee could not find an open receiver, throwing an incomplete pass to turn it over on downs with 4:43 remaining in the first half.
Late in the second quarter, Jalyx Hunt made an incredible diving grab on a low pass from Josh Johnson for his team-leading fourth interception. The Eagles took over on Washington’s 22-yard line. After a 17-yard catch by Darius Cooper, the wideout was called for a taunting call that took the Eagles from the five-yard line to the Washington 20. On 3rd and 10, McKee threw his first interception of the season, looking for Jahan Dotson to end what could have easily been a scoring drive.
The Commanders closed the first half with a 56-yard field goal by Moody to take a 10-7 lead into halftime.
In the second half, Hunt once again provided a spark on defense, tracking down a rolling football on a botched snap by Washington to set the Eagles up on the Commanders’ 26-yard line.
The Eagles leaned on Bigbsy to take advantage of the short field. The running back had six carries for 20 yards including the go-ahead touchdown with 6:27 left in the third quarter to give the Eagles the lead back 14-10.
Later in the third quarter, Jake Elliott connected on a 39-yard field goal to make it 17-10.
The Commanders orchestrated a game-tying drive on their ensuing possession, aided by a pair of defensive pass interference called against the Eagles before Johnson found tight end John Bates in the back of the endzone on third down to tie it at 17 apiece after the extra point with 9:35 left in regulation.
After a quick three-and-out, the Commanders once again got help with the fourth defensive pass interference call against the Eagles, this time a 32-yard infraction against Kelee Ringo, continuing a tough night for the backup cornerbacks for Philadelphia. Johnson capped off the scoring drive on a one-yard touchdown run to give Washington the 24-17 lead.
McKee finished with 218 yards, completing 19 of his 32 passes for a touchdown and also threw an interception. Bigsby had a nice game, rushing for 75 yards on 16 carries and scoring a touchdown.
The Eagles will find out when they play in the first round of the playoffs at halftime of the Sunday Night Football game between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers.
