- 8 minutes ago
Kevin Sheehan breaks down the Washington Commanders’ 27-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football, detailing the two primary pillars that keyed the turnaround: an elite, suffocating defensive performance that shut down Saquon Barkley and racked up five sacks, paired with an explosive offensive passing attack that generated seven chunk plays despite the absence of Terry McLaurin.
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00:00All right, I'll start with this before I get to the list of things that I liked from the game.
00:04Last night's win for me is attributable to two things more than anything else.
00:09The defense and the explosive plays on offense.
00:15So with that, I'll start with the defense.
00:18Look, Philly's offense was a shell of itself,
00:20and Tanner McKee is definitely, at this point, a true backup quarterback in the NFL and nothing more.
00:29And you could see that last Monday night against Dallas.
00:32We remember the start he had against our team at the end of last year.
00:37But Washington, you know, came into this game without Javon Kinlaw and without Deron Payne,
00:42who got injured, you know, after we went off the air on Friday in a practice on a day in
00:49which you don't really practice that hard.
00:50That is really a tough blow to lose Deron like that.
00:55He was having a decent season in this contract year.
00:59You know, Philly also on Monday night against a bad Dallas defense, moved the football and looked okay.
01:06But with a Saquon Barkley who was hobbling, I was shocked that Barkley was active for this game.
01:12It became apparent that he was going to be over the weekend.
01:15And actually, I thought he looked healthier last night than he did against the Cowboys
01:20and ended up getting many more opportunities than he got against Dallas.
01:28But Washington's defense through seven games this year is so much better than it was last year.
01:37That's a low bar to clear.
01:39I understand that.
01:40But through seven games, here's one thing that is definitely true.
01:47Now, subject to change, of course.
01:50But through seven games, this Washington defense can stop the run.
01:55They're top ten in DVOA, in rush defense.
02:00And early in the season, I was like, yeah, well, Dallas didn't really try to run.
02:06Seattle didn't really try to run necessarily.
02:09But they have done a good job.
02:11I mean, Jonathan Taylor had a little bit in the fourth quarter.
02:15But this has been a good rush defense this year.
02:19And last night, Barkley, not at 100 percent understand, 13 for 30.
02:252.3 yards per carry.
02:27No big play from Barkley last night.
02:29He had the one big run in the opener, which was a difference maker in that game.
02:35And he looked fresh enough, you know, for part of that game,
02:39more so than he did on Monday night, if you watched last Monday night.
02:42And I was kind of waiting for there's going to be one where he's going to have a chance.
02:47Never.
02:48In total, the Eagles running backs, which included Elijah Mitchell,
02:5224 carries for 64 yards.
02:55That is 2.67 yards per carry.
02:58That's outstanding run defense.
03:02It's been that way a lot this year.
03:04And it's one of those things that gives you a chance defensively.
03:09And then last night, the pass rush.
03:11Wow.
03:12I mean, the blitz rate was high, very high.
03:15The pressure rate finally was really high.
03:18And the sacks followed five of them last night.
03:23Although one of those sacks, the one where McKee was able to, you know, extricate himself.
03:31Was that a chase on sack?
03:33I think it was a chase on sack.
03:34And hit the check down.
03:36I don't know why they blew the whistle so quickly, but we'll take it.
03:39They held the Eagles to five of 15 on third down.
03:42Their third down in the first half, one for six, was exceptional.
03:47They had a couple of others, first downs courtesy of penalties.
03:50But, you know, four of their 15 third down conversions, four of their five, were on that
03:57one drive, really the only decent drive that the Eagles had all night long.
04:02That 15 play, you know, drive that ended in the missed field goal in the fourth quarter
04:08when they were down 16 to 10.
04:11The Eagles scored 10 total points.
04:13And the touchdown drive was set up by Chigakonkwo's, you know, first quarter fumble deep in their
04:20own territory.
04:21The Eagles are a bad offensive football team right now.
04:24I understand that.
04:25They are totally depleted injury wise.
04:28But I also think that two things can be true.
04:32And that is that Washington's defense played well last night.
04:35And at the very least, they have proven over seven games, they can stop the run.
04:43There were individual performances that stood out to me.
04:46Caleb on chase on, I'll just say this.
04:49I mean, he had, you know, two penalties that hurt, including one that took away a turnover,
04:54a Trey Amos pick, which was, by the way, based on that it was created off a dropped pass by
05:00Dallas Goddard.
05:01Let's not forget that it was, it was a ball right in his hands.
05:04He should have caught.
05:05But Caleb on chase on, I think is easily their best pass rusher.
05:10Their most natural pass rusher, the one that from a skill standpoint, from a motor standpoint,
05:17from just an overall, hey, if we're going to line up with four, he's got to be on the
05:23field as one of the four.
05:24He had four to five pressures last night that I counted, three quarterback hits, and a sack.
05:29The sack was the one where, you know, they called it pretty quickly.
05:33But yeah, there were the two penalties.
05:35And one of them was legit.
05:37I think you can't have that second act in that first roughing the passer.
05:42You know, it wouldn't have been a penalty had he not turned and just flipped.
05:47And I know it wasn't, you know, a big flip.
05:50But McKee went down and it made it too easy for the referee.
05:54Charles Amenahue, I thought, played well last night.
05:57Really good job getting snaps from Kinlaw and Payne being out.
06:01And he was a very good pass rusher.
06:03That's really what he was in Kansas City as an interior pass rusher.
06:09I counted five pressures statistically in the stat column, three quarterback hits, and a sack.
06:15Not to mention a great fumble recovery off the turnover when Armstrong forced the ball
06:23out of McKee's hands and that ball was on the ground and he jumped over McKee
06:27and was able to secure the fumble recovery.
06:30I thought Dorrance Armstrong played the best game since he's been back.
06:34I thought it was a game in which he looked like the pass rusher he was last year, but
06:40he was also outstanding in the run game.
06:43He was the one with the forced fumble on the McKee sack, which was a big play.
06:49And again, really good that they were able to pounce on that because McKee had a chance.
06:53I thought Sonny Stiles was good again, mostly against the run.
06:57I thought Louvoo, Cross, Reeves as run stoppers in particular.
07:03It was another good tackling night for virtually everybody.
07:06I thought Amos and Amik Robertson were solid in coverage.
07:12It was a really good night overall for the defense.
07:14Of course, I acknowledge how banged up and legit bad the Eagles offense is, but I've been
07:20saying this for several weeks.
07:22There's just something encouraging about the defense.
07:25They clearly have better players this year, you know, and those players have stayed on
07:31the field more, even though we were without Amos and now we're going to be without pain
07:35and Kinlaw, who knows?
07:38And there've been some injuries, but I think for the most part, Cross, we missed for a few
07:43games, it's very obvious, and this isn't meant to refute the Adam Peters people that, you know,
07:51all want them gone.
07:52But while I'm not sure they added a superstar defensively, in aggregate, what they added
08:00was something that has resulted in a much more competent defensive football team, especially
08:09against the run.
08:10They're a good run-stopping team.
08:12We'll see.
08:13The Rams are going to try to come in here with Williams and Corum, and they're going to
08:16try to run the football.
08:17We know they can throw the football, too.
08:20And the 49ers had some success running the football, but they were really playing a true
08:24bend-don't-break against the 49ers.
08:27We'll see.
08:28They might do the same thing against the Rams.
08:30But, you know, you lost Kinlaw, you lost Payne, and you had Settle, Amenahue, Tuttle.
08:39You know, you had guys step up, depth-wise.
08:44Again, I get the opponent, okay?
08:46I'm not saying that they faced, you know, the best offensive team in the league last night,
08:52but I thought it was a good night for the defense, and I think there have been encouraging
08:55signs for the defense.
08:56You know, they're going to get much bigger tests here coming up, you know, obviously
09:01this week against the Rams, the Bengals in a few weeks.
09:04The Texans have been outstanding offensively this year.
09:08The Jags have been outstanding offensively this year.
09:10The Cowboys have been outstanding offensively this year.
09:13They still have to face Bijan Robinson.
09:16They still have to face the Cardinals, who have actually been pretty good offensively.
09:20The Titans had their best offensive day of the year.
09:24Who knows?
09:24Maybe they're getting better.
09:25I'm not counting on it.
09:26So they're bigger tests than what they had last night.
09:29But seven games in, we can't say that the defense sucks like we could say all of last
09:37year and all of the year before, and all of the year before that.
09:41I mean, it's improved.
09:44It's improved talent-wise, speed-wise, and obviously their first-round pick, their youngest
09:51player defensively, is outstanding.
09:54I also think Trey Amos, you know, we've heard from the people that would know, Sean Springs
10:02has said this many times, Fred Smoot has said this many times, that they know what an NFL
10:07corner looks like, and that he looks like one from day one.
10:11And he's added something that they were missing without him.
10:16Look, Sanristill, I don't think, played one defensive snap last night.
10:20So the return of Amos has been able to push Sanristill off the field completely as a corner.
10:28He does play special teams.
10:32All right, next up on the good list, explosive plays on offense.
10:37Seven total, all right?
10:39Two runs of 15 or more yards.
10:41Rashad White had the 33-yarder at the end, but Eckler had an 18-yard run on their first
10:47touchdown drive in the second quarter.
10:50And then five throws of 20 or more yards.
10:54A 21-yarder to Burks on their long, you know, 89-yard drive in the second quarter that resulted
11:01in the Diggs touchdown.
11:02A 20-yarder to Diggs at the end of the half, where Diggs did a really good job of getting
11:07extra yardage and knowing that with three timeouts left, it wasn't imperative that he
11:12get to the sideline and lose on yardage, incremental yardage opportunity.
11:18The third and six in the third quarter from their own eight-yard line that Chig pulled
11:23in with one hand, the play that we came in with, was really a massive play in that moment.
11:28Jaden got absolutely blown up after throwing it, but it got him out of a hole.
11:34And I'll talk about that a little bit more in a moment.
11:37There was the 53-yard bomb to Burks after they got the sack, forced fumble in the third
11:42quarter.
11:42That set up the field goal that gave them a 16-10 lead.
11:46And then the deep shot to Antonio Williams for 30 yards on the drive that made it 19-10
11:51following the Eagles missed field goal after the penalty on the made field goal.
11:57Explosive plays really told the tale offensively last night.
12:03The rest of it was meh for the most part.
12:06But seven explosives?
12:08That's a big deal.
12:10And it was massively impactful towards the final result, which was a win.
12:18Some of the offensive skill position players that stood out, Antonio Williams continues
12:23to just be a guy that you can count on.
12:25Now, that deep one of 30 yards, he was bobbling it.
12:29He almost dropped it.
12:31But five catches for 54 yards, including a couple on third down that were big.
12:35Look, I'm going to put Chig Okonkwo on this list, even though he had the fumble early on.
12:42He's gaining importance week by week.
12:47You can tell that with Terry out especially, Jaden's going to be looking for a guy that
12:51he can trust.
12:52Chig's explosive.
12:53He is, you know, more wide receiver than he is tight end.
12:59But he is definitely along with Williams and Diggs and Burks.
13:06I mean, this is going to be the group, you know, hopefully they'll get healthy and hopefully
13:09the offensive will get more acclimated.
13:12The chemistry with Jaden as he's on the field more and more will develop.
13:16But I'm putting Chig Okonkwo on this list despite the fumble and the fact, you know,
13:22he only had two catches for 32 yards, but had the one-hander that he couldn't get two
13:27feet in on the touchdown that wasn't, that was the field goal before, what, the 16-10 lead.
13:36Yeah, 85's playing well for them right now.
13:39He's a big add for them.
13:41And I think without Terry the rest of the way, he's going to become vital.
13:45Has to hold on to the football though, because that was a good throw.
13:49Really good throw in rhythm.
13:50Quick release versus pressure.
13:52Did a really good job.
13:54I think Austin Eckler has to be utilized more.
13:59Now, I'd have to look at the snap counts.
14:01Let me just see real quickly offensively, snap count wise, where he was versus the rest of
14:09the backs.
14:09So Rashad White, 28 snaps, Eckler, 20 snaps, and Jeremy McNichols, who got hurt, 12 snaps.
14:18But Eckler, Eckler is the most patient of the runners.
14:22He's the best vision runner, and he's the most explosive of the runners.
14:28You know, eight carries, 36 yards last night, four and a half yards per carry, including the
14:3218-yarder on the long drive, which was the play before they went no huddle, hurry up, and
14:39threw the touchdown pass to Diggs.
14:41I actually think that McNichols looks good, too.
14:44It's a shame that he's hurt, and he'll probably be lost.
14:46I don't know for how long.
14:48But they have, in McNichols, I think maybe their best short yardage back.
14:53They're just not going to have him now.
14:55So it'll be interesting to see what they do for that spot.
14:58Stephon Diggs last night was big, three catches, 38 yards, including the touchdown and the big
15:04one at the end of the first half.
15:06And look, a lot of attention with Terry being out is paid to Diggs.
15:11He is an exceptional route runner and really has great feel against zone defenses in particular.
15:20Makes himself a really good target for the quarterback.
15:24I didn't put Burks on this list, even though he had three catches for 81 yards, because
15:29he had to drop on third down, and he stumbled on that other third down early in the game,
15:34which could have been a big play for them as well.
15:39Next up on the list of good, pass protection.
15:42I mean, I thought it was a very good night for the offensive line when it came to pass pros
15:47specifically against, by the way, you know, we, I've already mentioned multiple times how
15:52bad Philly is offensively, but that defense is still talented.
15:56It's still well coached.
15:58I thought Sam Cosme did a great job against Jalen Carter for a bunch of the night.
16:03I thought both tackles seem to play pretty well, especially in pass protection.
16:08And I'd add that Rashad White and Jeremy McNichols are exceptional pass blockers from the running
16:14back position, maybe not Eckler as much, but yeah, the eye test, the, I, you know, there's
16:21been a lot of complaining about the offensive line this year.
16:24And I try not to let the, you know, fat of the store, really good story get in the way
16:29of the facts.
16:30The facts are that this has been a top 10 pass block win rate team per next gen all season
16:36long.
16:36And they're certainly not going to lose any ground after last night.
16:39Now they have not been a good run blocking team.
16:43Although last year I thought was the last night, I think was an improvement, but specific to
16:48pass protection.
16:49The eye test tells you that the pass protection has been pretty good, really was hanging on
16:56a threat against a very good Seattle defense, hanging by a threat against a very good San
17:01Francisco defense.
17:03But last night against a good Eagles defense, I thought they did a good job.
17:07I think the only time Philly really got pressure was when they actually blitzed, which they
17:11don't do very often, but they did last night on the Jaden sack.
17:15That was a five man rush.
17:17I'm pretty sure.
17:20Special teams last night comes down to Stevens and Luke.
17:26Look, Luke was terrible in that 49er game.
17:29And last night he was outstanding.
17:31The kickoff return of 44 yards gave them an opportunity to get in field goal range right
17:38from the beginning.
17:38They missed that field goal.
17:39And then the 27 yard punt return at the end of the first half was a huge play in the
17:46game.
17:46You know, you're looking at 10, 10 halftime, maybe worse than that.
17:50That puts them in a position.
17:52The only regret is they didn't get six.
17:55And we'll talk about Jaden missing a Conquo on that drive.
17:58But Luke McCaffrey was great and Stevens was big last night.
18:03He missed the first one, but the second one from 56 yards out down 10, nothing.
18:09I know it's only, you know, late first quarter, but if he doesn't hit that and it was a fourth
18:15and four, I was surprised that Quinn didn't consider at the Philly 38 yard line going for
18:21it.
18:21But he showed confidence in Stevens, put him right back out there after he missed the
18:2655 yarder and he drilled the 56 yarder.
18:30That was a big kick in that moment.
18:33Four for five on field goals.
18:36Although, was it me or did it look like he nearly missed a couple of extra points?
18:42It seemed like a couple of them barely got inside like the left upright.
18:49Um, yeah.
18:51So special teams, good moments from Luke McCaffrey in the return game and Drew Stevens going for
18:56four for five.
18:57They were necessary.
18:59Um, there were three big moments slash sequences in the game that I, I wanted to put on the
19:06good list.
19:07So the drive down 10, nothing where Stevens makes the 56 yarder.
19:12There are two huge plays.
19:15Uh, the first is a third and six to Burks for a first down.
19:20That's a massive conversion on a third and six throw, because if they don't make that,
19:26it's three and out and they are punting down 10, nothing.
19:30And Philadelphia will have field position and it doesn't feel good.
19:34And then later on in that drive, fourth and four could have gone for it, puts Stevens out
19:40there and he had to make that kick.
19:43I'm not saying that there wasn't enough time in the game, but Philly could have taken over
19:47at their own 46 yard line up 10 to nothing.
19:52And with the crowd booing with the penalties and a second missed field goal, it would have
19:58been not a great, a great feel.
20:01That was a big exhale moment because of what it could have led to the other way.
20:09Uh, that was the first kind of sequence in the game that I thought was really crucial.
20:15They had to get something out of that next drive.
20:18And that first third and six conversion was big.
20:21And then, you know, a 56 yard field goal, not easy after you've missed a 55 yard field goal.
20:27Uh, the drive, um, in the third quarter, when Chig grabbed that one handed third and six
20:34with Jaden getting absolutely blown up after the throw, look, they're up 13, 10.
20:40And if they don't convert that, they are punting from Tress away, basically standing, uh, at
20:45the end in the back of the end zone, the Eagles end up more likely than not with great field
20:51position.
20:51Uh, instead they were able to get the ball all the way out to the 35.
20:55Then they're one legitimate sack of the game on third down.
20:59Jaden got sacked back at the 18, but the punt allowed for a field position flip from starting
21:05at their own four and then Philly starting at their own 37 after that versus Philly starting
21:11at the 50 or even in Washington, uh, territory.
21:14I thought that that third and six play got them out of that hole and was a gutsy throw
21:21and a very good catch.
21:24And then I thought the other sequence, it's really easy because as I said, 27 to 10 was
21:30not reflective of this game.
21:31I mean, it's 13, 10 heading into, into the, uh, you know, it's 16 to 10 in the fourth quarter
21:38with Philly lining up for a 36 yard field goal after a good stop by Washington.
21:43But that was Philly's long drive.
21:45The only real drive they had the entire game, they make the field goal and Jordan, my lot
21:51us lined up in the backfield for an illegal formation.
21:55It pushes it back only to a 41 yarder, only a 41 yarder, but that miss by Jake Elliott off
22:04the left upright was huge because it's 16, 13, they're kicking off.
22:10There's nine plus minutes left in the game and it's still there for Philly.
22:15That miss seemed to really deflate them because I think that next play was the big 30 yarder,
22:23uh, to, uh, Antonio Williams after the miss field goal.
22:27And they were in field goal range a few plays later and got the field goal that made it,
22:33um, 19 to 10.
22:35So instead of 16 to 13, Washington starting with a big time pressure drive offensively,
22:42they get the big play after the miss field goal and they go down and make it a two score
22:47game.