Jacory Croskey-Merritt was Washington's best offensive weapon early, rushing for a touchdown, but he later fumbled on the drive that was supposed to tie the game, according to Yahoo's postgame breakdown. Dallas Goedert did the most damage for Philadelphia, hauling in two touchdown catches including a 43-yard catch-and-run that the Inquirer and NBC Sports Philadelphia both flagged as the play that effectively iced the win — and it came on a defense that limited Washington's top target, McLaurin, to just 14 yards on the day.
Washington's offensive line held up worse than expected — the Commanders were flagged six times, all on offense, feeding long-yardage situations behind a front that PhillyVoice noted also gave Philadelphia's own interior push trouble against Saquon Barkley. Vic Fangio's defense mixed in heavy two-deep looks specifically designed to make Daniels win with his arm rather than his legs, and for three quarters it worked.
Zack Baun turned in the kind of game PhillyVoice called nearly unwinnable without, breaking up a pass on Stefon Diggs and stalling an early Washington drive with an ankle tackle, while Jalen Carter blocked a Washington extra point in the second quarter that turned out to be the entire margin of victory — it meant the Commanders needed 2 points, not 1, to tie it late.
Daniels found his rhythm in the fourth quarter, going 9-of-11 for 100 yards and both of his touchdowns down the stretch, the second a strike to rookie Antonio Williams with 1:01 left that pulled Washington within 2. Frankie Luvu had sacked Hurts for a 9-yard loss earlier and Sonny Styles added one of his own, proof Washington's defense had answers too — just not enough of them. New offensive coordinator David Blough then called a shovel pass to John Bates on the two-point try, and Moro Ojomo read it clean, stuffing Bates short of the goal line to end it.