The Commanders announced a handful of roster moves on Monday afternoon, including the addition of two players who were recently waived by other clubs.
Wide receiver Jamal Agnew and defensive tackle Shy Tuttle have joined the club. Defensive lineman Eddie Goldman and wide receiver Jaylin Lane were placed on injured reserve in corresponding moves.
Agnew played in 11 games for the Falcons this season. He averaged 10.3 yards per punt return and 26.1 yards per kickoff return in Atlanta. Lane, who was a fourth-round pick this year, had a pair of punt return touchdowns.
Tuttle had 11 tackles in 10 games for the Titans. Goldman had 26 tackles in 13 games before his injury.
Commanders Clips
The Commanders are getting thin at quarterback, so they’re bringing back Jeff Driskel for the final two weeks of the season.
Washington is signing Driskel off Arizona’s practice squad, according to reporter Ben Standig.
Driskel was also with the Commanders last season and has spent time with the Cardinals, Raiders, Browns, Texans, Broncos, Lions, Bengals and 49ers in his 10-year NFL career.
The Commanders have already shut down starting quarterback Jayden Daniels for the season, and on Sunday Daniels’ replacement, Marcus Mariota, suffered a hand injury. Josh Johnson would appear to be the likely starter for the Commanders on Christmas against the Cowboys.
Things got heated late in Sunday’s game between the Eagles and Commanders when the Eagles opted to go for two after a touchdown put them up 27-10 with less than five minutes to play.
It started with pushing and shoving after the Eagles converted the try and led to punches being thrown by players on both sides. Commanders defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw and safety Quan Martin were ejected along with Eagles guard Tyler Steen.
After the game, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said at his press conference that he did not think scoring one more point was “running up the score” and that he thought the math of defending a 19-point lead “was a little bit better” that trying to defend an 18-point one. Commanders head coach Dan Quinn seemed to have a different idea about whether the Eagles were going too far.
“Yeah, I can only answer from my side, what I would do,” Quinn said in his press conference. “If that’s how they want to get down, all good. We play them again in two weeks.”
That Week 18 game could matter to the Eagles for seeding purposes, but they’re unlikely to play many regulars if it doesn’t and the injury-riddled Commanders may also be filling the lineup with unfamiliar names so we’ll see how much carryover there is beyond the eternal bad blood between the two sides.
The Eagles have won the NFC East. Again.
Today’s 29-18 win over the Commanders in Washington makes the Eagles the division champions for the second consecutive year — and the first repeat champions of the NFC East since 2004, when the Eagles won their fourth of four consecutive division titles.
It hasn’t always been pretty for the Eagles this season, and it wasn’t always pretty today: Kicker Jake Elliott had an ugly first half, giving the Commanders a halftime lead.
But in the second half the Eagles took control, and they played the kind of football they’ll need to play in the playoffs to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The Eagles got a 132-yard rushing game from Saquon Barkley and a two-touchdown passing performance from Jalen Hurts, and by the fourth quarter it was mostly garbage time, as the Commanders didn’t have much fight left in them — other than a literal fight that got two Commanders and one Eagle ejected in the game’s final minutes.
For the Commanders, it was another disappointing game in a very disappointing season. After the Commanders and Eagles met in the NFC Championship Game a year ago, it looked like these could be two of the best teams in the NFC for years to come. Instead, the Commanders have totally collapsed, and they’re now 4-11 on the season.
The Eagles have improved their record to 10-5 and guaranteed that they’ll play at least one home playoff game. And now, after winning their division for the second consecutive year, they can set their sights on winning the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year.
The Commanders didn’t have much fight in them in the second half today against the Eagles, but they did get in a fight near the end of the game.
A big brawl broke out after an Eagles two-point conversion gave them a 29-10 lead, and in the end three players were ejected.
Philadelphia’s Tyler Steen, Washington’s Javon Kinlaw and Quan Martin were all ejected. It was surprising that Washington’s Mike Sainristil wasn’t also ejected, as he was in the middle of it all.
It was an ugly way to end the game, and the NFL’s disciplinary department will surely have plenty to say about it, with fines and potentially suspensions coming.
After taking a lead into the locker room at halftime, the third quarter did not go well for the Commanders.
Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota exited with a right hand injury, and backup Josh Johnson threw an interception after replacing him.
Meanwhile, the Eagles got a big play on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts to Dallas Goedert, and Philadelphia leads 14-10 at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Commanders have played hard despite having nothing to play for, but the Eagles are playing to clinch the NFC East, and they look like they’re poised to wrap it up in the final 15 minutes.
The Eagles have a problem with their kicker.
Jake Elliott has missed repeatedly in the first half today in Washington, and as a result the Commanders have a 10-7 lead in a game the Eagles should be leading.
Officially, Elliott is 0-for-2 on field goals today. But he also missed another one, which got wiped off because a Commanders player lined up offside.
Elliott also missed field goals in all three games of the Eagles’ recent three-game losing streak, and he missed an extra point in one of those games as well.
Win or lose today, the Eagles can’t be confident in Elliott’s ability to make a big-time kick with a big game on the line.
Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt kept getting the ball in the red zone. Eventually, he scored.
Starting with a first-and-10 play from the Eagles’ 11-yard line, Croskey-Merritt ran the ball five times, slowly but surely getting closer to the end zone and eventually plunging in.
On the touchdown run, Croskey-Merritt’s forward progress appeared to be stopped, but the officials didn’t blow their whistles until after he had powered into the end zone, and forward progress isn’t reviewable on replay.
One play that was reviewable saw Croskey-Merritt originally ruled to have picked up the first down. Then replay assist changed the on-field officials’ ruling and said Croskey-Merritt was short of the line to gain. Then Commanders coach Dan Quinn challenged that ruling, but it was upheld.
The officiating will be scrutinized, but the end result was a Commanders 10-7 lead in the second quarter.
The Eagles often false start on the tush push. Sometimes, the officials flag it. Today was one of those times. But it didn’t cost the Eagles.
With the Eagles facing second-and-goal inside the 1-yard line, Fred Johnson was flagged for a false start, moving the Eagles back five yards.
No matter: On the next play, Jalen Hurts hit DeVonta Smith for a touchdown pass that put the Eagles up 7-3.
Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean and Commanders punt returner Jaylin Lane have both exited today’s game with injuries, and both were designated as questionable to return.
If the Eagles win this game, they win the NFC East. Late in the first quarter, they’re on their way.
The Commanders are big underdogs today in Washington, but they’re off to a promising start.
Eagles return man Will Shipley fumbled the opening kickoff, and Washington’s Mike Sainristil recovered, to set up the Commanders in good field position to start the game.
From there, Washington drove down to the 2-yard line, but threw incomplete on second down and third down before settling for a field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
The Eagles caught a break when Cooper DeJean committed pass interference in the end zone on the third down incompletion, but the officials missed it.
Now the Eagles will try to hold onto the ball and get their offense going.
