OPINION:
It was a big Sunday for Washington sports.
The Wizards announced the team exercised the fourth-year rookie scale team option on guard Bub Carrington, forward Kyshawn George, and forward/center Alex Sarr, and also exercised the third-year rookie scale team options on guard Tre Johnson and forward Will Riley.
The Capitals traded for a backup goalie, dealing a 2027 seventh-round pick to the New Jersey Devils for goaltender Remi Poirier.
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And the Nationals made a deal, trading left-handed pitcher Tony Neubeck to the San Francisco Giants for infielder Nate Furman.
But in this town, a Washington football win over the Philadelphia Eagles still means something.
The Commanders came back from a 10-0 deficit to score 27 unanswered points in a 27-10 win over Philadelphia at Northwest Stadium.
These wins have been so rare in the past two years — four wins before the hometown fans who filled half the stadium — that they overshadowed player options and trading for backup goalies and infielders.
The only thing that would have made it bigger was if the Commanders lost.
Then, rather than talking about how the Washington defense contained Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee, we would be on the Dan Quinn unemployment watch, because losing to this pathetic Eagles squad would have effectively ended the Commanders’ (2-4-1) season on the first day of November and with it possibly the coach’s time here.
Instead, there was Quinn, talking about the resilience of this team.
“Number one, we felt like there’s been too many times where we were beating ourselves and making mistakes that caused us to struggle,” Quinn said. “So that was what we wanted to try to eliminate. And we gained a step closer to that, but not all the way there. But this is a tough group. We knew the division game; this was going to be a battle. Like this is Washington and Philly and over the last three years we’ve played three, five, seven times now and like they’re all fights. And so, we knew it was going to be that way. So, we were ready and prepared for that.”
“Gained a step” is generous. His team was still embarrassed by their specialty — pre-snap penalties, four on the offense’s first nine plays, two of them back-to-back. Coming out of the bye week, that was a strong indictment of the coaching staff’s inability to prepare this team to play.
“I’m really excited to get rolling with the guys today,” Quinn said when the team returned from the bye week to prepare for Philadelphia. “My belief in them is really strong. I’ve seen the practice habits, and that’s why knowing we’ve been in every game and I’d love to have all four quarters together. That’s what we’re chasing, and that’s what I’m certain we’re going to get after.”
They are still chasing, and the chase gets more difficult Sunday when Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams come to town. The Eagles (2-6) were the team to get right on. They won, but I’m not sure what they accomplished other than avoiding a week of turmoil.
The Commanders may be struggling to stay afloat in the flood of injuries that has engulfed them since preseason, but the Eagles are drowning.
They’ve lost starting quarterback Jalen Hurts and receiver DeVonta Smith, among others. Running back Saquon Barkley has played, but has been limited by hamstring and back injuries.
Philadelphia also appears to have serious coaching issues. Eagles Coach Nick Sirianni nearly went full Jim Zorn mode (“I feel like the worst coach in America”) in his post-game comments following the loss to Washington. “I am not doing a good enough job,” he told reporters. “I’ve got to do better.”
Now, as for the sun around which all Commanders planets revolve — quarterback Jayden Daniels — he continues to put this roster on his shoulders and carry it up and down the field.
Daniels went 16 of 29 for 217 yards and one touchdown through the air, then added 23 yards on two carries on the ground.
And — this is going to disappoint a lot of people — zero interceptions yet again.
He has gone 91 of 145 for 976 yards and six touchdowns this season. Two more touchdowns rushing. No interceptions.
And he stayed upright, starting and finishing three consecutive games for the first time since his rookie year in 2024.
Daniels also did what Quinn and his coaches weren’t able to do — prepare his team to play like professionals when he spoke to the offense at the end of the first quarter.
“Honestly, it was complete BS, just how we started and what we were doing,” he said. “We had a promising drive the first drive, and mental lapses of penalties and stuff like that. And then the second drive, we got behind the sticks with a lot of pre-snap penalties and then the fumble. At that point, it wasn’t our brand of football that we want to play or showcase. It was at that point, you kind of just get frustrated, you go up and speak your mind. So, that’s kind of what I did. And kind of just help snap everybody back into place.”
• You can hear Thom Loverro on “The Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast.
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