The one factor that has haunted the Commanders’ season ended up ruining their hopes of an upset against the Eagles in Week 16
The Commanders were looking to play upset, but a key injury to Marcus Mariota pulled the plug on any chances they had.
The Washington Commanders were huge underdogs against the Philadelphia Eagles at home with a 4-10 record, but they came out ready to play.
After a fumble recovery on the opening kickoff, the Commanders continued to fight against the NFC East leaders and took a 10-7 lead into halftime. We expected another hard-fought half with the Commanders looking for the major upset, but it was cut short after another key injury.
The Commanders’ season has been derailed by injuries, and so were their upset efforts after quarterback Marcus Mariota went down in the third quarter.
Marcus Mariota’s injury cost the Commanders any chance of an upset
The Commanders looked ready to play spoiler on all three phases of the game, and looked to build off of a lead going into the second half. Mariota hit Treylon Burks for a 24-yard gain, but then he got banged up on the next play, which caused him to leave for the locker room at the end of the drive just three plays later.
The offense was actually moving the ball well against the Eagles’ defense, and Mariota going down was the worst thing that could’ve happened at the time. Who knows where that drive finishes up if Mariota doesn’t get hurt after the big gain, but we will never know because he didn’t return. Mariota was checked for a concussion and had his hand wrapped up, and third-string quarterback Josh Johnson came in to finish the game. It was all downhill from there, unfortunately, and the Commanders never stood a chance.
Josh Johnson’s interception sealed the deal
You can’t expect your third-string quarterback to come in and play well enough to beat a team like the Eagles, but a bad interception really killed any chance of a Commanders upset.
It was an awful decision to make with a throw across the field that hung up in the air for too long, and Cooper DeJean made him pay for it. The interception led to a touchdown to give the Eagles a 21-10 lead, and that was the nail in the coffin. To make things even worse, the Commanders have a short week with their next game on Christmas Day against the Dallas Cowboys, and don’t know if Mariota will be healthy by then.
Jayden Daniels is already shut down for the season, and Sam Hartman is the only other quarterback left. The Commanders had a handful of other injuries that continue to haunt their season, and now they look ahead to try to find something positive to take away from a disastrous ending.
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