Eagles Week 18 Loss to Commanders Confirms NFC 3‑Seed
The Philadelphia Eagles decided to play their backups on Sunday with the Two-Seed in the NFC on the Line and fell to the Commanders 24-17 thanks to a game-winning touchdown by Josh Johnson on the ground late in the fourth quarter. The reality of the situation, the Bears also lost on a GW field goal by Bates, so if the Eagles had pulled out the win, they would’ve had the 2-seed. Now they have a date with the 49ers in the Wild Card with the results of Sunday’s action. Let’s get to the takeaways of this action.
Tanner McKee is a Backup For A Reason
The Eagles love Tanner McKee a lot, and he has some tools, but there is absolutely no reason for the horrible playcalling sequencing in this game at times, and especially in the fourth quarter, in a mostly tied game, because they had opportunities to win this game on the ground, because Tank Bigsby was phenomenal in this game on the ground.
But the situational play-calling once again proves to be a weakness of Kevin Patullo once again and this is starting to be unacceptable and will be the downfall, especially against the 49ers, who can play offense as Brock Purdy is playing great football at the moment, other than on Saturday against Seattle. Disappointing to say the least from Patullo once again in the fourth quarter.
Keele Ringo and Jakorian Bennett = Not Good
Ringo is one of the best special team gunners in the game right now, as he has had a great season in that role; however, as a cornerback, he is what we call barbecue chicken on the basketball court. Both he and Bennett had crucial pass interference calls all game long, as that was the majority of the reason why the Commanders moved the ball at all in this game was because of the PI. Which of those PIs were PIs, and the matter that Ringo has had a long time to develop is even more concerning, as he is only a great special teams gunner.
Also, that trade for Bennett has proven to be a weak spot for Roseman this offseason, and he should consider drafting a young outside corner to go opposite Quinyon Mitchell this next draft in the early rounds after addressing the line.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr Makes His Dad Proud
But it’s not all doom and gloom in this game, however, as Devonta Smith did get his 1000 yards, as I laid out in an article earlier, which you can find here. But another huge positive in Jeremiah Trotter Jr.’s performance in this game. The Eagles have some serious linebacker depth at the moment after not having that depth for years, and Trotter Jr. is the underrated performer out of that bunch.
In this game vs the Commanders, Trotter Jr. had 12 total tackles and two quarterback hits. His dad would surely be proud of him and this performance, especially, in a start as well. In other Eagles defensive highlights, Jalyx Hunt continues to be an underrated player for the Eagles’ defensive line. Hunt had an interception and a fumble recovery to go along with two tackles.
The Eagles are officially now the 3-Seed in the NFC with the loss as laid out before, and now are lined up to face the San Franciciso 49ers next week in the Wild Card round. This offense is going to have some adjustments with some concepts, hopefully, to keep up with a talented 49ers offense and not have a dud like this one was late. The potential return of Lane Johnson from his Lisfranc Sprain is something to keep an eye on for this Eagles team heading into that game next week as well.
