The Washington Commanders fought to the end but came up two yards short in their season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Commanders had the chance to tie the score in the final 61 seconds of regulation thanks to Jayden Daniels' second touchdown pass after trailing for most of the day. They elected to try a shovel pass to John Bates, but the Eagles stuffed the tight end at the line of scrimmage to keep the score 24-22 in the Eagles' favor.

It was a valiant effort from the Commanders, who unveiled new schemes on both sides of the ball, and pushed the NFC East champions of the last two seasons to the brink. There are no moral victories, though, and as the Commanders were reminded on a few crucial plays, the margin for error in the NFL is razor thin, particularly against a team like the Eagles.

"We shot ourselves in the foot too many times," Daniels said. "It came back and haunted us at the end of the game."

There were some growing pains from the Commanders throughout the game, particularly on offense. The unit went through spurts of production sandwiched between possessions where yards were difficult to find against the Eagles' defense. Following their game-opening 55-yard field goal from Drew Stevens, they put up 13 yards in their next four possessions. Along with the Eagles' secondary limiting throwing opportunities and the defensive front putting consistent pressure on Daniels, the Commanders struggled to get in sync in the passing game at times and struggled to get yards on the ground.

There were moments when the offense's potential flashed. After the Eagles scored their second touchdown to take an 11-point lead, they went on a 12-play, 67-yard drive that culminated with a one-yard run from Jacory Croskey-Merritt. They closed the lead twice in the second half, thanks in part to Daniels making smart decisions with the football and buying time with his legs. The Commanders finished the night with 132 rushing yards, and Daniels was efficient on the final two drives, completing nine of his 11 pass attempts.

But as Daniels said after the game, there is still plenty to learn, both for himself and the team.

"You can't shoot yourself in the foot on the little things like that," Daniels said.

The Eagles' offense wasn't faring much better than the Commanders, though, and that can be credited to the Commanders' new defensive scheme led by Daronte Jones. It was as advertised in terms of generating pressure, as they brought down quarterback Jalen Hurts three times. Saquon Barkley still had 83 rushing yards, but he was relatively bottled up and found few easy runs. They forced seven punts from Philadelphia, including three on their first four drives.

But there were moments when the Commanders' defense stumbled, and the Eagles made them pay for it. The first came near the end of the first quarter, when Dontayvion Wicks got behind the secondary for a 64-yard catch. Three plays later, Hurts connected with Dallas Goedert for a 17-yard touchdown -- his first of two on the day -- to give the Eagles a 7-3 lead.

The second mistake came near the halfway point of the second quarter. Barkley managed to slip between a pair of Commanders defenders and sprinted down the right sideline for a 42-yard gain, setting the Eagles up at the Commanders' 12-yard line. Hurts looked for Wicks again, and this time, the two connected for a nine-yard touchdown to put Philadelphia up 14-3.

Washington's offense came alive after that, starting with an 11-yard run by Croskey-Merritt. Daniels hit Stefon Diggs, who finished the night with 55 yards on four catches, for a 15-yard gain, and Croskey-Merritt plowed through the Eagles' front on a fourth-down conversion. Daniels later connected with Antonio Williams to put the Commanders at the 1-yard line, and Croskey-Merritt finished the drive by stretching the ball over the goal line for his first score of the year.

The Eagles' attempts at putting the game away in the second half were often stymied by the pressure generated by the Commanders' defensive front. Rookie Sonny Styles recorded his first sack and stuffed Barkley for a three-yard loss, while Odafe Oweh sacked Hurts on a third-and-10. Those plays contributed to three straight three-and-outs from the Eagles, and it wasn't until the end of the third quarter that they managed to put more points on the board. Hurts completed a 31-yard pass to DeVonta Smith, helping to set up a 35-yard field goal from Jake Elliott.

With the score 17-9, the Commanders, who were going through their own dry spell, found a spark from Daniels. He evaded multiple Eagles defenders for a 13-yard run and completed his next three passes to help move Washington to the Eagles' 10-yard line. The Eagles brought an all-out blitz on a third-and-6, but Daniels stood firm in the pocket to deliver a shot to Diggs for the score.

The Eagles responded with their own touchdown drive, which included a 22-yard scramble from Hurts that converted a third-and-18, and went back up by eight points with a 43-yard catch-and-run from Goedert. However, with six minutes left, Washington managed to muster another response with Daniels finding Williams and Diggs for gains of 14 and 17 yards, respectively. Daniels converted a fourth-and-2 with a six-yard pass to Terry McLaurin and also connected with Williams for a one-yard score. It set up the potential game-tying two-point conversion that was ultimately unsuccessful.

"We just didn't execute," Daniels said. "It was the right call. Anything [offensive coordinator David] Blough calls, I'm with him...We had the look we wanted. We just didn't execute."

Washington will now shift its focus to the Dallas Cowboys, who will host the Commanders at AT&T Stadium on Sept. 20. There were positive moments for the Commanders to build upon, and they are already looking to turn the page.

"It's a long season," Daniels said. "It's all about catching your rhythm and continuing to build. There are ebbs and flows in a season, and you gotta take the lessons that you learn from different losses."