The Washington Commanders' 2025 season didn't go as planned, but they're starting 2026 off on the right foot.
Washington overcame two turnovers and a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take down the Philadelphia Eagles on the road, 24-17, and finish the season with a 5-12 record. The victory moves them to 2-2 in the final four games of the season and locks them into the No. 7 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterback Josh Johnson, who was named the starter for the second week, won his first game as an NFL starter since 2018 in his first stint with Washington. Johnson finished the game completing 63% of his passes for 131 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The bigger story, however, came on the defensive side of the ball, as linebacker Bobby Wagner recorded five tackles to put him at 2,000 stops for his career. He joins Ray Lewis and London Fletcher as the only players in NFL history to hit that mark.
The Commanders didn't have a banner night on either side of the ball, but they did enough to get out of Lincoln Financial Field with a win. The Commanders only put up 274 yards but controlled the time of possession by nearly 10 minutes. They leaned on 143 rushing yards, led by Chris Rodriguez Jr.'s 65 yards on 16 carries that included a one-yard touchdown that tied the score in the first quarter.
The defense allowed the Eagles to convert 43% of their 14 third-down attempts but held them to 0-for-3 on fourth downs, the last of which essentially ended the game. The Commanders sacked Tanner McKee three times, the last of which came from Von Miller, who finished the season with nine sacks for the first time since 2021.
Neither the Commanders nor the Eagles played many of the starters in the season finale. The Eagles chose to rest players like Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and several defensive players ahead of the playoffs, while the Commanders settled on playing backups due to the several injuries they've sustained all season. As a result, it took time for both teams to gain momentum. The Commanders got to the Eagles' 6-yard line on a 17-play drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock, but it ended in disappointment when Jake Moody's 24-yard field goal attempt clanged off the right upright.
The Eagles took advantage of that Commanders mistake and marched 80 yards downfield with help from a DeVonta Smith 27-yard pickup that put him over 1,000 yards for the season. A 15-yard catch from Jahan Dotson moved the Eagles to the Commanders' 18-yard line, and two plays later, McKee found Grant Calcaterra for a wide-open touchdown.
The Commanders responded on their next possession. Eagles cornerback Jakorian Bennett was called for defensive pass interference -- a recurring issue for Philadelphia, which had 123 penalty yards -- against Treylon Burks in the end zone, and Rodriguez powered forward for the one-yard run that tied the score at seven.
The Commanders and Eagles traded turnovers to close out the first half. Washington's defense held Philadelphia out of the end zone on a fourth-and-2 at its own 6-yard line, only for the offense to give it back to the Eagles five plays later off an interception from Johnson. Four plays after that, however, Jeremy Reaves hauled in an interception off a pass intended for Dotson and returned it to the Commanders' 29-yard line. The Commanders then covered 33 yards in five plays, getting Moody in range for a 56-yard field goal to make the score 10-7 at halftime.
Washington's offense cooled off at the start of the second half, though, which allowed the Eagles to climb out of the deficit. Johnson mishandled a snap, which turned into a Philadelphia fumble recovery and eventually a Tank Bigsby touchdown that capped off an eight-play drive. The Commanders punted the ball after a three-and-out, and the Eagles tacked on a 39-yard field goal from Jake Elliott.
But the Commanders had the strong finish head coach Dan Quinn has wanted from the team for the past month. Down a touchdown to start the fourth quarter, the offense moved from the Eagles' 30-yard line to the one thanks to another defensive pass interference call against Philadelphia. It took six plays, including a third pass interference call against the Eagles, but Johnson finally found tight end John Bates in the back of the end zone to tie the score, 17-17.
Washington was back in the end zone following a three-and-out from McKee and the Eagles' offense. Philadelphia was called for another defensive pass interference that moved Washington from its own 23 to the Eagles' 45-yard line. Rodriguez had an 18-yard scamper that moved Washington to the 18 and later moved the offense to the Eagles' 1-yard line. On third-and-goal, Johnson took the ball in himself to give Washington the lead.
The Eagles had two opportunities to tie things up, and both ended in turnovers on downs. Miller sacked McKee on third-and-10, and since the Eagles had used all their timeouts, they had to rush to run one last play, which resulted in an incomplete pass to Dotson.
After the game, Johnson was all smiles at the podium.
"It's unexplainable, man," Johnson said of the win. "I know to the rest of the world, this might not mean nothing, but...for us to not waver and get this 'W,' it was a great one."
