Mistake-Filled First Half Dooms Eagles To 10-7 Deficit Against Commanders

Jake Elliott missed three field goals, though only two counted, and the Eagles made way too many mistakes for a team trying to win a second-straight NFC East Division title by beating the 4-10 Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium.

Will Shipley’s fumbled kickoff to start the game is at the top of the list of them and was followed by a 43-yard missed field goal from Jake Elliott. There was also a false start on a tush push try from the 1 by right tackle Fred Johnson, starting his fifth straight game for Lane Johnson, and a missed block by tight end Dallas Goedert on a running play on the Eagles’ first offensive play after Shipley’s fumble that led to a three-and-out.

It all added up to a 10-7 halftime defict.

Shipley made another mistake when he was late to decide to come out of the end zone rather than take the ball at the 35 after the Commanders made it 10-7. He made it to the 19.

The run defense struggled, too. It lost Nakobe Dean to a hamstring injury in the first quarter, and he was listed as questionable to return. Rookie Jihaad Campbell, who hadn’t seen much playing time since Dean’s return from injury, entered.

DeVonta Smith's TD Were Eagles' Only First-Half Points

Smitty 🤝 Touchdown pic.twitter.com/Gh5VOGEpNG
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 20, 2025

The defense stood tall after Shipley’s fumble. After reaching the 3-yard line, a Washington throw into the ed zone from the 3-yard line was broken up by Cooper DeJean. Instead of going for it on fourth, Commanders head coach Dan Quinn, whose team has already been eliminated from playoff contention, opted for a 20-yard field goal rather than go for it on fourth down.

It broke, however, after Elliott’s field goal miss, allowing the Commanders to march 67 yards in nine plays and 5 minutes, 26 seconds to take the lead with 3:40 to play on a 1-yard TD run.

Perhaps the biggest defensive highlight came from Brandon Graham, who notched his third sack in the last two games to force a Commanders punt.

Offensively, the Eagles took a 7-3 lead when Jalen Hurts got the offense in gear on the Eagles’ second possession of the game, completing throws of 15 yards to DeVonta Smith and a 16-yarder to A.J. Brown, with a 15-yard scramble run to pick up three straight first down enroute to a touchdown.

The score came on a 6-yard throw to Smith on the play right after Fred Johnson moved too soon on a tush push attempt from the 1-yard line. It was Hurts’ 23rd touchdown pass of the season, which tied his career-high set in 2023, and the fourth TD of the season for Smith.

The Eagles caught a break at the end of the first half. Elliott missed another field goal, this one from 57 yards, but the Commanders lined up offsides. After an incomplete pass, Elliott tried again, this time from 52 yards. And he missed again.

The offense had 183 yards to Washington’s 122, but just seven points.

Hurts finished the half 12-for-17 with 112 yards and a passer rating of 108. He had four runs for 36 yards. Brown had eight catches for 86 yards. His career-high for catches in a game is 11, set in 2021 against the 49ers while he was still with the Titans. Barkley ran nine times for 40 yards and needs 20 more to reach 1,000 for the fifth time in his career.

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