The Philadelphia Eagles opened their season with a 24-22 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday, September 13, holding on after a two-point conversion that would have tied the game was stopped at the line.
Trailing 24-16 in the fourth quarter, Washington scored on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels to Antonio Williams with 1:01 remaining. Rather than kick, the Commanders went for two and called a shovel pass to tight end John Bates. Eagles defensive lineman Moro Ojomo met Bates immediately and wrapped him up short of the goal line, per ESPN's recap. "I got off on the ball," Ojomo said. "Took a shot. You kind of got to play it free."
Jalen Hurts threw three touchdowns without needing volume
Hurts finished with 203 passing yards and three touchdown passes. He hit Dallas Goedert from 17 yards in the first quarter and Dontayvion Wicks from nine in the second, then found Goedert again from 43 yards in the fourth quarter for the score that ultimately decided it. Goedert caught four passes for 77 yards and the two touchdowns; Wicks added a 64-yard reception.
"It's just about meeting the moment when your opportunity comes," Hurts said afterward. Coach Nick Sirianni said Hurts "can do it through the air ... with his legs when he needs to make plays."
It was the first regular-season game under new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, whom the Eagles hired from Green Bay in January after firing Kevin Patullo. The receiving room has also turned over since last season, when Philadelphia traded A.J. Brown to the Patriots for a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fifth.
Washington stayed in it behind a quiet Daniels
Daniels completed 18 of 34 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns, a 10-yard throw to Stefon Diggs in the fourth quarter and the late 1-yarder to Williams. Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored on a 1-yard run, but Jalen Carter blocked the extra point, leaving Washington down 14-9 — the miss that made a two-point conversion necessary at the end. Drew Stevens added a 55-yard field goal. Jake Elliott hit a 35-yard field goal for Philadelphia in the third quarter.
Washington travels to Dallas next Sunday; Philadelphia goes to Tennessee. Elsewhere on the same Sunday slate, the Bears beat the Panthers 59-37 in the highest-scoring season opener in NFL history. Both games were previewed in our Games to Watch for Sunday, September 13.
Source: ESPN
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