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PHILADELPHIA – Taylor Heinicke said he wasn’t paying attention. He said he didn’t think much of Monday night potentially being his last start, should Carson Wentz return to the active roster from his broken finger ready to go.
His concern, he said last week, was winning. And to win a game against the NFL’s last undefeated team, it had to help its quarterbacks convert on third downs, sustain drives and be consistent, all of which Washington has typically failed to do.
At the time, his comments may have sounded like standard football speak: say the right thing, no matter how obvious, and wait and pray for the result to come. In retrospect, the quarterback’s hopes — and his play — were shrewd, and Monday’s game may have guaranteed him a chance to remain Washington’s starter, regardless of Wentz’s health.
With a heavy reliance on the run game and an efficient third-down game, Heinicke’s Chiefs did what no other team has done this season: upset the Philadelphia Eagles, 32-21, at home, no less less
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Calling it “probably the biggest win of my career,” Heinicke finished 17-of-29 for 211 yards, no touchdowns and one interception for a 66.9 passer rating. Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts went 17-for-26 for 175 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for a 94.2 rating.
For the first time this season, the Commanders’ offense looked consistent and methodical as it went on four first-half scoring drives, three of which spanned 13, 12 and 16 plays. Washington (5-5) scored 13 points in the second quarter while holding the Eagles scoreless, a feat in itself; Philadelphia (8-1) entered the game having scored nearly 60 percent of its points in the second quarter and had yet to be shut out.
“We’ve found one of the best ways to slow down Jalen Hurts is to keep him off the field,” Chiefs coach Ron Rivera said.
But their dominance in the first half didn’t stop there. Washington outgained Philadelphia 235 yards to 101, converted 75 percent of its third downs (9-for-12) and ran 51 plays to the Eagles’ 19. Washington’s 17 minutes, 38 seconds of possession in the first half was the best. the longest in franchise history, and was capped by a 58-yard field goal (the longest of Joey Slye’s career) that created a 20-14 lead and sparked a round of boos of Eagles fans.
For the game, Washington ran 81 plays for 330 yards, including 152 on the ground, and converted 57 percent of its third downs (12-for-21). It was everything anyone expected and more.
“In a situation like this, I’ve always thought we have the type of guys in that locker room that can do things, and we’re starting to see it come together,” said Rivera, who got choked up in the locker room afterward.
Two weeks earlier, his mother, Delores, died after a battle with lung cancer. Amid all the organization’s off-field drama, Rivera stressed to his team the importance of staying focused.
During the week, he told his players to let him handle the unimportant stuff. After the game, he fought back tears as he told his players that his mother “would have been proud”.
“It said a lot because the guys were able to stay focused on what’s important,” he said. “… Hard work is starting to pay off.”
After their decisive first half, the Commanders opened the second by forcing a 3-pointer and then embarked on another long drive, this one spanning 14 plays and more than eight minutes before Slye hit a 32-yard field goal to expand the Washington. lead to 23-14.
Not only did the Chiefs challenge their own game over the past two-plus seasons under Rivera, they showed a control and attention to detail that had eluded them in most critical situations. With Heinicke at the helm, Washington plays on the edge, usually one shot away from disaster or glory.
Last week against Minnesota, his deep pass over the middle was intercepted, which cost the Commanders dearly as their three-game winning streak ended. This week, his heady plays made the difference.
In the second quarter, center Tyler Larsen sent a hit to Heinicke’s head, but the quarterback ducked, recovered and threw it out of bounds, past the line of scrimmage, to cost Washington just a drop instead of a significant chunk of yardage or worse.
Then in the fourth, on Washington’s final drive, Heinicke got away from pressure and took a knee on third down, drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Eagles’ Brandon Graham as Graham stepped into him.
“That last play, we called on Terry [McLaurin], and it was one of those things where if it’s open, they give it to him, and if not, he takes a sack,” Heinicke said. “I wasn’t going to throw it unless it was wide open. When I took that knee and saw them coming at me, I expected them to come at me, and of course they did. It was a mistake on their part, but, well, we’ll live with it.”
The Eagles’ mistake also exposed Heinicke’s growth.
“Very much so,” Rivera said. “It’s one of the things he’s learning, to take what he’s given.”
During Monday’s game, the Commanders were mostly solid, and when they made mistakes, they fought to make up for it. They committed to the run early and stuck with it (Brian Robinson Jr. finished with 86 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries), opening plays in chunks in the passing game. They moved the ball and ate up clock, converted critical third downs and, for the most part, stayed out of their way.
But the first two minutes of the game suggested the start of another first-half disaster. Armani Rogers was flagged for holding the first down, resulting in a 33-yard loss on a long return by Antonio Gibson. Washington then went three-and-out; after a punt penalty gave Washington the ball back, Heinicke was sacked. Philadelphia got the ball back and needed just three plays to find the end zone on Hurts’ one-yard run.
The Chiefs responded with their first long drive, using 10 rushing plays sandwiched around two big passes: a 26-yard reception by McLaurin on third-and-2 and a 14-yard catch by Jahan Dotson on second-and-11 .Gibson finished the game with a one-yard touchdown run.
This offense was totally different from what Washington had shown weeks before.
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A few mistakes would follow. Cornerback Benjamin St-Juste was called for pass interference on a deep pass by Hurts, and while the call looked questionable, it nonetheless led to another Eagles score, this time a pick-six pass yards to tight end Dallas Goedert to put Philadelphia up 14-7.
Washington was then flagged for delay of game on fourth-and-one, prompting offensive coordinator Scott Turner to throw up his hands in the booth and the offense to settle for a 44-yard Slye field goal.
But after an interception by safety Darrick Forrest and two more Washington scores before the end of the half, a one-yard touchdown run by Robinson and that 58-yard field goal by Slye, the Commanders had a lead 20-14 at halftime. It was the first time in more than two years that Washington scored at least 20 points in the first half.
The Eagles appeared to bounce back after Javon Hargrave’s sack of Heinicke in the third quarter at the Philadelphia 14-yard line. The punt forced Washington to settle for a 32-yard field goal that extended its lead to nine. Philadelphia responded with a long drive, using 11 plays as Hurts threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith to make it 23-21.
The turnover wasn’t in Washington’s plans, but given the circumstances, it wasn’t a glaring mistake. It was third-and-three at the Philadelphia 43 when Heinicke threw a missile down the left sideline to McLaurin that stayed in the air long enough for safety CJ Gardner-Johnson to come up and catch it.
Heinicke has said in the past that if he has a 50-50 chance with McLaurin, he plans to give the star receiver that shot, and his decision to do so here seemed to be the right one, even if the outcome was bad. If the kick had sailed a little farther, the Commanders would have been within feet of the goal line. Instead, he withdrew, a turnover that ultimately had little consequence.
“He’s been great since he’s been here, honestly,” McLaurin said. “…He really plays like every play is his last. Play fearless, man.”
On the ensuing possession, defensive tackle John Ridgeway forced a fumble on a short pass to Goedert that linebacker Jamin Davis recovered and returned for a touchdown. The score was overturned on review, but the turnover stood and created another opportunity for Washington to extend its lead. Slye, having the game of his life, booted a 55-yard field goal with 7:33 left to give Washington a 26-21 lead.
But no Commanders game, especially with Heinicke at quarterback, can end without the final play. This time it came courtesy of the defense.
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Hurts threw a 50-yard pass to Quez Watkins, who stumbled to the turf, got back up and then lost control of the ball when St-Juste hit him. Forrest recovered the fumble to end what could have been a game-winning drive.
“We definitely came into this game knowing that nobody believed in us,” Forrest said. “… We came in ready to fight.”
With his team in position to seal the victory in the final minutes, Dotson was flagged for offensive pass interference, denying a 21-yard catch by Curtis Samuel on third down. But after the punt, defensive end Montez Sweat thwarted another Philadelphia drive with a sack on third down.
Heinicke stuck to the plan: convert third down, keep the drive.
On third-and-seven with McLaurin well covered, Heinicke scrambled before kneeling and drawing the penalty on Graham that set the Chiefs up for another series of downs…