On November 14, 2022, the Philadelphia Eagles were 8-0 for the first time in franchise history and the last unbeaten team in the NFL. The Washington Commanders came to Lincoln Financial Field on a Monday night as double-digit underdogs and won 32-21.
Washington did it by keeping the ball. The Commanders ran 81 plays to Philadelphia’s 47 and held the ball for 40 minutes and 24 seconds. The Eagles, who had turned the ball over three times in their first eight games, lost three fumbles and threw an interception.
A good start, then nothing
The night began the way Philadelphia’s season had gone. A roughing-the-kicker penalty gave Washington a first down on its opening drive, but Josh Sweat strip-sacked Taylor Heinicke on the next play and Marlon Tuipulotu recovered at the Washington 18. Jalen Hurts ran in from the 1 three plays later.
Washington answered with a drive that took more than seven minutes and ended with Antonio Gibson’s 1-yard touchdown run. Hurts then found Dallas Goedert for a 6-yard touchdown on a jump pass and struck the Heisman pose. It was 14-7 after one quarter.
Philadelphia did not score again until the fourth quarter. A pass that bounced off A.J. Brown’s hands was intercepted by Darrick Forrest at the Washington 14. Joey Slye kicked field goals of 44 and 58 yards, and Brian Robinson Jr. scored from the 1 after the Commanders converted a fourth-and-1 at the Philadelphia 16. Washington led 20-14 at halftime, the first time all season the Eagles had trailed at the break.
In the first half alone, Washington converted 9 of 12 third downs and had the ball for 23:49. Philadelphia had it for 6:11.
Three fumbles in the fourth quarter
Slye’s 32-yard field goal made it 23-14 in the third quarter. Hurts hit DeVonta Smith for an 11-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth to make it 23-21, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson intercepted Heinicke at the Philadelphia 7 on Washington’s next drive. Then the ball kept coming out.
| Time | Play | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 4th quarter, 9:14 | Goedert catches a short pass at the Philadelphia 33. Jamin Davis pulls his face mask and John Ridgeway knocks the ball out | Davis recovers. A touchdown return is reversed on review, and Washington starts at the Philadelphia 34 |
| 4th quarter, 7:38 | Slye 55-yard field goal | Washington leads 26-21 |
| 4th quarter, 5:58 | Hurts to Quez Watkins, 50 yards to the Washington 23. Watkins gets up, keeps running and fumbles | Forrest recovers and returns it to the Washington 27 |
| 4th quarter, 1:45 | Heinicke goes down at his own 38 on third-and-7. Brandon Graham hits him late | 15-yard penalty and a first down. Washington kneels and runs the clock down |
| 4th quarter, 0:05 | Hurts to Watkins, who laterals to Smith | Casey Toohill recovers the fumble and scores on the final play. Final score 32-21 |
No flag was thrown on the Goedert play. “We didn’t see a face mask on the field,” referee Alex Kemp told a pool reporter. He said the review only looked at whether Goedert was down by contact before the fumble and whether Davis was down when he recovered it. The league later fined Davis $10,609. Goedert hurt his shoulder on the play and did not play again until Christmas Eve.
Kemp said Graham was flagged because Heinicke “had clearly given himself up,” and the contact “was not only late, but also to the head and neck area.” Philadelphia had already used two timeouts on that drive and spent its last one a play later. The face mask rule is explained in our guide: Face mask penalty explained.
The numbers
Heinicke, starting in place of the injured Carson Wentz, completed 17 of 29 passes for 211 yards. Terry McLaurin caught eight passes for 128 yards, including a 41-yarder that set up Slye’s third field goal, and Robinson ran 26 times for 86 yards. Slye made all four of his field goal tries. Hurts completed 17 of 26 for 175 yards and two touchdowns.
| Commanders | Eagles | |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 32 | 21 |
| Plays | 81 | 47 |
| Total yards | 330 | 264 |
| First downs | 25 | 18 |
| Third downs | 12 of 21 | 5 of 8 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 4 |
| Time of possession | 40:24 | 19:36 |
What they said
“We started 8-0 together, we lost this game together, we’re going to move on together,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. Of the Goedert fumble, he said, “Whether it was a face mask or whether it wasn’t a face mask, it’s hard for them to see at that time. I get it. We have to protect the ball better, and we didn’t do a good job of that all game.”
“I was just trying to make a play. I know I didn’t get touched and I knew I had left him behind, so I just wanted to get up and get some extra yards,” Watkins said.
“I was just trying to touch him down, because it just looked like he was going to get up. You just never know. But that’s on me. I own that one,” Graham said. Hurts said the Eagles had not controlled what they could. “Controlling your ball security,” he said.
Washington coach Ron Rivera, whose mother had died two weeks earlier, choked back tears in the locker room. The team’s social media account summed up the night: “We had a marvelous time ruining everything.” Washington had done the same thing two years earlier, beating 11-0 Pittsburgh 23-17 in December 2020.
What came next
Philadelphia won its next five games and finished 14-3. The Eagles beat the Giants 38-7 and the 49ers 31-7 in the playoffs, then lost Super Bowl LVII 38-35 to Kansas City. Washington finished 8-8-1.
The two teams meet again on Sunday night at Northwest Stadium in Landover, with kickoff at 3:20 am Monday in Cairo. Things are very different this time. Philadelphia is 2-5 and has lost five straight, most recently 38-21 at home to Dallas. Dan Quinn’s Commanders are 1-4-1 coming off their bye, and McLaurin has just gone on injured reserve. The Eagles won the first meeting this season 24-22 in Week 1. Minnesota, at 6-0, is the league’s last unbeaten team going into Week 8.
Related WhyNFL reading: the Cowboys’ 38-21 win over the Eagles in Week 7.
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