Commanders Trail Eagles 21-14 at Halftime of Week 16

Our halftime live look at the Washington Commanders' Week 16 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Dec 22, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) passes the ball during warmup prior to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

LANDOVER, Md. -- The Washington Commanders are hosting the Philadelphia Eagles looking to exact a little revenge for their Week 11 loss to the NFC East Division rival.

Facing the Eagles on their home turf this time around, they are determined not just to win the game but also to show improvement following a string of fourth-quarter collapses.

Starting the game on the field, the Commanders' offense looked to get the tone set early and did, but unfortunately, it wasn't the tone they wanted.

Dec 22, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) passes the ball during warmup prior to the game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

After consecutive incomplete passes from quarterback Jayden Daniels, he was able to find running back Brian Robinson Jr. for a nine-yard gain. On the fourth-and-one attempt, Robinson was stonewalled, turning the ball over to Philadelphia in Washington territory to start its own first drive of the game.

Eight plays later, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley punched the ball in from two yards out to open up the scoring and led to a 7-0 deficit for the Commanders less than four minutes into the contest.

The second Washington possession started with a bang after receiver Luke McCaffrey returned the kickoff 47 yards into Philadelphia territory, but it was short-lived because Robinson fumbled the first down run play, turning the ball right back over.

Eight plays later, the Eagles scored again, this time on a pass from quarterback Kenny Pickett to receiver A.J. Brown. During the second Philadelphia scoring drive, Jalen Hurts was taken out of the game to be evaluated for a concussion and eventually taken into the locker room for further testing.

The third possession for Washington didn't go much better, resulting in a three-and-out and a punt. Needing to manufacture some momentum the Commanders' defense decided to take matters into their own hands leading to an interception by linebacker Frankie Luvu that shifted momentum and put the offense back on the field at the Eagles' 25-yard line.

Four plays later Washington got on the board for the first time on a six-yard pass from Daniels to receiver Jamison Crowder making the lead 14-7 in favor of Philadelphia - all still in the first quarter.

The momentum was short-lived, however. Onn the Eagles' second play of the subsequent drive, Barkley took off downfield for a 68-yard touchdown ru, pushingd the lead back out to 14 at 21-,- still in the first quarter.

That would be the final score at the end of the first quarter, but it wasn't the final dose of heartbreak for Washington.

Starting the second quarter with the ball, the Commanders got all the way down to the Philadelphia 10-yard line before Robinson fumbled for the second time in the game, again losing possession of the ball.

Fortunately, that turnover didn't turn into points. Even more fortunately, Daniels connected with star receiver Terry McLaurin on a 32-yard fade route into the end zone on the very next possession, trimming the lead to 21-14 with just under seven minutes left in the half.

With just under two minutes left in the half and two timeouts in his back pocket, Daniels had his offense on the field looking to tie the game, but on the first play of the drive, the quarterback sailed his pass attempt to receiver Luke McCaffrey and was intercepted by Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

The interception gave Philadelphia the ball back with time and two timeouts left to try and get more points before halftime, knowing it would also get the ball back to start the second half.

Fortunately, the Commanders' defense kept that turnover from hurting them further, and we entered the halftime break with the Eagles leading 21-14.

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