3 plays that doomed Washington in Week 15 loss vs Eagles

The Washington Football Team put forth an admirable effort, but they were ultimately unable to overcome extreme roster shortages and a flat-out dominant effort from the Philadelphia Eagles‘ offensive and defensive lines.

Given the circumstances, fans won’t be too up in arms with the loss. However, the defeat saw Washington lose valuable ground in the NFC playoff race.

More importantly, Ron Rivera’s group jumped out to an early 10-0 lead and blew multiple opportunities to build an even bigger cushion.

If you’re a psycho fan like me, you probably rewatch close games like this or dig deep into the archives to pinpoint when everything started going downhill. In regard to Tuesday night, these three plays played a monster role in the loss.

3 plays that doomed Washington in Week 15 loss

3. 3rd and 2 conversion late in second quarter

Not every NFL game is won in between the trenches like some old-school fans seem to think, but Tuesday night’s fixture absolutely was.

The Eagles won the ever-important battle on both sides of the ball, but their rushing attack was the true difference maker against Washington.

Gashed repeatedly by a combination of Miles Sanders, Jordan Howard, and the occasional zone read from Jalen Hurts, Washington’s inability to stop the run loomed large on a 3rd and 2 late in the second quarter.

With the Football Team sporting a 10-3 advantage, they had a chance to force a field goal and take over with two timeouts and plenty of time to add to to their lead. Instead, the red sea parted and Sanders picked up 10 yards to move the chains.

Credit to Landon Collins for making the touchdown-saving tackle, but his teammates couldn’t return the favor. Two plays later, Hurts scored from one-yard out and just like that Washington’s 10-0 lead had vanished. To add injury to insult, Collins was injured on the play that preceded Hurts’ touchdown.