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.

2. Adam Humphries end zone drop

Other than Terry McLaurin, Adam Humphries is probably the lone pass-catcher fans would have the most trust in a momentum-deciding moment.

After all, Humphries, who signed a one-year deal with Washington in the offseason largely due to his experience catching passes from Ryan Fitzpatrick, has come up in the clutch time after time throughout the campaign.

With the Eagles doing everything possible to take McLaurin out of the game (why let the best player on the field beat you?), Garrett Gilbert called Humphries’ number in the end zone with a chance to take a 14-0 first quarter lead.

Garrett fired an absolute strike that hit Humphries right in the chest. However, the throw almost caught the former undrafted slot receiver off-guard, because he somehow never even got a hand on the ball.

Just a brutal sequence for Washington, which was forced to settle for a field goal and saw their 10-0 lead erased before halftime.

Given how the defense was manhandled in the trenches, those four points might not have mattered in the end. However, forcing a field goal deep in the red zone always jumpstarts a defense and that’s exactly what happened.

At this moment, Washington’s momentum had all but dried up.

1. Garrett Gilbert’s misfire to McLaurin

This play might not have seemed significant in the moment, but it changed the entire complexion of the game. On a 3rd and 2 (another one!) with just under 12 minutes left in the second quarter, Gilbert misfired on what seemed like a simple pitch and catch to McLaurin.

Up 10-0 and with all the wind in their sails, Washington had Philly on the ropes and was looking for a true gut punch. Gilbert stared down McLaurin, but was still late to make the throw because he was waiting for Terry to break.

That’s normal for quarterbacks who haven’t had previous experience with their receivers, but it proved costly for Washington.

To make matters worse, Gilbert’s tunnel vision for McLaurin blinded him to the fact that Cam Sims was WIDE open five yards behind McLaurin.

Pause the video at the four-second mark and you’ll see how open Sims was.

We hate making a big deal out of this since Gilbert had just four days after signing to prepare for Tuesday, but this was hands down the play of the game. A first down conversion would’ve zapped the crowd’s energy and would’ve had the Eagles sidelines starting to feel the pressure.

Alas, Washington punted, Philly took over and found the end zone to pull within three points less than four minutes later. Just imagine if Gilbert converted to McLaurin or Sims and proceeded to tack on another touchdown?

If only it were possible to go back in time.