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Commanders fall to Eagles 24-22 in a game they nearly stole

Washington dropped its 2026 season opener on a failed two-point conversion, but the loss raised as many questions as it answered, and the Nationals gave fans something to feel good about on the same afternoon.

Commanders fall to Eagles 24-22 in a game they nearly stole

Sunday was supposed to be the first real look at whether the 2026 Washington Commanders had actually fixed anything. They went to Philadelphia, played well enough to win for most of the afternoon, and then lost anyway. That's a familiar feeling in this building.

The final score was 24-22 Eagles, and the margin was a two-point conversion that never got there. Jayden Daniels hit rookie Antonio Williams for a touchdown with 1:01 left to pull Washington within two, then the offense tried a shovel pass to backup tight end Jake Bates on the conversion. It fell incomplete. The Eagles recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock, ending the opener before Washington ever got another look.

Four big plays undid Washington's defense: a 64-yard bomb to Dontayvion Wicks in the first quarter, a 42-yard Saquon Barkley run in the second, a 22-yard Jalen Hurts scramble on third-and-18, and then the killer: a 43-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert that turned a four-point game into an eight-point hole Washington couldn't fully climb out of.

What those numbers don't show is how hard Washington competed. Washington played good enough defense for the first 52 minutes to win the game. The problem was that the Eagles' five biggest plays went for a combined 204 yards, and Daronte Jones' defense, already missing Trey Amos on IR, had no answer for Hurts when the field opened up.

Daniels finished 18 of 34 for 164 yards and two touchdowns, which reads worse than it played. He was sharp in the fourth quarter, making a scramble that embarrassed multiple Eagles defenders and led directly to his second TD throw to Stefon Diggs. Jalen Carter blocked an extra point in the second quarter, which ultimately forced Washington into the two-point attempt that ended the game.

In his first NFL game calling plays, new Commanders offensive coordinator David Blough had the misfortune of going up against Vic Fangio, one of the league's most experienced defensive minds. Blough is 32 years old and was coaching quarterbacks a year ago. He held his own in stretches. He also went 1-for-8 on third down in the first half.

Linebacker Frankie Luvu, one of five team captains named this week, did not return after halftime with a groin injury, adding another name to a defensive depth chart that has looked thin since training camp. Jordan Magee and Leo Chenal split inside linebacker snaps next to Sonny Styles for much of the second half. Washington head next to Dallas on September 20, another road game, before the home opener against Seattle on September 27.

And meanwhile, the Nationals made history at Nationals Park

While the Commanders were struggling in Philadelphia, something genuinely good was happening on South Capitol Street. On Saturday, James Wood stole his 20th base of the season against the Los Angeles Angels, completing the 30 home run-20 stolen base milestone in a 6-5, 10-inning walk-off win.

That would have been enough on its own. But CJ Abrams had already reached the same threshold the previous weekend against the Dodgers, making the pair the 11th set of teammates in Major League history to each hit 30 home runs and steal 20 bases in the same season. Of that group, Abrams and Wood, at 25 and 23 years old respectively, are only the second duo to accomplish it at age 25 or younger, joining Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor's 2018 season with Cleveland.

Wood now has 30 home runs and 21 stolen bases on the season; Abrams sits at 30 homers and 28 steals. The Nationals rank second in MLB in total runs scored, third in home runs, and first in stolen bases. The team's pitching and bullpen have been ugly enough to keep them out of the playoff race, Washington snapped a seven-game losing skid on Friday with a late rally against the Angels before Wood's walk-off Saturday, but whatever the final record says, two 23-year-olds running their way into the history books on the same September afternoon at Nationals Park is worth holding onto.

Wood grew up in Rockville, Maryland. He has been doing this in front of the people who watched him grow up. It had been two decades since a Nationals player recorded a 30-20 season. Now two players on the same team have done it in the same year.

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