Former Eagles react to Sunday’s loss: ‘Every time we play the Commanders, it’s going to be a pain’

The Eagles (12-3) couldn’t clinch the NFC East on Sunday after a 36-33 loss to the Washington Commanders (10-5), putting an end to their 10-game winning streak and keeping the division title out of reach for another week.

Even though Jalen Hurts left the game in the first quarter after being ruled out with a concussion, the Birds still had a chance to win behind backup Kenny Pickett.

With the Eagles up 30-28, the offense pushed the ball deep into Washington territory. Pickett found an open DeVonta Smith on third-and-5 from Washington’s 22-yard line with the two-minute warning nearing. Pickett put the ball in Smith’s hands, but Smith dropped it. The Eagles settled for a field goal, putting them up 33-28, and giving Washington the ball back. The Commanders eventually scored the game-winning touchdown with six seconds remaining.

“I just dropped the ball,” Smith told reporters. “I ain’t going to beat myself up over it. It’s life. It’s part of the game. I made all of the tough catches today and then the easy one I had, I dropped. It is what it is. Charge it to the game. Ain’t nobody else’s fault but mine.”

Former Eagles running back LeSean McCoy praised Smith for taking responsibility.

Former Eagles defensive end Chris Long said the only way the Birds could have iced the game without their starting quarterback was by running the ball. Saquon Barkley rushed for 109 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries in the first quarter, but gained only 41 yards on his next 22 attempts.

“You can’t control losing your franchise quarterback,” said Long on the Green Light With Chris Long podcast. “You talk about the passing game, Kenny got enough in the second half to win. I mean, he also led them on a drive that should have ultimately been the game-winning drive — taking shots to A.J. Brown, hitting a couple timely conversions — I thought he did a lot.

“But if the Eagles were going to ice this thing, they had to be able to run the football. Obviously, it’s a different offense if you don’t have a quarterback who gives you the threat of run. … Jalen with his legs can be the difference.”

But there was another difference maker, besides Hurts, who exited the game early. Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was ejected in the third quarter after two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

After being ruled out of the game, the safety gave a double middle finger to Commanders fans on his way out of the tunnel. Earlier in the game, Gardner-Johnson picked off a Jayden Daniels pass, his team-leading fourth interception of the season, so his exit was costly to the Eagles defense.

The safety responded to his ejection on social media after the game.

Former Eagles safety Brian Dawkins believes the loss will be a learning experience.

The Eagles and Commanders could be on a collision course in the postseason. If the season ended today, Philadelphia as the No. 2 seed would host Washington, the No. 7 seed, in a wild-card round matchup. But Long isn’t excited about any future matchups against the Commanders.

“[Daniels] is going to be here a long time and it’s a bit of a statement, like, this is going to be hell,” Long said. “Every time we play the Commanders, it’s going to be a pain in the [expletive] and I think he showed that today.”