Eagles-Commanders analysis: A.J. Brown and the Birds’ opportunistic defense lead the way to a comeback win

LANDOVER, Md. — An ugly win is still a win.

The Eagles pulled off a 38-31 comeback victory against the Washington Commanders at FedEx Field on Sunday, scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter. The offense fumbled away the ball twice, but the Eagles remained resilient and opportunistic on their way to a second consecutive win.

With their victory over the Commanders, the Eagles moved to 7-1 on the season for the best record in the NFL. They have one more game before the bye week, a home matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

Here’s our instant analysis:

A.J. Brown has been on a tear since late September, posting more than 125 receiving yards in each of his previous five games (41 receptions for 701 yards in that span). Going into Sunday, he had become the second NFL player since the 1970 merger to record more than 125 receiving yards in five straight games, joining Detroit Lions great Calvin Johnson (2012).

On Sunday, Brown racked up eight more receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns, helping the Eagles claw their way back into the game. With 34 seconds remaining in the first half, the Eagles down 14-3, Brown made a back-shoulder, one-handed grab in the end zone over cornerback Benjamin St-Juste for a 16-yard touchdown.

But Brown didn’t stop there. In the third quarter, Jalen Hurts connected with Brown for a 25-yard touchdown, this time with cornerback Emmanuel Forbes in coverage. Now, Brown is in sole possession of the record with six straight games of more than 125 receiving yards. But for now, he isn’t spending much time basking in his history-making performances.

“Not yet, ‘cause I’m still working,” Brown said. “I think there will be a time where I sit down and I’ll be like, ‘Go, A.J.’ But it’s not it right now.”

Meanwhile, Hurts finished with a season-high four touchdown passes, completing 29 of 38 passes for 319 yards (ties his season high from Week 4 against the Commanders) and a season-high 135.7 passer rating.

The Eagles offense had sputtered in the first two series of the game, punting once and settling for a 51-yard Jake Elliott field goal on the other occasion. On both drives, the Eagles fell short of reaching the red zone.

The offense finally found itself in a goal-to-go situation in the second quarter after Hurts connected with Brown on a 20-yard gain on third-and-11 to the Commanders’ 3-yard line. Hurts handed the ball off to Kenneth Gainwell on the next play, but safety Kam Curl knocked the ball out of Gainwell’s hands to force a fumble, marking Gainwell’s second of the season against the Commanders.

Defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis recovered the ball, but the Eagles defense prevented the Commanders from capitalizing on the turnover. On fourth-and-1 from the Eagles’ 35-yard line, Sam Howell’s pass for wide receiver Terry McLaurin was nearly picked off by cornerback James Bradberry and fell incomplete.

The Eagles’ red-zone issues continued in the third quarter. On first-and-goal from the Commanders’ 1-yard line, the Eagles attempted their signature “tush push,” but Hurts and center Jason Kelce mishandled the snap, resulting in a fumble. Cornerback Kendall Fuller recovered the ball at the line of scrimmage. Again, the defense did its job, forcing the Commanders to punt and preventing them from putting up points off the turnover.

It turned out that the third time was the charm. Safety Reed Blankenship picked off Howell and returned the ball to the Commanders’ 7-yard line. On second-and-8, Hurts found wide receiver Julio Jones for an 8-yard touchdown, marking his first as an Eagle in just his second game since joining the team.

The Eagles ultimately went 2-for-4 in the red zone. This season, they are 16-for-32 in the red zone.

“The turnovers, we’ve got to cut out,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “That’s big right there. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t pretty at all. This is the National Football League. It’s tough to win games. We came into a road game and ended up winning. But we have a lot of work to do to make sure we’re continuing to climb.”

After going down in Week 6 against the New York Jets with a rib injury, Blankenship missed last week’s game against the Miami Dolphins. He made his return to action Sunday, starting alongside newly acquired safety Kevin Byard.

Blankenship had an up-and-down day in coverage, which was par for the course for the Eagles’ secondary going up against Howell, who threw for 397 yards and four touchdowns on a career day. The Commanders pulled ahead in the third quarter when Howell connected with tight end Logan Thomas for a short touchdown pass in the middle of the end zone. Blankenship allowed Thomas to gain inside leverage and he couldn’t make a play on the ball.

However, Blankenship responded in a big way. On second-and-15 from the Commanders’ 20-yard line with the score tied at 24, Blankenship intercepted Howell’s pass thrown high for McLaurin. His pick, which set up Jones’ go-ahead touchdown, was his second of the season.

“I was just reading his eyes,” Blankenship said of Howell on the interception. “I saw he was looking backside pretty hard. I tried it and luckily it came up pretty good.”

» READ MORE: Middle Tennessee-made: How the improbable Eagles safety duo of Kevin Byard and Reed Blankenship was built

The Eagles’ defensive front notched its first sack of the day when it mattered most. On fourth-and-5 from the Commanders’ 25-yard line with 2 minutes, 18 seconds remaining, edge rusher Haason Reddick strip-sacked Howell, turning the ball over on downs. Three plays later, D’Andre Swift’s 7-yard touchdown run put the game out of the Commanders’ reach.

In the third quarter, defensive tackle Jalen Carter left the game with a back injury. He did not return to the game.

Defensive tackle Milton Williams went back to the locker room with a shoulder injury after the Commanders’ first touchdown drive in the first quarter. But early in the second quarter, Williams returned to the sideline and eventually reentered the game.

Shortly after Williams went back to the locker room, tight end Grant Calcaterra entered concussion protocol. He was ruled out in the third quarter.

The Eagles’ injury issues continued into the second quarter, as right guard Sua Opeta went down while in pass protection on a play that resulted in an Olamide Zaccheaus 5-yard gain. Backup Tyler Steen entered the game in relief of Opeta, who went back to the locker room. However, Opeta returned for the start of the second half.