The Washington Commanders lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game in January, 55-23 – but that lopsided score doesn’t reflect how close the Commanders believe they are to their division rivals.
The Commanders’ offseason was measured, yet aggressive. They didn’t go after reigning All-Pros or trade up for a splashy draft pick.
Instead, they focused on adding proven starters, such as Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel, and high-ceiling prospects, like Josh Conerly Jr. and Trey Amos.
Hidden behind all of their moves was a focus on preparing to counter the most difficult play to defend in football: the Tush Push.
Here’s why that under-the-radar strategy could bring D.C. its fourth Lombardi Trophy and its first in 34 years.
The Eagles’ built-in advantage
Sometimes the most obvious answer is the correct one.
The Commanders were dominated in the trenches last year. They were 24th in success rate, 27th in EPA allowed per rush play, and 29th in rushing touchdowns allowed per game (1.4). They also ranked a pitiful 31st in yards allowed per rush attempt.
Frankie Luvu also became the butt of league-wide jokes during the NFC Championship Game. An official warned that Luvu, who repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to time his leap over the line of scrimmage with the snap count, could force the referees to award a touchdown to the Eagles.
The Eagles converted 58 of 75 (77.3 percent) fourth-and-1 attempts since Jalen Hurts entered the league in 2020 and went 22-27 (81.5 percent) on third/fourth-and-1 in 2024. They also converted 87 percent of their Tush Push attempts over the last three seasons and 75 percent against the Commanders last year, per ESPN data.
“I mean, it’s a good play, man,” Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. said at OTAs last week. “And so, I think we have some good ideas, but it is what it is. It’s a good play.”
Philly essentially started every set of downs in first-and-9. Fourth-and-1 was nearly a foregone conclusion, thanks to the mass of the offensive line and the raw power of Hurts and Saquon Barkley.
Assuming teams are inclined to go for it on fourth-and-1 but not fourth-and-2 or further, that means the Eagles need to pick up 11.1 percent fewer yards than every other team in the league to get into Tush Push range. Stack that up over a quarter, a game, a month, and a season, and the Eagles offense has it “easier” than everyone else.
Can’t teach size
There’s an instructive scientific principle that rears its head every time the Eagles trot out their Tush Push convocation: mass moves mass.
Philly’s 2024 offensive line was an average of 6-6 and 338 pounds, making it the heaviest in the history of the Super Bowl. Their only offseason loss was Mekhi Becton (6-7, 364 pounds), who was replaced by Keyon Green (6-4, 324 pounds).
Comparatively, the Commanders’ defensive front of Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Jer’Zhan Newton, Dorance Armstrong, and Dante Fowler Jr. only managed an average height and weight of 6-3, 286 pounds.
That means the Commanders were 260 total pounds (18.2 percent) lighter than Philly and needed to produce 18.2 percent more force to get back to a level playing field.
If there’s one quality the 2025 Commanders’ defensive line has, it is size. Their new acquisitions include Javon Kinlaw (6-5, 319 pounds), Deatrich Wise Jr. (6-5, 271 pounds), and Eddie Goldman (6-3, 325 pounds), all of whom could be expected to be on the field as part of the anti-Tush Push brigade.
Those three in place of Armstrong, Fowler Jr., and Allen would average 306 pounds, only 24 pounds (7.3 percent) behind the Eagles’ new average of 330 pounds.
Head Coach Dan Quinn has made it clear that he wants to be prepared for situational football. Whether it’s his constant repetition of two-minute drills, two-point conversions, or must-have plays in practice, he’d rather err on the side of being over-prepared instead of unequipped.
It’s unlikely that general manager Adam Peters assembled his defensive front purely to stop a glorified quarterback sneak, but the Commanders’ new size matches the preparedness that Quinn preached since he arrived in the nation’s capital.
Lost in history
It’s easy to forget that the Commanders were in the NFC Championship Game until the end of the third quarter. They were down by 11 points with the ball on the 49-yard-line when Austin Ekeler fumbled, handing the ball back to Philly with 0:32 remaining in the period.
The Commanders were outscored 21-0 from that point on.
The underdogs had just gone eight plays and 70 yards for a touchdown on the drive before, which was cemented by Jayden Daniels’ 10-yard scamper into the end zone. They also converted on their two-point conversion with a nifty pass to Olamide Zaccheaus.
Assuming the Commanders had scored another touchdown and two-point conversion instead of fumbling away the football, they would’ve only been down three points in the middle of the fourth quarter. That would’ve set up an entirely different finish to what could’ve become a classic showdown but was instead a historic blowout.
Simply put, the Commanders might not be as far away as they appeared to be when they stepped off of the field for the final time last season. They were the only team to beat the Eagles during their final 17 games, and they did it despite turning the ball over five times and surrendering 33 points.
Fine margins call for heightened execution. The offense became the most efficient fourth-down team in league history, but the defense, like many others, failed to answer a question that has stumped the league for years.
Planning for a different outcome
Becoming solid against one play won’t guarantee the Commanders anything against the Eagles. They still have to contend with the best offensive line in football, a 2,000-yard rusher, two 1,000-yard receivers, and the reigning Super Bowl MVP.
Nonetheless, Washington’s increased size is a testament to the comprehensive outlook taken by Adam Peters and Quinn. They’d prefer to have as many solutions as possible, even if that means they can’t go after a consistent knockout punch like T.J. Watt, Trey Hendrickson, or another disgruntled star.
The Commanders averaged 29.5 points during their final two meetings with the Eagles. Daniels had 642 total yards, seven total touchdowns, and three interceptions, and the offense went 7-9 (77.7 percent) on fourth down, although they were only 10-33 (30.3 percent) on third down.
“We’ve consistently raised the floor, but we haven’t found that ceiling that we’re going for,” Quinn said the week of the NFC Championship Game.
Considerable upgrades to the roster – namely Tunsil, Samuel, Kinlaw, and a healthy Marson Lattimore – should raise the Commanders’ floor even above where it was when Quinn made that comment.
Philly has problems of its own to worry about. Barkley was given an enormous workload last year and will need to prove he’s the same guy after all of those hits, they lost a cog in their dominant offensive line, and several impactful defenders are going to be wearing different jerseys in the fall.
In the event the Eagles find themselves in fourth-and-1 with a three-point lead in the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship Game, the Commanders believe they will write a different ending to last year’s story.
