Instant observations from Commanders 24, Eagles 17: Eagles get their rest, miss out on the No. 2 seed

On Sunday, Nick Sirianni and the Philadelphia Eagles had a decision to make.

Sirianni and the 11-5 Eagles decided to sit most of their starters at Lincoln Financial Field against their NFC East rival Washington Commanders, playing the last game of their season. The Eagles had a chance to get the No. 2 seed with a win, but they also needed the Detroit Lions to score an upset in Chicago to do so. Knowing that they needed help, Sirianni and the Eagles instead elected to rest most of the starters and give them a bye week before the postseason. They will be rested next week.

But the Eagles will be the No. 3 seed, even after the Lions did get a win in Chicago. Balleyhooed backup quarterback Tanner McKee was erratic, the Eagles backup cornerbacks struggled all game and the Commanders won 24-17 in Philadelphia. The Eagles finished the 2025 season at 11-6.

The Eagles will be the NFC’s No. 3 seed and host Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers next week in the wild card round. Before then, there will be a whole lot of second-guessing in Philadelphia.

Here are the PHLY Eagles staff’s observations.

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EJ Smith

The No. 2 seed hung in the balance well into the night, but the Eagles couldn’t grasp it.

The decision to rest most of their starters proved consequential in a 24-17 loss to the Washington Commanders mired by a handful of pass interference penalties on the backup cornerback pairing of Kelee Ringo and Jakorian Bennett. Tanner McKee and Co. weren’t much better, especially down the stretch with multiple chances to keep the Eagles within reach.

Adding insult to injury, the Detroit Lions held up their end of the bargain, beating the Chicago Bears and injecting meaning into the Eagles’ regular season-ending loss.

The reset for the team’s main characters may still prove to be beneficial in the long run. That run will now start with the Eagles as the NFC’s No. 3 seed and hosting the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round.

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Fran Duffy

The Eagles fell short on Sunday night and will have the 3 seed going into the playoffs. We’ll get into the matchup as the week progresses, but let’s talk about this loss. In a weird game like this that plays out like a preseason game, I just have some random notes and takeaways: 

• DeVonta Smith got his 1,000 yard season, making it three straight years that he and AJ Brown have both hit the mark (they’re the only tandem in Eagles history to do it in the same year, and they’ve got a hat trick to show for it.) 

• Jalyx Hunt is such a freaky athlete for a guy with his size and length. What an interception in the second quarter! He broke on that ball like a college safety and finished with his third interception of the season.

• Tank Bigsby has the same upright, explosive, violent and chaotic run style of former Eagle Bryce Brown. 

• It’s easy to see why Jakorian Bennett couldn’t grab hold of the starting job, as he is too busy grabbing hold of receivers downfield. Kelee Ringo wasn’t much better, but at least is a dynamite cover player on special teams.

I won’t be breaking down the tape of this game on the show this week, as I start my film study for the Wild Card Round right away, but I’m excited for a two-part preview for next weekend on the channel! Stay tuned.

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Bo Wulf

Why in the world was A.J. Dillon still in the roster for this game? Tank Bigsby played the majority of the running back snaps and Will Shipley was there to take most of the rest. Dillon has not been active since Week 6. He is on a one-year contract. Meanwhile, the defensive line was so short-handed that Nolan Smith, Jalyx Hunt, Moro Ojomo and Brandon Graham all had to play real snaps. In the secondary, there was only one backup — Mac McWilliams, who was forced into action when Brandon Johnson suffered a heartbreaking injury.

If the Eagles do not repeat as Super Bowl champions, karmic payback for this roster malpractice will be the reason.

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Rich Hofmann

From an Eagles perspective, I did enjoy most of this ugly game. Tanner McKee was up-and-down, which may hurt his trade value in the offseason but should quiet some of the noise around Philly this week. McKee struggled especially as the game went on. But my expectations were in check. Even against the Commanders, I had a feeling that the Eagles were not going to win this game with style points.

But the results are the results, and if the Eagles are at Soldier Field two weeks from now, well, it did not have to be this way. I was pro-rest, and the Eagles played it exactly how I would have. Even DeVonta Smith got to 1,000 yards and quickly got out of the game, which felt nicely done.

The Eagles lost primarily because their backup corners were nothing short of disastrous. Kelee Ringo straight-up running away from Josh Johnson at the goal line and Jakorian Bennett’s multiple pass interferences were killers. But that is the risk you run when playing your backups.

One positive note: Jalyx Hunt is a very fun defensive player.

Jalyx Hunt is the second player in #Eagles history to record six sacks and three interceptions in the same season. @Sethjoyner was the first to do it, both in 1991 and 1992.

— EJ Smith (@EJSmith94) January 4, 2026

Bring on the playoffs.