NFC Championship – Commanders at Eagles game recap: 1st quarter summary – Eagles out to early 14-3 lead

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First Quarter

Philadelphia kicked off to Washington, who started the first drive of the game at the 30-yard line following a touchback.

The team started in an empty set, with Jayden Daniels scrambling up the middle under heavy pressure for 1 yard. After a completion to TE Zach Ertz on 2nd down, they faced 3rd & 6, and McLaurin caught a slant for 7 yards to earn the initial first down of the game.

After a batted pass and a checkdown to TE John Bates, it was 3rd & 6 at the 45-yard line. On 3rd down, Olamide Zaccheaus was the checkdown player on the left side; he caught a pass that barely made it to him and then ran for a 7-yard gain and another first down.

Two plays later, it was 3rd & 5 at the Philadelphia 43-yard line. Every play has been a struggle for yards so far, but Washington has moved across midfield. on the 3rd down play, under pressure and rolling right, Jayden loosed a pass that was broken up inside the 10-yard line. Dan Quinn left his offense on the field facing 4th & 5, and Daniels calmly, behind pretty good protection, hit Zach Ertz for an easy first down at the 36-yard line. It’s already been a 10-play drive.

Two plays later, it was 3rd & 3, and on the money down at the 28-yard line, a screen pass to the left went through the hands of OZ. Quinn kept his offense on the field for 4th & 2, and Daniels, with an opening in the inside rush lanes, scrambled right up the middle for 5 yards and another first down at the 23-yard line.

Two plays later, Washington faced 3rd & 9. On the 3rd down play, Ausin Ekeler caught a pass on the left sideline for 6 yards. Facing 4th & 3 at the 16-yard line, Dan Quinn decided he wanted the early points and sent Zane Gonzalez out to kick a 34-yard field goal to give Washington the 3-0 lead.

The scoring drive lasted 18 plays and covered 54 yards, consuming just over 7 minutes.

Following the kickoff, the Eagles started their first drive of the game at the 40-yard line following a good return by Will Shipley.

The first defensive play was a disaster for Washington. Saquon Barkley took a simple pitch to the left, broke tackle attempts by Jeremy Chinn and Quan Martin and took the ball 60 yards for a touchdown and a 7-3 lead!!!

Hopefully, the defense has got that over with and will play much better run defense for the rest of the game. We can’t trade field goals for 1-play touchdowns any more.

Following the kickoff, Washington started its second offensive drive of the game at the 27-yard line following a short return by Luke McCaffrey.

The Philly crowd was roaring at this point. Two plays later, the Commanders faced 3rd & less than a yard at the 36-yard line. On the 3rd down play, Brian Robinson took the handoff through the left side of the line for 3 yards.

On the subsequent first down play, Dyami Brown caught the ball and was working through traffic attempting to add yards to the play when Zack Baun punched the ball out of his hands.

Reed Blankenship jumped on the ball for the first turnover of the game — definitely forced by the Eagles defense.

Jalen Hurts came onto the field with the ball at the Washington 48-yard line. Things are not going well.

The Eagles earned a quick first down to the 38-yard line on a catch by Dallas Goedert, and then another to the 18-yard line on a sideline catch by DeVonta Smith.

The next play set the Eagles up with 1st & goal at the 4-yard line with a catch & run for 11 yards by AJ Brown.

It’s probably no surprise that the touchdown was scored by Barkley, untouched, on a 4-yard run to the right.

Following the PAT, the Eagles led 14-3 with less than 4 minutes remaining in the quarter.

So far, this is feeling a lot like the game in Week 16 when Saquon scored a pair of first half touchdowns.

Washington started its third offensive drive of the game at the 27-yard line following a 26-yard return by McCaffrey.

After two runs by Robinson, Washington faced 3rd & 6 at the 31-yard line. On 3rd down, Daniels passed deep downfield, targeting Terry McLaurin. The pass was very long and offered an interception opportunity for the Eagles defense.

Three & out; Tress Way on to punt — BUT NO!!

Fake punt (which, amazingly, I thought was likely) and which worked!

Tress Way threw a 26-yard pass to Zach Ertz for a dramatic first down.

On 2nd & 16 following a sack, Daniels hit Dyami Brown for a big 24-yard gain in the middle of the field.

The quarter ended on a Brian Robinson run for no gain.