LANDOVER, Md. — The play Sunday that told you that the Eagles are an excellent football team, with the potential to be more than excellent, was born of what appeared to be chaos.
It was late in the first half, the closing seconds ticking down on the game clock, the Eagles up 17 points on the Washington Commanders, positioned for a finishing blow. Jalen Hurts had tried to carry the ball into the end zone, but the Washington defense had tackled him one yard behind the line of scrimmage. And the clock was ticking. The Eagles had no timeouts left. And the clock was ticking. Nick Sirianni had made it clear: They would not settle for a field goal. They would go for it on fourth down. And the clock was ticking. Because Hurts had lost a yard on third down, because the ball was now at the Commanders’ 2-yard line instead of the 1, the number and variety of plays the Eagles might use had changed. And the clock was ticking.
Hurts — not Sirianni, not offensive coordinator Shane Steichen — called a play himself. And the clock was ticking. The play, while familiar to the 11 members of the Eagles’ offensive unit, was not in the playbook for this game. And the clock was ticking. Jason Kelce snapped the ball to Hurts with one second left in the half, and Hurts then had time to take his time, to loft a fade to the corner of the end zone, over the head of Washington cornerback Kendall Fuller, that DeVonta Smith caught for a touchdown.
