John Keim
PHILADELPHIA – Washington command linebacker Frankie Lube is determined to stop the Tash push. Officials wanted to wait for the snap of the ball to do so.
In Washington’s 55-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, Lube had a moment that officials deemed unnecessary and teammates called emblematic of the overall mindset.
Luvu was flagged for diving to the line of scrimmage while lining up in a Tush Push formation at the 2-yard line. And he was flagged again for doing the same thing – to umpire Sean Hochuli, who at some point advised umpires that if this type of behavior occurred again, the umpires could award a score. It was announced.”
According to the NFL rulebook, Hochuli can do just that. This rule states that players “shall not interfere with play by any act that is patently unfair.” The rules state that offenders may be disqualified and officials may award scores.
“Simply put, a team cannot commit multiple fouls to prevent a score,” Hochuli told pool reporters after the game. “You can essentially award a score if it’s meant to prevent a score.”
Both times, Luvu dove over the mountain and landed on Eagles lineman and quarterback Jalen Hurts. But for Luvu, a stoppage was needed as his team trailed 34-23 with 12 minutes and 58 seconds into the game.
The Eagles lined up in a tight formation with tight ends Dallas Goedert and running back Saquon Barkley.
“I was just timing the jump,” Luv said. “They were doing a lot of short yards and I was going to take my shot. That’s the mindset I’ve been in. I’m going to take my shot. Said he would get a 15 yard penalty for the act.
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Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner spoke to the officials and let them know it wasn’t the only penalty on the play.
“I was trying to let them know they were lining up offside,” Wagner said. “I didn’t know they could award touchdowns.”
After Luvu was flagged twice, defensive lineman Jonathan Allen jumped early when Hurts used a hard count. It moved the ball even closer to the goal line and got Hart on the next play.
“As a defense that showed a little bit of fight on that play,” defensive end Clelin Ferrell said. “We don’t care in the moment. We’re going to play with our hair on fire until the end. That’s what you’re looking for and it conveys the character of your team – the 1-yard line and The men are still fighting.
That battle helped define the Commanders this season. They were not predicted to be a factor in NFC. However, they won 12 games in coach Dan Quinn’s first season and did so with a rookie quarterback in Jaden Daniels.
But on Sunday, they couldn’t overcome the four turnovers that led to Philadelphia’s 28 points. Washington was plus-6 in turnover margin in the first two postseason games. The Commander was minus-4 on Sunday.
The last turnover occurred at Washington’s 49-yard line early in the fourth quarter and spanned 11 years.
Perhaps the toughest one came late in the first half, when Jeremy McNichols fumbled a kickoff after an Eagles touchdown. Philadelphia capitalized with another touchdown and took a 27-15 halftime lead.
“They took off turnovers and we didn’t take good care of it,” Washington receiver Terry McLaurin said. “Credit to them. It’s hard to win games when you turn the ball over.”
The Commanders, especially Quinn and Wagner, were not ready to reflect on their season. Quinn has been adamant all season about not looking ahead. That included thoughts about what this season means.
“It’s too early for me,” he said. “All I can say is that the locker room is the same every year, and I wanted to make sure they stayed together because they created something really cool here.
Washington’s story is well known at this point. The Commanders were 4-13 a year ago, but hired general manager Adam Peters and Quinn and drafted Daniels. Each of these moves helped pave the way for a remarkable transformation. They finished the regular season 12-5 – the organization’s most wins since 1991. It’s also the same season they last played in the championship game.
There was a long hug by the players. Safety Jeremy Chin sat at his locker and wiped away tears. It was a season they didn’t want to end. Tight end Zach Ertz, who was playing in his third championship game in 12 seasons, said he knows how difficult it is to get to this point. His regret: The timing of his career and Daniels.
“Playing with Jaden, I wish I could have played with him at 22 and had my career before me with him,” Ertz said.
Meanwhile, Daniels was upset about his first playoff loss.
“It sucks man, it just sucks,” said Daniels, a favorite to be named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. “We all meshed. We lost, it sucks, but we’ll move on from this.
“I never want to feel like this again.”
