The 1972 Miami Dolphins can pop that champagne in self-congratulatory praise for the 50th straight season.
The NFL's last remaining unbeaten team, the Philadelphia Eagles, lost Monday night against their NFC East rivals, the Washington Commanders, 32-21 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The Eagles had been off to the best start in franchise history (8-0) before running into a Commanders team that is desperate to remain in the thick of the NFC playoff race.
“We started 8-0 together, we lost this game together, we’re going to move on together,” Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said.
While the NFC East-leading Eagles fell to 8-1, the Commanders improved to 5-5 and sit just a half game back of the final wild-card spot currently held by the San Francisco 49ers (5-4).
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Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke — playing in place of injured starter Carson Wentz — now has won three of his four starts, while Washington has won four of five games.
The Commanders prevailed by keeping the ball out of the hands of quarterback Jalen Hurts and the potent Eagles offense. Washington enjoyed a 40:24-19:36 time of possession edge.
The Eagles took a 14-7 lead late in the first quarter when Hurts hit tight end Dallas Goedert for a touchdown. But, the Commanders dominated after falling behind. A 14-7 deficit turned into a 23-14 lead midway through the third quarter after three field goals by Joey Slye and a touchdown run by Brian Robinson.
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A Hurts-to-DeVonta Smith touchdown play trimmed Washington's lead to 23-21 early in the fourth quarter, but that would be as close as Philadelphia could muster. After another Slye field goal, the Eagles fumbled on consecutive possessions. A final desperation play by Philadelphia with five seconds remaining turned into an exclamation point touchdown for the Commanders.
Each team in the NFC East is .500 or better. The Eagles own a one-game lead over the second-place New York Giants (7-2). After Sunday's loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Dallas Cowboys (6-3) are two games off the division lead.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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