Commanders have issues on each side of the ball after losing back-to-back games to fall to 7-4

Leading at halftime for a second consecutive game against an opponent that looks playoff-bound, the Washington Commanders were doing a lot of things right, especially on defense at Philadelphia.

“We just made our tackles,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said. “We were able to get a good beat on some of the things (the Eagles) were trying to do, and they did a good job adjusting.”

Then the bottom fell out. Sure, going for it on fourth down midway through the fourth quarter and failing to convert was a turning point, but the more troubling concerns moving forward are the defense's inability to stop the run and sensational rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels' health after the offense's two worst statistical games of the season.

“Losing the last two weeks, you knew this adversity is coming,” coach Dan Quinn said. “Every team’s got it. Sometimes it’s earlier, sometimes it’s later. I know how we’ll respond based on the guys in the locker room and how hard they go for one another.”

The Commanders are 7-4 after losing 26-18 in prime time to the Eagles five days after Pittsburgh beat them 28-27. They allowed Philadelphia to pick up 140 of 228 rushing yards in the second half, including two touchdowns from Saquon Barkley.

"Even though you bottle him up for three quarters, that one play can get him going," said Wagner, who brushed off the idea of he and his defensive teammates wearing down and tiring as the game wore on.

Quinn thought his players “emptied the tanks” and “felt the end of the rope getting close” after taking a lead into the fourth quarter.

The offense gets its share of the blame, too. The final eight points and 75 yards came in the final minutes after falling behind 26-10 late and the Eagles defending conservatively.

After 242 yards against the Steelers, Washington had 262 on Thursday night.

“We just weren’t playing our game,” said running back Brian Robinson Jr., who ran 16 times for 63 yards and a TD in his return from missing two games with a hamstring injury. “I really can’t point out why we couldn’t really get our momentum going, but it’s a unit thing. We’ve got to get better.”

Daniels has been playing through sore ribs since getting knocked out early against Carolina on Oct. 20. His right hand was also cut up and bleeding — he doesn't know how — but the No. 2 pick downplayed any concern about injuries limiting what he can do.

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be on the field right now,” said Daniels, who has completed 59.5% of his passes the last four games after 75.6% before that. “No player at this point is 100% healthy and it was a short turnaround, so kudos to the guys that battled back to get their bodies back right."

Robinson being back is a good sign for the offense, which relies on balance to keep opponents off balance. He averaged 6.3 yards a carry in the first half before Philadelphia's adjustments slowed everything down.

Experience in close games just has to come with time. Washington has yet to beat a team with a winning record, and there are still a few of those left on the schedule after home games against Dallas and Tennessee up next.

“Back to the drawing board,” linebacker Frankie Luvu said. “We just got to bounce back. Don’t make it a snowball effect and have this affect the rest of the season because we’ve got a lot of games left. Learn from this and move on.”

Zach Ertz continued his career renaissance in his first game back in Philadelphia. The tight end who helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl in the 2017 season had six catches for 47 yards and a late TD in which he stayed in bounds with the tip of his right foot.

The offensive line that had been one of the most pleasant surprises through the first half of the season got manhandled at times by the Eagles pass rush. Daniels was sacked three times for a loss of 20 yards, taking more of a beating than usual.

Cornerback Marshon Lattimore has not played since coming over in a trade from New Orleans at the deadline because of a nagging hamstring injury. This mini break should help, and while the coaching staff has preached patience, general manager Adam Peters acquired Lattimore to play against elite receivers like CeeDee Lamb and Calvin Ridley.

1 — Catch for top wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who said “the ball just didn’t come my way, so let’s move on to the next one.”

Rest up. Washington has the latest possible bye week among NFL teams, and plenty of players are gutting through pain to stay on the field, from Daniels down.

“Take this time to really take care of your body so you could can in next week against another division opponent,” McLaurin said. “I just think everybody has to get their minds and bodies right for next week.”

AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels shake hands following an NFL football game Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Philadelphia. The Eagles won 26-18. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz sits on the bench during the second half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn speaks during a news conference following an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, left, runs for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)

Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels pauses during a news conference following an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Cleveland (2-7) at New Orleans (3-7)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox.

BetMGM NFL Odds: Saints by 1.

Against the spread: Browns 3-6; Saints 4-6.

Series record: Browns lead 13-6.

Last meeting: Saints won 17-10 at Cleveland on Dec. 24, 2022.

Last week: Browns were off; Saints beat Falcons 20-17.

Browns offense: overall (31), rush (28), pass (28), scoring (29).

Browns defense: overall (16), rush (14), pass (13), scoring (21).

Saints offense: overall (16), rush (13), pass (16), scoring (16).

Saints defense: overall (28), rush (27), pass (29), scoring (t23).

Turnover differential: Browns minus-7; Saints plus-4.

It's something of a homecoming for QB Jameis Winston, who spent four seasons with the Saints from 2020-23. Winston was popular among his teammates and the team's fan base, but didn't always see eye to eye with former coach Dennis Allen, who was recently fired. This will be Winston's third start for Cleveland since taking over when Deshaun Watson sustained a season-ending injury.

Versatile, 29-year-old RB Alvin Kamara, now in his eighth NFL season, became the Saints career leading rusher last week (6,544 yards), and has surpassed 100 yards from scrimmage in seven of 10 games this season, including his 109 yards from scrimmage last week.

Saints rookie LT Taliese Fuaga vs. Browns star DE Myles Garrett. The 22-year-old Fuaga faces the toughest test of his young career in Garrett, the reigning AP Defensive Player of the Year who is well rested, coming off a big performance and determined to get Cleveland's season turned around.

Browns: Rookie DT Mike Hall Jr. suffered a knee injury in practice Thursday and could be headed to injured reserve. Hall, who was suspended by the league earlier this season, had been expected to get some time at DE. ... LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (neck) was placed on injured reserve and will miss at least three more games. ... LB Jordan Hicks (elbow) is back after missing four of the past five games. .. ... Saints C Erik McCoy is expected to play for the first time since his Week 3 groin injury. ... OL Lucas Patrick has continues to labor through an ankle injury... RB Jamaal Williams has been sidelined from practice by a groin injury. ... LB Pete Werner has a hand injury and it wasn't clear this week whether he'd be able to play through it.

The Browns won their first eight games against the Saints from 1967-81. ... Cleveland is 8-3 at New Orleans. ... The Browns lost their previous visit to the Superdome in 2018. ... Most of the matchups have been competitive with 12 games decided by seven points or fewer.

The Browns are looking to revive a sinking season that began with Super Bowl aspirations. ... Winston's two starts have been polar opposites — 334 yards, 3 TDs in a debut win over Baltimore; three interceptions in a loss to the Chargers. ... Cleveland's running game has been disappointing but could find some traction now that RB Nick Chubb is feeling more comfortable after being sidelined the first six weeks following knee surgery. Chubb's next TD run will be the 50th of his career. ...Second-year WR Cedric Tillman's development has been one of the few bright spots this season. Tillman leads the Browns with three receiving TDs — all in the past two games. ... Cleveland's defense has had just one interception, but CB Denzel Ward leads the NFL with 15 passes defensed, including one each of the past nine games. He's the only player in the league with 10 passes defensed in each of the past seven seasons. ... Garrett had three sacks — his fourth career game with at least that many — against the Chargers two weeks ago. ... Garrett's 95 1/2 sacks since 2017 are the league's second most behind Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt (103). ... The Browns have gone 20 straight games without allowing a quarterback to pass for 300 yards ... Cleveland's defense has done a good job getting off the field in the second half, limiting teams to a league-low 21.6% conversion rate on third down (11 of 51). ... Saints QB Derek Carr passed for 269 yards and two TDs for a 126.9 rating in Week 10. ... Carr is 4-1 with 1,426 pass yards in five career starts vs. Cleveland and has a TD pass in five straight games against the Browns. ... RB Alvin Kamara has 100-plus scrimmage yards in three straight games. ... Kamara became the first RB with five-plus catches in seven straight games since Christian McCaffrey in 2019 and Kamara is the fifth RB in NFL history with 400-plus yards receiving in eight seasons. ... WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling had a season-high 109 yards receiving and two TDs in Week 10, his second-career game with two TDs. ... TE Taysom Hill had 56 yards and a TD rushing in these clubs’ previous meeting. ... TE Foster Moreau had seven catches in his previous game vs. Cleveland (on Dec. 20, 2021 with the Raiders). ... DE Cameron Jordan had his first sack this season last week. ... DE Payton Turner had a forced fumble, a pass defensed and his fifth career sack last week. ... DL Chase Young had a sack and his first forced fumble of the season in Week 10. ... LB Demario Davis led the Saints with 10 tackles and has a tackle for loss in two of his past three games against the Browns, a team for which he played in 2016. ... LB Pete Werner had five tackles and his first pass defensed of the season last week. ... Werner has a tackle for loss in two of his past three games. ... S Tyrann Mathieu had an interception and three passes defensed last week. He has three interceptions in 2024, his sixth straight season with at least that many.

Tillman's role expanded the moment the Browns traded No. 1 receiver Amari Cooper to Buffalo last month, and the second-year WR has embraced the opportunity. He's got 21 catches in his past three games and could be in line for another big performance against a Saints defense that ranks near the bottom of the NFL against the pass.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (5) celebrates after a win against the Baltimore Ravens in an NFL football game in Cleveland, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/David Richard)

Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston passes against the Los Angeles Chargers in the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) runs against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)