Undefeated Eagles remain work in progress following tough overtime win over Commanders

PHILADELPHIA -- This is how you know when bad things are happening to the Philadelphia Eagles: from underneath the stadium, you can hear fans wailing "Oh, nooooooo." as they did when Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell, with one second remaining in regulation, found Jahan Dotson in the end zone for the game-tying touchdown.

This is how you know Eagles fans are not really all that concerned about their team's early season perceived struggles: hundreds of them, most wearing their new Kelly green throwback jerseys, left minutes before the game was even decided by a 54-yard Jake Elliott field goal, heading to their cars or a post-game bar, when the Eagles were still gutting out an overtime victory to remain undefeated with a 34-31 win on Sunday.

The Commanders handed the Eagles their first loss of the season in 2022, and that they came so very close to doing it again was little consolation. Ron Rivera, who had earned the moniker Riverboat for his penchant for high rick plays, went the safe route, and opted to kick the extra point to send the game to overtime, rather than try for a two-point conversion that would have won the game outright. His team had already executed a perfect two-minute drill, slicing through the Eagles defense with one Sam Howell pass after another. The Eagles looked exhausted. Why not try for two and the win?

"They were gassed," Rivera said of his own team. "It was a long-ass drive."

It was that. And the resilience of the Commanders, and Howell in particular -- who had been whipped by nine sacks from the Buffalo Bills last week -- indicated that the NFC East might not be done with the Commanders, who are 2-2, quite so easily this season. Rivera noted that the Commanders had had some good drives