The Washington Commanders closed out the 2025-26 season with an unexpected victory, knocking off the Philadelphia Eagles, the defending Super Bowl champion, 24-17 in Week 18 on the road.
“It’s unexplainable, man,” said quarterback Josh Johnson. “I know to the rest of the world this might not mean nothing, but just the journey I’ve been on, last time I was in this building, I thought my career was over, and to just go out here and just win today. Not just win but how we win. Adversity, interception, we fumbled a snap, defense stood tall, but for us to come together as a unit and not waver and get this [win], I think it was a great one.”
Washington’s achievement interfered with Philadelphia’s plans, knocking them off the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. However, the win had mixed offseason implications for the Commanders.
Earlier Sunday, victories by the Cleveland Browns over the Bengals (20–18) and the New York Giants over the Cowboys (34–17) had positioned the Commanders to move up the draft board with a loss. Instead, Washington’s win pushed them to a 5–12 finish and the No. 7 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Veteran quarterback Josh Johnson made just his 11th career start, delivering one of the most thrilling moments of the game. In the fourth quarter, Johnson made a two-yard touchdown pass to tight end John Bates.
This marked Bates’ only touchdown reception of the season and Johnson’s 14th career touchdown pass. Johnson also added a one-yard rushing touchdown on the day, his second career rushing score and first since 2018.
“I had options to keep or throw it,” said Johnson. “We set it up well because we kept trying to run in there and they were holding strong. And the looks were just getting more and more premier so I thought of [Offensive Coordinator] Kliff [Kingbury] timing up when to call it and when the options were there, the corner was kind of waiting.”
The Commanders also leaned heavily on the run game, rushing 41 times for 143 yards. Running back Chris Rodriguez led on the ground recording 65 yards on 16 carries.
“The leaders on this team do a great job of showing up everyday and that sets the presence of what we’ve got to do and go about our business,” said Johnson. And when guys see me, I just want them to see a guy that’s just being a light in the room. A guy that is grateful to be able to play this game that so many people dream that they get the opportunity to do. And I’m always going to put myself in that kidlike mindset of understanding how it felt playing in Pop Warner, dreaming and hoping that one day you’ll play on a Sunday. So to me I always let that show in my actions and today we looked like we’re always on point so it worked. It wasn’t just me, credit to everybody.”
HBCU Alum, Future Hall of Famer Makes History in Season Finale
One of the few bright spots in Washington’s season was linebacker Bobby Wagner. With five tackles on Sunday against the Eagles, Wagner became just the third player in NFL history to reach 2,000 career tackles, joining Hall of Famer Ray Lewis and former Commander London Fletcher.
“It means a lot because it was a long time ago when I reached out to those guys (Lewis and Fletcher) and they were so grateful with their time, giving me advice, helping me, answering any question that I had, spending time with me,” said Wagner. “And so joining a group with them is just a blessing and something I’m proud of just because I try to apply what they taught me as much as I could and I was grateful.”
Fletcher was in attendance and presented Wagner with the game ball in the locker room sealing the moment in the season finale.
“That part is special,” said Wagner. “To be able to do that for the city and this jersey, and have him be the guy that presents it to you is special. Because I remember when I reached out to him. [There were] no questions asked. He took my phone call, he answered all my questions, he would check on me and see how I was doing, and my whole goal was to just try to make him proud. And I never thought I would be wearing the same jersey as him and to be in that same locker room with that energy, and having him be the person that presents that to me is something I’ll never forget.”
Wagner, who turns 36 in June, finished the season with 162 tackles, marking his 14th consecutive year with at least 100 tackles, and led the NFL with 1,068 defensive snaps.
His future in Washington now becomes a looming conversation with the offseason on the horizon. While it’s hard to imagine Wagner retiring just 60 tackles shy of breaking Lewis’ all-time record, his return to Washington is far from certain.
The Commanders are expected to make a significant amount of roster moves this offseason, and head coach Dan Quinn enters 2026 on the hot seat of team changes.
If Wagner chooses to play another season, it may come with contention rather than a rebuilding Washington team.
For Washington, the week 18 win offered only limited relief, which is a rare bright spot in a season that sharply fell off from last year’s 12-5 run. But it also highlights just how much rebuilding still awaits this offseason.
“Obviously this season didn’t go the way we wanted it to,” said Wagner. “But I think as competitors and people that want a win for the city, you’ve got to just go out there and put your best foot forward. And that’s all we did. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes it didn’t, but we can walk away [with] a lot of positives and figure out how to fix things.”