Commanders lose heartbreaker in Philly, but plenty of positive takeaways

Coming off of a humiliating 37-3 home loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Commanders were an 8.5-point underdog to the Eagles on the road. They fought until the bitter end and easily could have won had some breaks gone their way.

The talk will be all about a controversial call during overtime in which Terry McLaurin was ruled out of bounds. Check it out.

It was a call that simply came down to what the original ruling on the field had been and a lack of indisputable evidence to overturn it. The call forced Washington to punt and the Eagles scored on the ensuing drive.

Some will also point to Ron Rivera's call at the end of regulation – following a touchdown to Jahan Dotson as time expired – to kick the extra point to tie the game, as opposed to going for the win. However, he would also be thrown under the bus had the Commanders gone for two and missed. Hindsight is always 20/20.

The fact of the matter is that while there are usually no moral victories in the NFL, the Commanders showed incredible grit and resilience in this one. A week after throwing four interceptions, QB Sam Howell bounced back by compiling 330 total yards (290 passing, 40 rushing) and a touchdown with no turnovers against the defending NFC champions.

Most importantly, Howell was huge in the clutch as he gave his team a chance. He marched Washington down the field in less than two minutes, needing a touchdown to tie and completed the drive with the score to Dotson.

It's these types of performances from Howell that cement his upside as a franchise quarterback for the Commanders. The primary focus for this season was always going to be about his development and after his first real wakeup call against Buffalo, his ability to put that game behind him was massive.

He and the Commanders now have two upcoming games in which they'll likely be favored, against the Chicago Bears and at the Atlanta Falcons. Holding serve these next two weeks is imperative, as while there are moral victories to take away from Sunday's loss, that won't be the case against either of those teams.