SI analyst picks this Commanders game as best of entire season

When the Washington Commanders stepped off the field for the final time in 2024 following an NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, it was a defeat none of them could stomach well.

To a man, every Commanders player and coach also looked forward to the chance to make it right, and to extract a little bit of revenge on the eventual Super Bowl Champions, even though they knew they'd have to wait to get it.

Washington set out this offseason to correct some of the deficiencies that led to the embarrassing defeat, and while all involved in this year's campaign look forward to getting back into Philly to take on the Eagles once again, they'll all have to wait until Week 18 to do so. Furthermore, they may have to wait until the final game of Week 18, if Sports Illustrated's Mitch Goldich is right.

The Ultimate Season Finale?

"Out of all 16 games, this is the one I think is most likely to be a straight-up de facto division championship game," Goldich says of the Week 18 matchup wherein the Commanders will travel back to Philadelphia. Because of that, he ranks the game as the No. 1 option to be flexed into Sunday Night Football, as the final regular-season game of the year. "The defending champion Eagles are favorites, but the NFC East famously hasn’t had a repeat champion since 2004. The Commanders exploded onto the scene in Jayden Daniels’s rookie season and this would be a rematch of last year’s NFC title game, a blowout that might be best remembered for Frankie Luvu jumping over the pile to stop the tush push."

Luvu himself has mentioned his infamous leaping from that night since the game came to a close, something he can laugh about today, but was immensely frustrating then.