How did Stefon Diggs look in his first game for the Washington Commanders? Well, it was a mixed bag, but Diggs clearly showed his potential impact on the 2026 Commanders by catching four passes for 55 yards and a touchdown. His nine targets led Washington, more than doubling Terry McLaurin’s four targets.
With the Commanders trailing 17-9 in the fourth quarter, quarterback Jayden Daniels found Diggs on a 10-yard touchdown to make it a 17-15 game. It was third-and-6, and Diggs ran a beautiful route, easily beating Eagles Pro Bowl cornerback Cooper DeJean for the score. Here’s the play, and pay attention to what happens after the touchdown.
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After Diggs scored, he jumped on the goalposts,
quickly drawing a flag from the officials. It was the correct call, as the rule has been in place for several years now. The problem was that the penalty took the Commanders out of position to tie, forcing them to kick what was now a 48-yard point-after attempt. Rookie kicker Drew Stevens drilled it, but you can bet that head coach Dan Quinn was feeling the momentum and would have gone for the tie.
We’ll never know.
The Eagles would score on their next possession, but Daniels led another touchdown drive. This time, Washington did attempt the two-point conversion, but it failed.
After the game, Diggs took full responsibility for the mistake.
“As soon as I wrapped my arms around it, I was like, ‘Oh, I forgot,’” Diggs told reporters. “Back in the day, I’ve been playing for a long time, you used to could do that.”
After joking about his NFL longevity, Diggs said succinctly: “I’ve got to be better.”
During his postgame media availability, Daniels tried to take accountability, but Diggs had none of it, saying Daniels was being a quarterback, doing ‘quarterback s--t.’
Diggs admitted the offense was frustrating at times, and he felt pure jubilation reaching the end zone to tie the game potentially.
“That was out of the frustration throughout the game,” Diggs continued via John Keim of ESPN, “wanting things to go right. We finally hit one, and I get a little overzealous, a little excited. I take full accountability. I want to win bad. Finally, after we weren't clicking for a little while, it got to me."
Let’s be clear: Diggs didn’t cost the Commanders the game. The play certainly didn’t help, but there were other missed opportunities, such as the defense allowing multiple big plays after playing a mostly solid game. And Diggs was right about it being a frustrating night for the offense, as Washington’s offense struggled for three quarters until finally putting things together late.
It’s good to see Diggs taking responsibility for the mistake. Otherwise, it was a pretty solid debut for the four-time Pro Bowl wideout and Maryland native.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders' Stefon Diggs takes full accountability for late penalty vs. Eagles
