PHILADELPHIA — Washington trailed by two points in the fourth quarter, needing a field goal or first down to keep its chances of victory — and a shot at the NFC East lead — alive in Philadelphia.

The Commanders were behind 12-10 when they were stopped on second and third-and-1. Riding a hot streak early in the season, coach Dan Quinn called his rookie quarterback number on fourth-and-2 on the Eagles 26.

Jayden Daniels juggled the snap, rushed to his right and was hammered out of bounds by linebacker Zack Baun.

The Eagles took over on downs. The decisive victory for the commanders under Quinn and Daniels must wait.

Shortly after that miss, Saquon Barkley rushed for the first of his two fourth-quarter touchdowns to give division-leading Philadelphia a two-point lead, and the Eagles (8-2) dispatched the Commanders (7-4) at their second consecutive defeat, 26-18 Thursday night.

“It’s a bold call,” Quinn said. “I would also say that we were prepared for this moment. I didn’t like the execution. But we were a great fourth-down team. Going into this, we knew we had to take our chances against a tough division team on the road. We didn’t like the execution or the result. But we were prepared for this.

Plan B was the field goal.

Zane Gonzalez, promoted off the practice squad while Austin Seibert deals with a hip injury, hit a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter for a 10-3 lead. Quinn decided against giving it another shot from about 44 yards out for a 13-12 lead.

“To be the big hitters we want to be, you have to be able to close,” Quinn said. “How do you draw the lesson to conclude? This is what we will become. You knew this adversity was coming. It simply is.

Daniels finished 22 of 32 for 191 yards and a late touchdown pass. It was intercepted by safety Reed Blankenship late in the fourth, setting up Barkley’s second touchdown.

As for the decisive call on fourth down, Daniels said, “I’m still part of it, hey, let’s go.”

It was a frustrating night for Daniels and the top receiver Terry McLaurinwho surpassed 100 receiving yards in last Sunday’s loss to Pittsburgh for the fourth time in the last eight games, racking up 113 on five catches.

McLaurin had just one catch for 10 yards against Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell.

“It happens,” McLaurin said. “I can only control what I can.”

Quinn said he would give commanders a few extra days off before the final race. The Commanders will play four of their next five games at home, starting Nov. 24 against Dallas.

They need a break.

While the Eagles got the earliest bye in the NFL in Week 5, the Commanders got the latest in Week 14, and the injuries are piling up after a relatively healthy start to the season.

“I feel like we’ll respond really well,” Daniels said. “We’ll rest and get back to it.”

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