Two ruled out for Commanders' season finale vs. Philadelphia

The Washington Commanders will officially be without quarterback Marcus Mariota and left tackle Laremy Tunsil in the regular season finale against the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday.

This paves the way for quarterback Josh Johnson to make his second consecutive start 

"And then as far as behind him, we'll just still discuss that between Sam and with Jeff [Driskel]," Quinn said of the backup quarterback role heading into the week. "But if Marcus couldn't, then we'd lean in with Josh again. And there was honestly a lot that I liked in the game. I know it was a short week, but the preparation of what and how we featured him, I thought was the right space. And like, from a decision making process, I thought Josh did a lot of things correct that I liked, so we would lean in that way again, for sure, if Marcus can't [go]."

Mariota has been sidelined since the last matchup against Philadelphia, leaving the opening minutes of the second half

Johnson finished 15-of-23 for 198 passing yards in the Christmas Day loss against the Dallas Cowboys, marking his first start in years for the veteran.

"We had a good talk yesterday. I'm glad you brought up Brandon about the timing and the information. And so, he did start the first two games at left guard and that timing's different. He missed a good bit of training camp in terms of the punch timing and where to go. And so then, being out, [G] Chris [Paul] jumped in and then we started moving him at other spots including like a jumbo tight end. So, I think what he's shown, and he has learned a lot here in year two, one about himself like this is a resilient guy that can do a lot of things based on his athleticism, him learning and going through the hard moments. It sucks when you're going through it, but you also gain some confidence knowing there's a number of things I can do. We saw him snap a t full and practice the other day and said, you know, like makes it look easy and that type of athleticism. But I think it's the resilience that he's shown this year when it hasn't gone right, that you still find the lessons in it.”

The Eagles, meanwhile, will also enter Sunday's contest short-handed, but for other reasons.

Head coach Nick Sirianni said this week that quarterback Jalen Hurts is among several starters not expected to play against Washington with the Eagles looking to capitalize on extra rest ahead of the start of the 2025 playoffs.

"Obviously we've done it both ways. We've had opportunities to rest. We've had opportunities to continue to get a better seed and played," Sirianni said. "You go through your process, you go through all those different things, but every season is a little bit different. Every every team is a little bit different. We'll end up doing what we think is best for the the team, and we're still thinking through that.

Kickoff is set for 4:25 PM on CBS. Washington will look to avenge the 29-18 loss suffered at home in week 16 that also featured a brawl resulting in several players drawing fines.