The Washington Commanders' 2024 season has officially come to an end after a 55-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Here are five takeaways from the matchup.

1. The turnovers.

The Commanders couldn't afford to have another turnover-riddled performance against the Eagles. Although they overcame it back in Week 16, even a team that had rightfully earned the "Cardiac Commanders" nickname couldn't expect to pull out another miracle.

Unfortunately, the Commanders gave up the ball four times to the Eagles, who made them pay for each of them. All four giveaways, three of which occurred on Washington's side of the 50-yard line, directly led to touchdowns for the Eagles. It's easy to play hypotheticals now but take away the 28 points that resulted from Washington's mistakes, and the game is far more competitive.

Even more frustrating was that the Commanders' first three turnovers eliminated their chances to either take the lead, tie the score, or make the deficit less than seven points. They could have taken a 10-7 lead had it not been for Dyami Brown's fumble; tied the score at 20-20 at halftime before Jeremy McNichols fumbled a kickoff; and could have turned Philadelphia's 11-point lead in the third quarter into at least eight points had Austin Ekeler not had the ball punched out of his grasp.

Washington committed 10 turnovers in three games with Philadelphia. It's a difficult lesson to learn, but the team must work on ball control if it wants to continue competing for the division championship and beyond.

2. Washington had its moments but couldn't stay consistent.

It wasn't all bad for Washington; there were moments when it looked like the team would pull off more postseason heroics.

Aside from ending things with a field goal rather than a touchdown, the Commanders' opening drive went exactly as planned. They kept the Eagles off the field with an 18-play drive, went for fourth down twice and relied on Jayden Daniels' athleticism to fuel the offense. Terry McLaurin also showed off his playmaking ability with a 36-yard touchdown that moved the Commanders within two points of tying the score.

Things were more challenging on defense, but the unit did provide some key second-half stops. The Eagles' opening drive of the third quarter resulted in a three-and-out, and after the offense scored on a 70-yard drive to cut the deficit to 11, they made another stop that allowed Daniels and his group to build on that momentum.

But the Commanders couldn't afford any mistakes against Philadelphia, and a handful was made on both sides. The offense didn't punt in the first half but did have to settle for two field goals, which weren't enough to keep up with the Eagles. The unit also followed Philadelphia's three-and-out in the second half with one of their own, and the Eagles scored four plays later.

Things became much more difficult on defense in the second half, as the Eagles zoomed down the field on four scoring drives, each of which took five plays or less. The Eagles ran 29 plays in the second half but averaged just over eight yards per snap.

3. Saquon Barkley was difficult to stop.

Although the Eagles' offense is full of talent, Barkley remained the Commanders' biggest problem on defense. They managed to bottle him up in the second half of the Week 16 win, but he was still difficult to stop in the NFC Championship. Barkley finished the night with 118 yards and three touchdowns on just 15 carries.

At first, those numbers don't seem so bad, especially considering that Barkley had a 60-yard touchdown run on the Eagles' opening play. So, simple math shows that Barkley only had 58 yards for the rest of the night.

But while Barkley didn't put up gaudy numbers, his impact was still felt throughout the game. He bounced outside for a four-yard touchdown on the Eagles' next possession and converted a second-and-8 with a 10-yard run. He also drew an unnecessary roughness penalty that negated a four-yard stop on third-and-10 and instead moved the Eagles to the Commanders' 10-yard line.

Two of his last three runs helped put the score out of Washington's reach. He had a 22-yard carry on second-and-1 that moved the Eagles to the Commanders' 1-yard line (Jalen Hurts finished that drive off with a one-yard run) and scored a four-yard touchdown on his final carry that made the score 48-23.

4. No fourth-quarter magic from the offense.

Commanders fans had become accustomed to Daniels and the offense putting together impressive second-half performances that put teams away or helped them climb out of deficits. There were times when it looked like that may have been the case, particularly after Daniels' 10-yard touchdown run and the defense forcing a punt on the next Philadelphia drive.

That's where things became more frustrating for the Commanders, though. Their next four drives ended with three turnovers on downs and one interception. Daniels and the offense struggled to move the ball during that stretch, as they amassed just 74 yards.

Daniels' final play of the game resulted in a turnover. He launched a pass intended for Terry McLaurin into the end zone, but rookie Quinyon Mitchell came away with it instead. Backup Marcus Mariota took over from there and handed the ball off to Ekeler four times to turn over the ball on downs for the last time.

That shouldn't take anything away from the offense's performance during the regular season when it was one of the best units in football. However, it did serve as another reminder of how much self-inflicted wounds can affect an outcome.

5. Year One.

The visitors' locker room at Lincoln Financial Field was a somber place. The players were still feeling the sting of the loss and grappling with the fact that they were one game away from reaching the Super Bowl.

There will be more time to reflect on how the first year of Dan Quinn and Adam Peters' regime unfolded, but this should be the starting point: despite most outside analysts writing them off as a rebuilding team, the Commanders outperformed expectations and maximized the talent at their disposal to get to a conference championship. There are pieces to build upon, most notably at quarterback. While there are no guarantees the Commanders or any of the four teams will get back to Championship Sunday in 2025, it's reasonable to assume that Washington will be in the mix for years to come.

First, the Commanders have work to do in the offseason. There are players to re-sign, others to bring in, and college prospects to draft. Washington has the tools to not only sustain but improve its roster, as it has some of the most projected available cap space in the NFL and seven draft picks to work with.

As special as the 2024 campaign was, it was only Year One in what will hopefully be a new era for the franchise.