The Washington Commanders dropped to 7-4 in Week 11 following a 28-16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football. Here are five takeaways from the evening.

The defense came to play in the first half.

The Commanders knew the Eagles would be a difficult test for their offense. Saquon Barkley was entering the game on a career tear, but A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith were also getting in a rhythm. There was also the Eagles' offensive line to consider, which was already playing well before the return of offensive tackle Jordan Mailata.

And it was a challenge, but one the Commanders rose to for most of the game. Frankie Luvu was bringing consistent pressure on Jalen Hurts, accounting for both of the team's sacks. Rookie cornerback Mike Sainristil provided solid coverage on several of the Eagles' receivers with two pass breakups, one of which was intended for Smith in the endzone. They even put together a goal line stand to force fourth down inside their 5-yard line, stalling an 87-yard drive.

The Eagles had to settle for three field goal attempts in the first half -- Jake Elliott missed two of them -- and struggled even more on their other three drives. On drives that didn't end in points, the Eagles were held to 23 yards on 13 plays.

The second half was a different story, but at least for the first half, Washington's defense held its own and put the team in position to come away with a win.

The offense couldn't sustain drives.

There were moments when Washington's offense looked like the high-powered unit from the first half of the season, like their first-quarter touchdown and the field goal to start the third quarter. For most of the night, though, Washington struggled to stay on the field.

It's unfamiliar territory for the Commanders, who came into the game ranking second in EPA/play and the third highest success rate in the NFL. Against the Eagles, they were held to a three-and-out on three of their first four possessions. Things got better later in the night, but not enough for them to gain much momentum. Ten of their 11 drives were held to less than 10 plays.

The Eagles played a role in that. Jayden Daniels was under constant pressure from Philadelphia's front seven either brought him down for a sack, hurried up his processing or tackled him for a minimum gain. After Elliott's second missed field goal set Washington up with good field position at its own 41-yard line, Daniels was sacked on first and second down, setting up a third-and-22 with little possibility of a conversion.

But some of that lack of productivity came from Washington itself. For example, Austin Ekeler, who otherwise had a good game with 96 total yards, dropped a pass on third-and-9 that could have resulted in a first down. Daniels also missed on a deep shot to Noah Brown -- a play he normally makes -- on second-and-9, throwing the ball at the receiver's feet.

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Saquon Barkley iced the game in the fourth quarter.

The final box score shows that Barkley had another exceptional night, rushing for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Barkley did what he's done all season, but those final numbers don't represent how the Commanders performed against the running back for most of the night.

In fact, Barkley was often corralled by the Commanders' defensive front. Seventeen of his rushes were limited to five or fewer yards, and the combination of Daron Payne, Johnny Newton and Phidarian Mathis left the Eagles struggling to find room in the defensive interior.

The problem is that Barkley can't be contained forever, and the moments where he did break loose were back breaking for Washington. A routine dump-off pass from Hurts on third-and-6 turned into a 43-yard gain that set the Eagles up at Washington's 17-yard line. Barkley's longest runs of 23 and 39 yards both ended in touchdowns that essentially put the game out of reach for the Commanders in the fourth quarter.

Jayden Daniels couldn't connect with wide receivers.

Daniels normally has a strong connection with his receivers, with seven of them having at least one target this season. That was not the case on Thursday, though, and it hurt the Commanders' ability to sustain drives.

Terry McLaurin, who came into the game third in the NFL in receiving yards, was the most glaring victim of this problem. McLaurin wasn't targeted until four minutes into the third quarter and didn't make a catch until almost five minutes into the fourth. It was only the second time in his career that he was not targeted at all in the first half.

But McLaurin wasn't the only receiver who struggled to get open. Washington's receivers combined for just four catches and 28 yards. It wasn't even until the Commanders' fifth drive that a receiver caught a pass; Dyami Brown started off the possession with a screen that went four yards.

Again, some credit should go to the Eagles' defense, particularly the combination of Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean and Darius Slay. Mitchell was lined up against McLaurin on 20 of 25 routes and was not targeted on any of them, per NextGen Stats.

However, it's another example that the Commanders could use the long weekend as an opportunity to refocus before moving on to the final stretch of the season.

The fourth-down attempt.

The play of the game came with eight minutes left to go in the fourth quarter. The Commanders stalled at the Eagles' 26-yard line, and rather than kick a field goal, which would have given them a one-point lead, coach Dan Quinn decided to keep the offense on the field to try and convert a fourth-and-2.

There was logic in the Commanders electing to stay aggressive. They were tied for the second most fourth-down conversion in the league, and a touchdown would have put the Eagles in a difficult situation, had they been able to convert.

The play itself, however, was not executed well from the start. Daniels bobbled the snap and scrambled to his right to try and get beyond the marker. There was actually a lane for that to happen, but it quickly closed with Reed Blankenship cutting under Brown for a tackle that resulted in no gain.

Washington's players were willing to take the blame after the game. Daniels said he could have called the cadence louder. There was miscommunication on the offensive line, as Sam Cosmi pulled to his left, but Brandon Coleman, Tyler Biadasz and Andrew Wylie pulled to their right.

But they were also bought in on the idea of trying to win the game on their terms.

"We're coming out to play. We're coming out to win," Ekeler said. "Touchdowns win games. That's what DQ [Quinn] wants, and hey, when we get in those game-winning moments, when it's on the line...we know we're going to be going for it."

It was a high-risk, high-reward situation for the Commanders, and unfortunately, they came up short in a critical moment. It was a brutal reminder that execution matters against the league's top teams.