There are plenty of reasons -- five of them, to be exact -- why the Washington Commanders could have lost their penultimate home game of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles.

It would have been easy for the Commanders to wilt against the Eagles, who remain in first place in the NFC East, after any one of the five turnovers they committed over the course of the afternoon, from Brian Robinson's first-quarter fumble to the interception with three minutes left in regulation. Those, plus a litany of other missed opportunities, could have planted the Commanders in a hole they couldn't climb out of -- and that nearly ended up being the case anyway.

All those were trumped by Jayden Daniels, who once again injected the franchise with reasons to be confident about the future, both short- and long-term.

In a game where the Commanders faced near disaster by going down 14-0 in the first quarter, Daniels answered the call and lifted the team to a 36-33 upset win over the Eagles. He tossed a nine-yard touchdown to Jamison Crowder with six seconds left in the fourth quarter, capping off a 339-yard day from the No. 2 overall pick and securing Washington's 10th win of the season -- a first for the franchise since 2012.

Coach Dan Quinn said during his press conference Daniels "became a heavy hitter."

"If you give him moments, he really lights up in those spots," Quinn said.

Quinn stopped short of calling the win over the Eagles, who hadn't lost since Week 4, a statement victory, preferring instead to call it a toughness win. A statement win, he said, would require the team playing "really well," and there were times when the Commanders did the opposite.

A failed fourth-down try on the opening drive, plus a fumble on the opening play of the second offensive possession, led to the Eagles jumping out to a 14-0 lead. The loss of Jalen Hurts, who was ruled out with a concussion, didn't seem to matter, as Kenny Pickett came in to replace him and threw a touchdown pass to A.J. Brown, who had eight receptions for 97 yards.

And yet, none of that seemed to phase Daniels, who wasn't perfect, either, with two interceptions, both of which came at critical moments. Daniels was there to provide the plays that Washington needed, whether it was throwing a touchdown to Crowder or Olamide Zaccheaus, neither of which had scored a touchdown all season, or converting a fouth-and-11 with a 29-yard run. Against a team that was looking for the knockout punch to clinch the division, Daniels was providing hits of his own.

"I always believed that we could win the game, no matter what," Daniels said. "The game's never over till the clock hits zero."

In fairness, though, things looked dire for the Commanders in the first quarter. Saquon Barkley powered for a two-yard score to give the Eagles an early lead, and that was followed by Brown's touchdown. All the while, the Commanders had put up just eight yards in three possessions. Washington finally caught a break thanks to an interception by Frankie Luvu, which led to Crowder's first score four plays later, but Barkley, the league's rushing leader who had 150 yards on 29 carries, broke loose on the next Eagles drive with a 68-yard touchdown run.

All that happened during the first 13 minutes of the game.

"The first quarter must have felt like damn near an hour," Quinn said. "It went terrible at the start."

Things got worse for Washington after that. The Commanders got to the Eagles' 16-yard line when another Robinson fumble was scooped up by the Eagles defense. They were able to bounce back from that mistake quickly, though, as the defense forced a punt and Daniels' first play of the next drive was a 51-yard shot to Dyami Brown. Terry McLaurin finished the job later with a 32-yard score, which put him over 1,000 yards for the year and tied the single-season franchise record for receiving touchdowns.

About four minutes later, which included two three-and-outs from the Eagles, the Commanders had a chance to tie the score at halftime. Daniels' first pass, intended for Luke McCaffrey, sailed over his target's head and into the arms of C.J. Gardner-Johnson. The defense answered the call again and forced Jake Elliott out to try a 56-yard field goal that ended up being short, leaving the score 21-14 at halftime.

As admirable as it was for Washington's offense to keep fighting, it was its defense that kept giving them chances to do so. Barkley, who had 109 yards in the first quarter, had just 41 for the rest of the day and was met by defenders in the backfield on several occasions. They also held the Eagles to field goals in the second half, keeping what could have been at least a three-score as more manageable 13-point deficit.

Even then, Washington didn't always capitalize on those opportunities. Dyami Brown fumbled on a screen pass that turned into a 40-yard field goal from Elliott. But unlike in previous weeks, when Washington struggled to finish games, they either avoided the back-breaking errors or made up for them with even more impressive moments.

Down two scores with 3:11 left in the third quarter, Daniels and the Commanders got to work. Jeremy McNichols converted a third-and-4 to keep the offense on the field at 45-yard line, and Daniels weaved through defenders on a fourth-and-11 for a 29-yard pick that put the unit at the Eagles' 12. Two plays later, Zaccheaus got his first touchdown of the year to bring the Commanders with six points of tying the score.

Following another Eagles punt, Zaccheaus was back in the end zone, taking advantage of busted coverage from the Eagles' defense. Zaccheaus shed two tackles to get there on the 49-yard play, giving Washington its first lead of the night as fans chanted, "Fight for old D.C" to a silent crowd of Eagles supporters in attendance.

The Eagles were back on top, however, 12 plays later on a drive that took over five minutes off the clock and ended with a 50-yard kick from Elliott. Then came what could have been the dagger: Daniels' pass, again intended for McCaffrey, was picked off by Reed Blankenship and returned to the Commanders' 27-yard line.

But after an afternoon of self-inflicted wounds, the Commanders got a break when DeVonta Smith dropped a wide-open pass on third-and-5. Elliott trotted out for the 40-yard field and drilled it, but Washington had almost two minutes to get in the end zone with a timeout to spare.

It took nearly all those 118 seconds, but that's what the Commanders did. Daniels completed all four of his passes, not including the spike with 11 seconds left on the clock and picked up 14 yards on the ground. With the ball at the Eagles' 9-yard line, Daniels fired and completed the pass to Crowder in the end zone, putting the Commanders up by a point with six seconds left. McNichols powered through for the two-point conversion, but outside of some trickery from Philadelphia, which was attempted and failed, the play locked in a victory for the Burgundy & Gold.

"I love those types of situations," Daniels said. "That's what you live for if you really love this sport. You play for those big-time moments where it comes down to the end."

Although next week's matchup with the Atlanta Falcons carries significant playoff weight, the Commanders sit at 10-5 and in firm control of the No. 7 seed. Whether Quinn wants to call it statement or toughness win, Washington proved it can hang with any team in the league.

The Commanders are two games away from the postseason. They aren't looking that far ahead, but who knows what will happen if, and now probably when, they get there?

"The sky's the limit," Daniels said. "Keep taking it week-by-week."