Stefon Diggs finally made his presence felt in his Commanders debut Sunday, and the play that should have been the headline turned into something else entirely.
Washington had signed the four-time Pro Bowl receiver to a one-year deal in August, hoping he would give Jayden Daniels another dependable option. For most of the afternoon against Philadelphia, Diggs was quiet. He had only a couple of catches before halftime and stayed in the background through three quarters.
Then came the fourth quarter, when Daniels hit Diggs for a 10-yard touchdown that trimmed Washington’s deficit to 17-15 with under ten minutes left. At that point, the Commanders were set up for an automatic two-point conversion attempt to try to tie the game. Diggs never let them get there.
He bolted through the end zone, jumped onto the base of the goalpost, and toppled backward onto the turf. Officials immediately threw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct, and the 15-yard penalty pushed Washington’s extra point attempt back to 48 yards, forcing the team to kick instead of going for two.
Philadelphia held on for a 24-22 win, and the missed two-point conversion chance on that late touchdown ended up being the difference.
Daniels didn’t dance around the impact after the game. “We just got to be smart,” the quarterback said. “We probably would have gone for two there.”
The celebration also brought Diggs back to familiar territory. He was penalized for the same kind of goalpost stunt in 2017 and was fined $12,154 then. Under the league’s fine schedule, this latest incident is expected to cost him close to $15,000 for a first offense this season.
And the NFL’s version of the moment told its own story. The league posted a highlight afterward that left out the celebration completely, even though the full video showed Diggs’ leap, fall, and the penalty that followed.
Diggs will get another chance to make a touchdown count the way he wants. After Sunday, he may want to keep the celebration a little more grounded.
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