Austin Ekeler shows Commanders why Chargers were so eager to let him walk

The Washington Commanders were the Cinderella story LA Chargers fans were hoping their favorite team would be this season. With rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels leading the way, the Commanders made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game while the Chargers were bounced in the first round.

Much like the Chargers, Washington underwent a coaching change in the offseason that also ushered in a culture change. Part of that culture change is two former prominent members of the Chargers, running back Austin Ekeler and former head coach (who is Ekeler's RB coach), Anthony Lynn.

Ekeler has played an important role on the Commanders and has emerged as a true locker room leader. However, in the NFC Championship on Sunday, Ekeler committed a costly fumble that reminded every Chargers fan why the team parted ways with him in the first place.

Austin Ekeler brings back Chargers form in Commanders' loss to Eagles

Ekeler's fumble wasn't the main reason the Commanders lost to the Eagles on Sunday. Philadelphia dropped over 50 points on the Commanders, thoroughly outplaying a young team that may have just been happy to be there.

That being said, Ekeler's fumble was a very distinct demarcation point for the Commanders. Washington was still in the game when Ekeler fumbled the ball and as soon as the turnover happened, the game got away from the Commanders.

The Commanders were down 11 points and just forced the Eagles to punt the ball away. Washington had a real chance to cut the game to a one-score game to put pressure on the Eagles in front of their home crowd. Instead, Ekeler fumbled and the game started to unravel.

Philly scored a touchdown to make it a three-possession game, pushing the Commanders' backs against the wall. This forced Washington to go for it on the ensuing fourth down, which resulted in a turnover on downs and another Eagles touchdown to make it a four-score game. By then, everything else by the Eagles was gravy.

The Commanders took Ekeler as far as they physically could but in a game that was dominated on the ground by Philly, Washington was reminded that they just weren't good enough at the running back position.

Ekeler has enjoyed a great career in the NFL that included multiple elite seasons with the LA Chargers. But after this costly fumble on the biggest stage, it is worth questioning what will come next for Ekeler.