Stefon Diggs' debut with the Commanders immediately starts on the wrong foot

With no Patriots football on this opening Sunday of the 2026 season, fans have plenty of former players to watch across the league, with some bringing on more interest than others. One of the most intriguing, of course, is wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who was set to make his Commanders debut in a game against division rival the Eagles in the prime spot on FOX Sports.

Because Washington has a pretty stacked offense, with Terry McLaurin leading the receiving corps, Diggs wasn't expected to have a major role on game day. It would be the first time in his career that he wouldn't be considered the WR1, so there was a lot of interest in how he would look.

That is especially true for Patriots fans, who weren't happy the team decided to move on from him just one year into his three-year contract. And based on how he looked for the Commanders, it makes sense that New England fans will still be upset he isn't in Foxboro anymore.

Stefon Diggs is off to a hot start with the Commanders in 2026, even though he made a big mistake in his debut

Diggs made that more apparent by scoring a 10-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to bring his team within one point of tying the Eagles, and although that was worthy of celebration, his decision to jump on the goal post handed his team a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

It was an immediate downer that took the Commanders out of contention to go for a two-point conversion to tie the game.

This certainly proved that Diggs hasn't regressed, and those who believed the Patriots released him because of that were quickly proven wrong this week.

It only makes their decision look even more questionable, especially now that A.J. Brown is out for at least four games with an ankle sprain and Kayshon Boutte was traded to the Texans, just to make matters worse.

At the same time, Diggs should rightfully be remorseful for making the avoidable mistake of earning a massive penalty that pushed his team out of going for a two-point conversion, and he better hope it won't be the reason they end up losing the game.

Otherwise, his debut is going to be looked back on in a far less fond way, and it could make him public enemy No. 1 in the eyes of Commanders fans.

Update:

The Commanders did, in fact, lose to the Eagles on Sunday by two points, however. So the extra point they could have gotten if they'd made their two-point conversion isn't why they lost. They still would have been one point behind Philadelphia regardless.

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