The Commanders piled up 22 points in the fourth quarter, with rookie signal-caller Daniels finding Jamison Crowder with a nine-yard touchdown pass with six seconds left to secure what had seemed an unlikely win.
The Eagles, who hadn't lost since September, were without Hurts for most of the game after he hit his head on the turf after a tackle in the first quarter and was ruled out with a concussion.
Kenny Pickett replaced him and threw for 143 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but at 12-3 the Eagles dropped out of a tie for best record in the NFC and failed to clinch the NFC East division title.
"The game's never over until the clock hits zero," Daniels said after a win that kept the Commanders' playoff hopes alive while eliminating Dallas and San Francisco from contention.
"It feels awesome," Daniels said. "Everybody can enjoy their Christmas now."
Meanwhile NFC North rivals Detroit and Minnesota both improved to 13-2.
The Detroit Lions remained atop the NFC with a franchise-record 13th victory, cruising past the Bears 34-17 in Chicago.
Stung by a loss to Buffalo that snapped their 11-game winning streak, the Lions jumped to a 20-point lead on the way to setting a single-season franchise record for points scored with 493 so far.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw for 336 yards and three touchdowns, including an 82-yard TD pass to Jameson Williams, who had a career-high 143 receiving yards on five catches.
Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 109 yards and a touchdown and the Lions used a trick play in which Goff pretended to stumble to spring tight end Sam LaPorta for a 21-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive of the second half.
In Seattle, Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold hit Justin Jefferson with his third touchdown pass of the game with 3:51 to play and the Vikings escaped with their eighth straight win.
Less than two minutes earlier the Seahawks had taken their first lead of the game when quarterback Geno Smith connected with AJ Barner on a four-yard scoring pass.
After Seattle kicker Jason Myers missed a 60-yard field goal attempt with less than two minutes to play, the Seahawks' last hope was extinguished when Theo Jackson intercepted a Smith pass in the final minute.
The Los Angeles Rams remained in control of the NFC West division with a 19-9 victory over the New York Jets.
Trailing 9-6 at half-time, the Rams tied it at 9-9 on Joshua Karty's 38-yard field goal early in the fourth.
The Rams then forced a turnover with a strip sack of Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Los Angeles quarterback Matthew Stafford capped a three-play drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Higbee - who was making his season debut after tearing two knee ligaments in last year's playoffs.
Karty capped the scoring with a 45-yard field goal and the Rams, who started the season 1-4, improved to 9-6 atop the NFC West.
In Atlanta, rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. made his first career start in place of struggling Kirk Cousins and threw for 202 yards in a 34-7 victory over the New York Giants.
Atlanta's defence was key as safety Jessie Bates and outside linebacker Matthew Judon returned interceptions of Giants quarterback Drew Lock for touchdowns.
The Cincinnati Bengals kept their playoff hopes alive with a 24-6 victory over the Cleveland Browns.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow threw for three touchdowns and receiver Ja'Marr Chase caught six passes for 97 yards. That gave him 1,510 for the season, breaking his own franchise record for a single campaign.
Bills hold off Pats
The Buffalo Bills remained in the hunt for the top seed and home-field advantage in the AFC, rallying from a 14-0 deficit to beat the New England Patriots 24-21.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen had a lacklustre day, completing 16 of 29 passes for 154 yards and saying later he dealt with numbness in his hand after taking a blow to his elbow.
"It wasn't our best effort - something we'll learn from," said Allen, whose Bills trail the Kansas City Chiefs in the race for the AFC No. 1 seed.
The Miami Dolphins also kept their playoff bid going with a 29-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
