The #19 AP-ranked Army Black Knights (11-2, 9-0 AAC) fell by a score of 31-13 to the Navy Midshipmen (9-3, 6-2 AAC) at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md. With the victory, Navy won its 17th Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, and it was its first since 2019.

Navy quarterback Blake Horvath accounted for four total touchdowns, two rushing and two passing while rushing for game high 204 yards to lead the Mids' offensive attack. Navy outgained Army 378-178 in total yardage. 

On the night, Army QB Bryson Daily ran 19 times for 53 yards and passed 7-16 for 65 yards a touchdown but threw three interceptions.  

From the opening snap, Navy played well. The Midshipmen hit an explosive play on the game's first drive on a slip screen pass for 31 yards to FB Alex Tecza to get down to the Army 22-yard line. Several plays later Navy QB Blake Horvath punched in a one-yard touchdown on a QB sneak to take an early, 7-0 lead, a rare deficit for the Black Knights this season.  

Army's offense picked up one first down before punting the ball back to Navy.  

The Army defense settled in and forced a punt after a bad option pitch by Horvath, resulting in a fumble and a loss of 14 yards.  

Army faced a fourth-and-one from its own 21-yard line as the first quarter came to a close.  

Army QB Bryson Daily was intercepted by CB Dashaun Peele on its second drive of the game, only his second of the season trying to get the ball to WR Casey Reynolds on a third and long. Three plays later, Navy struck again as Horvath hit Brandon Chatman on a wheel route for an 18-yard touchdown to take a two-score lead, 14-0.  

The Black Knights faced a pivotal fourth-and-three at the Navy 46-yard line on the ensuing drive, with the Midshipmen calling a timeout. Daily dropped back to pass and hit Reynolds down the right sideline for a gain of 18 yards. 

Two plays later, Daily hit RB Hayden Reed up the seam on a jump pass for a 21-yard touchdown for Reed's first touchdown of the season. K Trey Gronotte knocked in the extra point to make it a 14-7 game. 

Navy then moved the ball into Army territory but was forced to punt, giving Army possession back inside its own 10-yard line.  

The two sides then traded punts to end the half, and Navy took a 14-7 lead into the break. Army only had 55 rushing yards on 20 attempts (2.75 avg.).  

Army rolled the dice again on a fourth-and-short at midfield to begin the second half, with SB Noah Short drawing a pass interference penalty on a deep shot where Short had his man beat.  

The drive stalled and Gronotte booted in a 39-yard field goal attempt to Bring Army within four, 14-10.  

The Midshipmen quickly answered as Horvath hit Eli Heidenreich on an out route that he raced down the sideline for a 52-yard touchdown, to extend its lead to 21-10.  

Trailing by two scores once again, Army moved the chains on a pivotal fourth-and-sixth from its own 45-yard line as Reynolds drew a pass interference call while Daily was also roughed on the play for a personal foul. 

The Black Knights got into the red zone as the fourth quarter started working on a 10+ play drive, settling for a 31-yard field goal by Gronotte to make it a one-score game at 21-13. 

The Army defense got the stop it needed forcing a fourth and five. However, Navy faked the punt with a direct snap to nose guard Landon Robinson who raced down the left sideline for 29 yards and a first down. Navy capitalized several plays later on another one-yard touchdown run by Horvath on a QB sneak to extend the lead to 15 points, 28-13, with 8:50 remaining. 

Daily was intercepted for the second time on Army's ensuing drive as Navy then kicked a 27-yard field goal to take a 31-13 lead with under four minutes remaining.  

The score remained 31-13 as Navy claimed its first victory of the series since 2021 and third since 2016. 

On the outskirts of the nation's capital, Army took the field in front of a crowd of 60,726 at Northwest Stadium, home of the Washington Commanders with dark uniforms honoring the 101st Airborne Division during the Battle of the Bulge nearly 80 years ago and overhead them featured four AH-64E Apache helicopters from the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment of the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Liberty, NC. 

The uniforms reflected the canopy of fog and snow giving way to the shadows beneath the snow-covered pine forests in the Ardennes. This environment formed the backdrop for the 101st Airborne's stubborn defense, made more difficult by the lack of air support.