Heartbreak is not a foreign word to Commanders fans. The team has gone through so much in the last two decades that most newer fans take this to be the norm.
Well, heartbreak hit again, this time at the hands of one of Washington’s fiercest rivals — the Dallas Cowboys. Washington couldn’t stop a toddler’s nosebleed, however quarterback Jayden Daniels was keeping the team within striking distance and it looked like Washington may pull out a score before the half, while getting the ball to open the second half of play.
Then disaster hit…
As if the injury to Jayden Daniels wasn’t enough, Washington, behind veteran backup quarterback Marcus Mariota, had to battle the refs and a costly fumble in Dallas territory. The circumstances were too much to overcome as the Commanders fell 37-20 to their most bitter rival on the road.
Washington is now 0-2 on the young season as they get set to face the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks at home next Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Below are my Studs and Duds of the game, followed by some notes.
Studs:
- QB Jayden Daniels: I feel so bad for the young man. He was having a great first half before the Gaffe-at-the-Goal-line occurred. He did miss a WIDE OPEN Treylon Burks, who had five yards of separation on a deep ball, but otherwise he was wheeling and dealing. The Cowboys had no answer for his scrambling in the first half, as he put up 69 yards on seven improvised runs.
- WR Stefon Diggs: Diggs had five catches for 47 yards and two touchdowns. He has three scores on the young season already after recording four TDs last year with New England.
- CB Amik Robertson: On what was an ugly day for the Commanders secondary, Mik continues to be one of the bright spots. He was targeted seven times and gave up just four receptions for 37 yards while recording two passes defended. He had five tackles, all solo.
- QB Marcus Mariota: Given the circumstances, I thought Mariota played very well. He had the touchdown to Diggs and absolutely should have had another on a beautiful pass to Dyami Brown which the officials stole. Overall, in a half of play, he was 11-for-16 for 111 yards and a touchdown while taking zero sacks. He looked in control of Blough’s offense.
Duds:
- Daron Haynesworth: I’m done defending him. I HATED when we took him over Derwin James and I’ll NEVER let that go! At this point, he’s just stealing money from owner Josh Harris. I GUARANTEE Ricky Barber would have at least given some effort.
- CB Mike StandRealStill: Another week, another chance for opposing quarterbacks to pick on StandRealStill. Yet again, he was the worst of the Commanders corners, allowing five receptions on six targets for 73 yards and was responsible for one touchdown. He needs to be benched! Period!
- S Jeremy Reaves: Reaves just isn’t cutting it as a free safety. I’d much rather Quan Martin get reps as the free safety with Tyler Owens getting time as the third safety. Reavo may stuff the stat sheet with a good number of tackles, but he looks absolutely lost in coverage.
- LB Leo Chenal: Fans were hyped when Washington signed Chenal to a free agent contract. I fell into that hype a bit, too. But, before free agency hit, I was not on board with us targeting him because I said he struggled a LOT in coverage (see Tweet below). Well, over two games, those struggles have reared their ugly head. Not only has Chenal been poor in coverage, but he’s missed quite a few tackles. Despite leading the team with 12 combined tackles (six solo), he looked absolutely HORRIBLE in coverage.
- HC Dan Quinn: Talk about being on the Hot Seat! Dan Quinn’s backside might be so hot right now, that if he tried to wipe with extra-soft Charmin, he’d likely go up in flames! But Mark, that’s not very professional of you… You know what — we’re past that point! He’s officially a lame duck!
- Shawn Hochuli and his crew: The officiating during this game was absolutely terrible. The non-touchdown to Dyami Brown was a suspendable-without-pay offense. This “crew” needs to be investigated by the NFL.
Notes:
- RB Rachaad White led all Commanders with six receptions, which he turned into 40 receiving yards. He ran the ball well between the tackles, picking up 43 yards on just seven carries. I debated giving him Stud status.
- DL Javon Kinlaw recorded his first sack with the Commanders. He also had a tackle for a loss and two pressures on the afternoon.
- EDGE K’Lavon Chaisson notched his first sack with the Commanders on a great effort play off the left edge on a third down inside the red zone, forcing Dallas to kick the field goal. He had three total tackles and two pressures to go along with his sack.
- LG Chris Paul is too unathletic to be used in space. He’s a phone-booth player and that’s about it. This is the second week in a row he’s failed to get out on a screen and make a key block. This one was costly, as Brown fumbled this one.
- To say Washington has problems on the offensive line is a MASSIVE understatement. Josh Conerly and Brandon Coleman both had their issues throughout the game. I already talked about Paul above.
- Losing our best offensive lineman to an apparent concussion is really going to hurt. Here’s hoping Sam Cosmi doesn’t miss too much time…
- Houston, we have a kicking problem (yet again). However, I’m going to give rookie Drew Stevens a VERY long leash.
- OT Andrew Wylie has absolutely NO BUSINESS playing left tackle.
- WR Dyami Brown got robbed. He also had a fumble, which I’m not 100% pinning on him.
- CB Rasul Douglas was not as bad as Sainristil, but he did allow six receptions on seven targets for 61 yards.
- I thought EDGE Dorance Armstrong looked pretty good in his return to action. He registered five total tackles (three solo) and two pressures. They moved him around a bit and I thought he played well against the run.
- OC David Blough and DC Daronte Jones reversed roles this week. Last week, Jones was nearly a stud while Blough was a dud for his play calling. Against Dallas, Jones’ secondary got absolutely TORCHED, while the offense under Blough looked functional. An unfortunate injury, a few missed big plays and calls from the refs that went against the Commanders made the output look worse than it was.
- C Nick Allegretti wasn’t a complete liability like he was against Philly. Hey, it’s a start…
- For the second week in a row, Washington’s defense failed to register a turnover.
The Injury
- First of all, this was an ACCIDENT. Could Dan Quinn have chosen to kick the field goal here? ABSOLUTELY, but let’s get this straight. This was NOT a decision that put his quarterback’s health at risk, so no need to play revisionist history. As mad as I am over this latest injury, we can’t blame Chris Paul either for stepping on his foot, just as we can’t blame David Blough for having him under center.
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