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Washington Post (paywall)
The Commanders are starting to look old and slow
Experience can be an asset, but on Sunday in Atlanta, the oldest roster in the league couldn’t keep up.
With Wagner patrolling the middle of the field, Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr. hit the speedy and powerful Bijan Robinson in stride out of the backfield. It just wasn’t fair. The closest defender to give chase was the 35-year-old Wagner. And, bless his heart, for a moment he did. Until Robinson, 12 years his junior, turned two yards of separation into about 15 in a blink
of an eye. Robinson topped out at 21.85 mph according to NFL Next Gen stats. And Wagner? Well, as safety Jeremy Reaves raced to stop Robinson from reaching the end zone, the Unc had slowed to a nice, leisurely jog.
[I]nstead of looking experienced, the Commanders, at times, just looked old. Which might explain all those missed tackles and unsuccessful third-down stopsagainst an Atlanta offense that sputtered last week against the Carolina Panthers.
“We didn’t make the plays today,” [said Jeremy Reaves]. “You can’t harp on that. You got to understand it’s part of the game.”
Another part of the game is the brutal aging curve, which can take young men and make them look old in a flash. The Commanders will need to slow that down, more than anything, if they’re going to remain a contender very long.
The Athletic (paywall)
How the Commanders’ defense was dismantled by the Falcons
The visitors’ locker room inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium was silent, not even a mumble. There was little the Washington Commanders could say (or would say) after a dismal 34-27 loss to the Atlanta Falcons that felt more lopsided than the score conveyed.
All three phases — offense, defense and special teams — shouldered the blame, but the defense’s share of miscues was undoubtedly larger.
There was no mystery about the Commanders’ defensive struggles. Many of the issues that hindered their play in Green Bay two weeks ago were the same ones that crippled them on Sunday:
Poor tackling
Coach Dan Quinn knew this would be a tough challenge, and he knew that if his team handled tackling poorly, it could easily turn the game.
And it did.
Too many explosive plays
Whitt lamented his defense’s penchant for allowing explosive plays (completions of at least 16 yards and rushes of 12 or more yards) in the first few weeks of the season. Washington totaled nine in that stretch, an average of three per game.
“That’s too many,” Whitt said last week.
Washington doubled its total on Sunday, letting Atlanta record nine explosives — six passing and three rushing — to account for 14.1 percent of its plays.
A slow start
The Commanders have dug themselves into holes with repeated slow starts. Week 3 against the Raiders was the first in which the defense began with a lead; Washington scored on its opening drive.
On Sunday, the Falcons had 10 points before the Commanders had run four offensive plays.
Commanders.com
Instant analysis | Commanders fall to 2-2 with 34-27 loss to Falcons
It felt like the Commanders took two steps back for every step forward in their 34-27 loss to the Falcons. The positives were followed up by mistakes, which made gaining any sense of momentum on both sides of the ball feel like a labor. It wasn’t something a team with a bevy of injuries, including their starting quarterback, could afford.
Washington’s offense continued the up-and-down trajectory it’s been on to start the season. There were moments where it looked like the clean, efficient unit that put up 41 points a week ago, like their eight-play, 70-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter; there were also moments where the unit had to settle for smaller victories. Their two field goals in the third quarter did keep them in the game, but a false start by Zach Ertz and an incompletion intended for the tight end spoiled chances at getting in the end zone.
Penalties were…a problem for the Commanders. Their six flags for 50 yards don’t appear to be that pivotal on the stat sheet, but the moments they occurred created difficult challenges. Ertz’s false start turned a third-and-2 into a third-and-7 and was followed by an incomplete pass. Mariota was called for intentional grounding, which doused the spark caused by a 58-yard return from Luke McCaffrey. A defensive holding call from Trey Amos got the Falcons out of a difficult spot, while a pass interference call from McCaffrey eliminated a 10-yard gain.
When coupled with the bigger mistakes, like Mariota’s interception in the end zone and Von Miller’s missed tackle on Tyler Allgeier that turned into a touchdown, it was too difficult of a challenge for the Commanders to overcome.
Heavy.com
Javon Kinlaw Couldn’t Fix Commanders Weakness
The Kinlaw debate will be back on after he was a non-factor in Atlanta. That’s not how it’s supposed to go for a 6-foot-5, 319-pounder expected to fill the middle and force runners to move laterally.
To his credit, Kinlaw isn’t shirking his share of the blame for the Commanders getting gashed for 128 yards and two touchdowns on the ground by Robinson and Co. Those yards and scores help condemn Washington to a 34-27 defeat at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, September 28, and Kinlaw knows why things went wrong.
Robinson was allowed to move in whatever direction he wanted en route to averaging 4.4 yards per carry. His ability to dominate wasn’t all on Kinlaw, though.
The first-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft told reporters, including JP Finlay of NBC4 Sports, “For sure he’s one of the best running backs, if not the best running back, but like I said, I’ve jut got to better in certain situations.”
Commanders Wire
Good news for the Commanders and Jayden Daniels
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported on Sunday morning that the Commanders expect Daniels back next week.
“The Washington Commanders are not going to have their star quarterback Jayden Daniels, already ruled out for this game against the Atlanta Falcons. Marcus Mariota is going to start once again,” Rapoport said. “My understanding though, is that Jayden Daniels is expected to be back next week, in what looms as a huge game against the Chargers. Remember, Jayden Daniels is still dealing with that knee sprain, and this is going to be the second game that he’s missed, but he did work out yesterday, on Saturday. It sounds like the workout went really well, coming on the heels of a scheduled rest day on Friday. If all goes well, and they expect it to, Jayden Daniels likely only misses two games. All in all, a decent outcome when it comes to your starting quarterback.”
Heavy.com
Matt Gay : Connects on all four field goals
Gay went 4-for-4 on field-goal attempts and made his lone extra-point try during the Commanders’ 34-27 loss to the Falcons. Gay helped the Commanders keep pace with the Falcons when the offense stalled outside of the red zone, connecting on field goals from 43, 52, 41 and 42 yards in Sunday’s loss. It was the fifth time in Gay’s career that he made at least five field goals, and it was a nice bounce-back performance after going 3-for-6 across Washington’s prior two games.
NFL.com
Contenders and pretenders entering NFL Week 5: Which of the seven 2-2 teams can you trust?
This won’t be a full-scale evaluation of all those teams with winning records. Instead, the focus is on those hovering at 2-2. About 37 percent of teams in that category have reached the postseason since 1990. This edition of The First Read will tell which of those current squads are strong choices to play in January.
This is where one writer stands on the topic of pretenders and contenders …
Washington Commanders
The Commanders felt the absence of quarterback Jayden Daniels this past weekend. Backup Marcus Mariota was capable enough to lead this team past Las Vegas in Week 3, but the Falcons offered a different test in a 34-27 loss.
The problem is the Falcons didn’t feel like a strong challenge coming in, as their offense was averaging just 14 points a game through the first three weeks. Not only was Mariota an issue – he only threw for 156 yards – but Atlanta lit up the defense for 435 yards and several explosive plays. It says here that the defense will look a lot better when Daniels is back from his knee injury, along with a couple other key performers on offense (wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown were sidelined as well on Sunday).
It’s been reported that Daniels should return for next week’s game against the Chargers. That’s when you’ll see Washington set things right. They made the playoffs last season with a mediocre defense. They can do it again. PICK: CONTENDER
Chicago Bears
The Bears are easily the most confounding team in this bunch. They have talent and good coaching, but it often feels like they’re falling short of expectations when you watch them. That’s probably just a byproduct of hype. Having the first overall pick in the 2024 draft playing quarterback (Caleb Williams) and an acclaimed offensive wizard at head coach (Ben Johnson) makes it really hard to be rational about anything this team does.
A lot of people — this writer included — keep waiting for the fireworks to start with this offense, and it remains a slow burn. The first two weeks were rough for Chicago (a blown fourth-quarter lead against the Vikings and a 52-21 shellacking at Detroit). The wins have come over the last couple weeks, but there’s nothing overly impressive about beating Dallas or Las Vegas.
The problem the Bears face is the same one most teams in the NFC will deal with this season: There are too many teams in the mix for playoff spots. The Bears certainly have the potential to get hot and qualify for the postseason. However, it’s not worth jumping on that bandwagon until a few quality wins emerge. PICK: PRETENDER
Atlanta Falcons
The good news for the Falcons is their beleaguered offense finally showed signs of life. That 34-27 win over Washington revealed a lot of what Atlanta thinks it can be.
Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. passed for 313 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. Running backs Bijan Robinson (181 total yards) and Tyler Allgeier scored touchdowns. Wide receiver Drake London had 110 yards on eight receptions. Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris had been waiting weeks for those types of numbers, so you have to hope this is a major turning point for the team.
On the other hand, the Falcons already have dropped two division games, and one of those came in a 30-0 loss to Carolina. You don’t get that taste out of your mouth with one win over a Commanders team that didn’t have Jayden Daniels available. The best hope Atlanta has of reaching the playoffs involves winning the NFC South. They need to start winning division games for that to happen. PICK: PRETENDER
Podcasts & videos
BREAKDOWN: Why the Commanders DEFENSE FAILED in Frustrating Loss to Falcons
NFC East links
Big Blue View
Giants injuries: Malik Nabers out; torn ACL possible, per report
Nabers’ season appears to be over
New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers was carted off the field with what might be a knee injury with 6:12 left in the first half.
Nabers went down after trying to catch a long pass from Jaxson Dart. At first it appeared that Nabers had landed on his right shoulder after having been on the injury report during the week with a shoulder injury.
A published report indicates that Nabers likely has a season-ending torn ACL.
Nabers will undergo an MRI on Monday to confirm the severity of the injury.
Bleeding Green Nation
A.J. Brown posted some cryptic tweets after the Eagles’ win over the Bucs
The Eagles’ star wide receiver has a right to be frustrated.
A.J. Brown, who declined to speak to reporters after the Birds’ win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, instead took to Twitter to post some cryptic tweets.
First, this:
Then he shared Mark 6:11 from the Bible:
Maybe it’s nothing. But it doesn’t feel like nothing when Brown’s lack of involvement has surprisingly been a major issue for the Eagles’ offense this season.
Brown did not lack targets in the Eagles’ Week 4 win; he had nine passes come his way. Those accounted for 37.5% of Jalen Hurts’ 24 passing attempts. But they resulted in just two catches for seven yards. And it’s not like Brown stunk as much as the offensive design wasn’t really putting him in positions to succeed.
Brown has every reason to be frustrated and/or confused. Yeah, the Eagles are winning. But they’re unnecessarily making it harder on themselves than it has to be. Getting Brown going shouldn’t be this difficult.
Upcoming opponent
Bolts from the Blue
Chargers star Joe Alt suffers major injury vs. Giants
Alt, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, was able to limp off the field, but he is currently in the locker room getting evaluated for his ankle injury. The team is confirming that he is questionable to return for the game against the Giants.
Alt was the right tackle for the Chargers last season, but he moved to left tackle when Rashawn Slater tore his patellar tendon in training camp last month. Considering the fact that Slater is out for the year, the Chargers hope Alt is able to return from his injury as soon as possible.
If not, the Chargers will be faced with even more depth issues on the offensive line.
NFL league links
Articles
NFL.com
NFL Week 4 takeaways: What We Learned from Sunday’s 13 games
Commanders-Falcons
Commanders’ balance isn’t enough to keep up. In their second straight game without Jayden Daniels, the Commanders played competitively enough to keep things interesting down to the final minute of this contest. Marcus Mariota handled the job like a veteran backup, Deebo Samuel put together a strong performance, relying on his strong hands and enduring athleticism to lead the Commanders in receiving in the absence of Terry McLaurin, and the tandem backfield of Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Chris Rodriguez Jr. teamed up to rush for over 100 yards. But the combined efforts weren’t enough to keep up with Atlanta’s number of explosive plays, and a 1-for-8 showing on third down illustrated how much the Commanders miss Daniels and McLaurin.
Understandably, the onus falls on the defense for allowing Atlanta to rack up over 400 yards of offense and score on six of 10 possessions. Washington wasn’t terrible offensively and had some encouraging moments (i.e., the involvement of receiver Luke McCaffrey). But if they’re going to win games with a defense that hasn’t stopped anyone since a Week 1 win over New York and didn’t record a takeaway until Week 4, the offense will need to produce at a higher rate.
Bijan is that dude. Even if this is only a reminder of how special Bijan Robinson is, it’s worth highlighting again because Robinson was once again a highlight machine Sunday. He led Atlanta in rushing (17 carries for 75 yards), pieced together an excellent, jump cut-filled touchdown run, caught four passes for 106 yards (including a 69-yarder to set up a Falcons score) and served as the engine of Atlanta’s offense. When Robinson has a good day, the Falcons usually win. He had a stellar one Sunday.
Chargers-Giants
Dart spearheads the Giants’ first win in rookie debut. New York’s offense looked energized in Jaxson Dart’s first start. The rookie looked poised early, leading a nine-play, 75-yard drive on the opening possessions, which he capped off with a 15-yard scamper. Dart is the first quarterback since Patrick Mahomes to lead their team to an 80-plus yard TD drive on the first drive of their first career start. The moment didn’t look too big for the first-round pick, who used his legs with aplomb on designed runs and scrambles. His ability to avoid pressure kept the Chargers’ defense off-balance. The numbers don’t jump off the page: 13-of-20 passing for 111 yards and a TD, but Dart avoided turnovers and kept the Giants in positive situations. He got the ball out quickly, knowing where he wanted to go with the ball pre-snap. It wasn’t all perfect, with red zone issues still plaguing the Giants — 2 of 5. Malik Nabers’ ACL injury was a big blow, but after Dart’s first start, there is optimism under center in New York.
Chargers have a big O-line problem. Left tackle Joe Alt left the game early with an ankle injury, putting an already injured offensive line in dire straits. Justin Herbert was under siege. The QB was pressured on 47.7% of his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats. Alt’s replacement, Austin Deculus, allowed a team-high six pressures. Besides one big pass to Quentin Johnston, the Chargers offense couldn’t take advantage of a Giants secondary that had been diced up this season. Rookie running back Omarion Hampton (12 carries for 128 yards, touchdown) was a bright spot, gashing for big gallops, but the Chargers went away from him too often in big spots. If the offensive line remains banged-up, it’s going to be a long, painful season for Herbert.
NFL Research: Jaxson Dart joined Daniel Jones as the only Giants rookies since at least 1950 with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown in his first career start. Dart and Jones are the only NYG rookies to win their first career start in the last 40 seasons. Dart is the first QB with a passing touchdown, rushing touchdown and 50-plus rushing yards in his first career start since Tim Tebow.
Eagles-Buccaneers
Eagles hung on for another gritty win. Up, 24-6, at the half and dominating in all three phases, the Eagles had to hang on for dear life to win – their 20th victory in 21 games. The Bucs scored touchdowns on 77- and 72-yard drives and a 58-yard field goal to make it a one-score game late before the Philadelphia defense earned a late fourth-down stop. The Eagles’ offense nearly shut down after halftime, going three-and-out a shocking five times and netting only 16 yards and three first downs. This game likely meant a lot to the Eagles, whose only definitive loss last season was in Tampa. For 30-plus minutes, they looked like the better team – and survived the Bucs’ desperation. It was nail-biting time for almost the entire second half, right down to the intentional safety they took as time ran out. The conditions were entirely unfriendly, with temperatures reaching triple digits, but the Eagles found a way to finish it off.
Eagles’ OL took some hits. Lane Johnson and Tyler Steen suffered injuries in Tampa, dealing two big blows to their offensive line. Johnson (shoulder) came off following the Eagles’ fake tush push TD in the third quarter and wouldn’t return, replaced by Fred Johnson. Steen was hurt prior to halftime but did return, wearing a wrap on his leg and appearing to have a limp. Other Eagles were hurt and returned, including Dallas Goedert and Jalen Hurts on offense and Ogbo Okoronkwo and Jalen Carter on defense. Carter and Jihaad Campbell also appeared to be banged up very late in the game. This wasn’t a pretty game, and there might be some lingering effects for the Eagles, but they gritted through at less than full strength. It’s just another testament to their mental and physical strength, even if Lane Johnson’s continued health struggles are a worry.
NFL Research: Jalen Hurts had zero passing yards in the second half, becoming the first QB to win a game with eight or more passing attempts and zero passing yards in a second half since Panthers QB Jake Delhomme in Week 10 of the 2008 season at Oakland (0 for 9, 0 yards). They’re the only two QBs in league history to have wins in such games since at least 1991.
Packers-Cowboys
Next Gen Stats Insight for Packers-Cowboys (via NFL Pro): Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was pressured 10 times (24.4% pressure rate), with seven of those pressures coming from ex-teammate Micah Parsons. Kenny Clark, who was acquired by Dallas in the Parsons trade, had a team-best four QB pressures.
NFL Research: The Packers-Cowboys 40-40 tie is the second-highest-scoring tie in NFL history, trailing only a 43-43 stalemate between the Oakland Raiders and Boston Patriots in Week 6, 1964. With the end result for the host Cowboys, teams with 40 or more points and no turnovers at home, including the playoffs, are now 300-0-1 all time in the Super Bowl era.
Super Bowl entertainment
Front Office Sports
Bad Bunny Headlining 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show
Taylor Swift and Adele had been rumored as the featured performers before the announcement of Bad Bunny on Sunday night.
Bad Bunny, a rapper who hails from Puerto Rico, saw his odds on prediction markets spike in the past week. A week ago, he had a 6% chance on Kalshi. It rose dramatically this weekend, and those odds were 78% as of 7:55 p.m. ET Sunday.
The announcement is notable because Bad Bunny has not been performing in the continental United States recently.
Bad Bunny, a rapper who hails from Puerto Rico, saw his odds on prediction markets spike in the past week. A week ago, he had a 6% chance on Kalshi. It rose dramatically this weekend, and those odds were 78% as of 7:55 p.m. ET Sunday.
The announcement is notable because Bad Bunny has not been performing in the continental United States recently.
