What is the story about?
When does a tie feel like a loss? When your head coach is Dan Quinn.
This game was a tale of two halves (which I feel like is often the case with the Commanders). Washington scored on their first drive of the game and it felt like something may be clicking with quarterback Jayden Daniels
back under center. Then, in normal Washington fashion, came the epic second-half collapse — including the mind-blowing overtime!What a emotional rollercoaster for fans and players alike.
The good news is no NFC East
team won this weekend. The bad news: we most likely have to deal with Dan Quinn and his complete incompetence until the end of the season.
Below are my Studs and Duds of the game, followed by some notes.
Studs
- S Jeremy Reaves leaves everything out on the field. He may not have the most talent, but he has HEART! I thought he played a pretty good overall game against both the run and pass.
- LB Sonny Styles – Sonny led the Commanders with 13 total tackles, four solo, a tackle for a loss and a pass defended. He was also in on the play in overtime where Daron Payne forced the fumble on Giants running back Cam Skattebo.
- DL Daron Payne – Payne had a good game. generating multiple pressures and collecting a sack. However, his biggest play was the forced fumble on Skattebo in overtime that gave Washington a chance at winning the game.
- RG Sam Cosmi – In his first game back from a concussion, Cosmi was rock-solid up front. He made a few really nice blocks — one against Abdul Carter on Jayden’s long touchdown run. He’s playing like a top five guard in the NFL.
Duds
- Dan Quinn (and David Blough) — Head coach Dan Quinn laid yet another egg, this time with the game hanging in the balance. The clock management, play calling and lack of decision making has grown old. If Blough was the one who called a pass play in that situation, I don’t know why Quinn didn’t override that. At this point, Quinn is nothing more than an overpaid cheerleader.
- LT Brandon Coleman – Coleman had an absolutely miserable game giving up pressures, sacks and committing penalties. He did play a bit better in the second half, but a traffic cone would have been an upgrade to what he put on film during the first half.
- WR Dyami Brown – Brown fumbled his lone catch — which went for a whopping two yards. Thankfully, Washington recovered. He should be benched for his propensity to fumble.
- DB Mike Sainristil – Playing without Nick Cross, Percy Butler and Tyler Owens, Mike Sainristil saw his snap count increase as bit as the primary nickel and, as you can expect, the results weren’t that good. Despite making a few nice tackles, including one on special teams, StandRealStill was again a liability in coverage.
- Commanders second-half defense – Defensive coordinator Daronte Jones has had this defense playing a lot better than last year, especially against the run. However, the team has collapsed in the second half of games this year. Part of it has been the offense’s inability to sustain drives and stay on the field, but a LOT had to be chalked up to poor individual play. That continued against New York on Sunday.
Notes
- For EVERYTHING Jayden Daniels did great in this football game, what happened on the last play is just inexcusable on all levels. I get that the majority of this should fall on Dan Quinn and David Blough for this gaffe and piss-poor clock management, but Jayden is a veteran. He needs to be aware of time and situation. Even if our idiot coaching staff did call a pass play in that situation (which they did), Jayden needs to know to get rid of the football — throw it out of bounds, spike it at someone’s feet — ANYTHING! I’m not going to give him Dud status, because without his heroics, the Commanders wouldn’t have even been in this game, but I can’t list him as a Stud either because of the mental error to end the game.
- RB Bill Croskey-Merritt showed the vision and burst we were accustomed to seeing last year. He had some nice runs, including a 33-yard touchdown on his first carry of the game.
- RT Josh Conerly didn’t play a perfect game, but I though he looked pretty good against a tough Giants front. He held his own in both pass protection and run blocking and CLEARLY outshined his running mate on the left side.
- WR Terry McLaurin came to life in the second half. He ended up with four receptions for 62 yards and a key two-point conversion despite a hamstring issue.
- Lost in all this coaching dysfunction is ANOTHER missed extra-point by Drew Stevens.
- K’Lavon Chaisson had a big sack/forced fumble that was recovered by Tim Settle. He also had three pressures in the game.
- I really feel for Amik Robertson. He’s out there playing his a$$ off and keeps getting hit with BS penalties. The guy is the ultimate competitor, and I hope he continues to play the way he has been.
- Rasul Douglas is not afraid to come up and tackle. He had a few really nice defensive plays in the game but did commit a costly hold that negated a Payne sack. The good definitely outweighed the bad though…
- Chig Okonkwo made a cameo against the Giants and gave fans a glimpse of what he’s capable of in this offense. He had four receptions for 60 yards — his best outing as a Commander.
- It was nice to see Deatrich Wise make an impact in his first return to action in over a year.
- Love Frankie Luvu treating JJ McCarthy like a rag doll! Luvu had a few splash plays, including one that should have been a sack against Winston. He had nine total tackles, six of which were solo.
