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Source: Commanders DE Deatrich Wise’s quad injury season-ending
Washington Commanders defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr. suffered a torn left quadriceps and will miss the remainder of the season, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Wise was hurt in Thursday’s 27-18 loss to Green Bay and would need season-ending surgery.
It’s a blow to Washington’s defense, as the 6-foot-5, 280-pound Wise added strength and size. The Commanders signed him to a one-year deal in the offseason to help bolster a defense that ranked 30th against the run last season.
Washington is still
awaiting final word on the severity of running back Austin Ekeler‘s injury. He left the game with what the team fears is a torn Achilles.
Two other starters, receiver Noah Brown and tight end John Bates both suffered groin injuries and left the game as well. It’s uncertain the severity for both.
Washington Post (paywall)
Hail or Fail: After a loss to the Packers … thank you, Jerry?
“Thank you, Jerry! Thank you, Jerry!” That was the chant from the fans who stuck around Lambeau Field while Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons was being interviewed on the Prime Video set after Green Bay’s dominating win. The former Dallas Cowboys star, who was traded to the Packers in a stunning move just before the season, harassed Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels all night, generating eight pressures on 37 pass rushes and recording half a sack. Washington no longer has to face Parsons twice during the regular season. Thank you, Jerry, indeed.
Fail: The running game
After rushing for 220 yards against the Giants in Week 1, the Commanders managed only 51 yards on the ground against the Packers. Coming off his dazzling debut, rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt received as many carries (four) as there are letters in his nickname (Bill), which is not ideal. Austin Ekeler had 17 yards on eight attempts before leaving the game in the fourth quarter with an injury. Not even Daniels had success with his legs — he was limited to 17 yards on seven carries.
Hail: Trey Amos
Commanders.com
Commanders-Packers Stats & Snaps
Offense
- QB Jayden Daniels completed 24-of-42 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns.
- Daniels recorded two-plus touchdown passes for the ninth time in his career. Only QB Mark Rypien (11) has recorded more in a player’s first 19 starts in franchise history.
- TE Zach Ertz caught six passes for 64 yards and a touchdown.
- Ertz (55) has now moved into sole possession of No. 11 all-time in touchdown receptions by a tight end.
- Dating back to last season, Ertz has scored in four consecutive regular season games. He joins TE Fred Davis (2009) and TE Chris Cooley (2007) as the third tight end in franchise history to score a touchdown in four consecutive games.
- WR Jaylin Lane had three kickoff return attempts of 50 yards.
- Lane recorded 50 punt return yards, which is the most by a rookie in a single game in franchise history since Richard Crawford (100) in Week 14 of the 2012 season.
- WR Terry McLaurin caught five passes for 48 yards.
- McLaurin has passed WR Art Monk for the most receptions in a player’s first seven seasons in franchise history (467).
- McLaurin has 300 receiving yards in four career games against Green Bay, which is the most in his career against a single team outside of the NFC East.
- WR Deebo Samuel recorded seven receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown.
- Samuel’s 50-yard kickoff return is his longest since Week 15 of last season.
- Samuel joins WR Terry McLaurin and WR Laveranues Coles as the third wide receiver in franchise history with at least five receptions in his first two career games with the team.
- Samuel becomes the first wide receiver in franchise history with at least six receptions in his first two career games with the team.
- Samuel joins WR Terry McLaurin, WR Charlie Brown and WR Jahan Dotson as the fourth wide receiver in franchise history to record one touchdown in each of his first two games with the team.
Defense
- DE Dorance Armstrong recorded his second sack of the season.
- DE Jacob Martin and OLB Von Miller each recorded 0.5 sacks.
- Miller recorded his 130th career sack and becomes the 16th player in NFL history to accomplish the feat.
- Martin recorded his first sack since Week 12 of the 2024 season.
- LB Bobby Wagner led the team with 11 total tackles.
Special Teams
- K Matt Gay went one for three on field goal attempts.
- Gay’s 51-yard field goal in the second quarter was his first 50-plus yard made field goal since Week 11 of last season.
Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)
Jayden Daniels struggles in loss to Packers
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels had one of the toughest performances of his young NFL career against the Packers on Thursday night. Daniels completed 24 of 42 passes for just 200 yards and two touchdowns. Daniels certainly wasn’t alone in the poor performance category, the Packers completely outplayed the Commanders in all phases on the field and the Packers coaching staff had terrific game plans in place on both sides of the ball. I didn’t love Kliff Kingsbury’s game plan either, so Daniels wasn’t always being put in great positions to succeed against a very strong Packers defense. But despite those mitigating factors, Daniels wasn’t close to the high standards he set for himself last season.
In this post, I’m going to try and isolate Daniels’ performance and his struggles outside of things like offensive line struggles and play-calling issues. Those were certainly big factors in his performance, but there were plays where those elements weren’t factors and Daniels still struggled, especially in two areas that Daniels is typically very strong in. There were bad signs for Daniels early on in this game.
A to Z Sports
Commanders showed they are a flawed team in a nightmare of a Thursday Night Football loss against the Packers
It couldn’t have gone much worse for the Commanders.
Another group that looked great last week was the defense, and they were a major letdown today. The quick turnaround looked like it was too much for the defense, which was gassed and couldn’t keep up with the Packers’ motion plays and crossing routes. Players were wide open all game, and Jordan Love looked the part with 269 yards through the air with two touchdowns. Tight end Tucker Kraft had a career day with six catches for 124 yards and a touchdown. That’s an average of 20.7 yards per catch. Just completely unacceptable.
Josh Jacobs was stopped for a majority of the game, but he eventually wore down the defense at the end and finished with 23 carries for 84 yards and a touchdown. Even though the Commanders were able to get a few stops or hold them to a field goal, it felt like the Commanders didn’t have an answer for the passing concepts the Packers through at them, and they were scrambling in coverage every play.
This was an awful game for the Commanders on offense, defense, and with the team’s overall health, and they need to take advantage of a long break before they take on the Raiders back home on September 21st.
Commanders Wire
One glaring observation from Commanders’ loss
Last season, there were numerous times, teams attempted to put pressure on Daniels via the blitz, yet he was able to take off and pick up big chunks of yardage. Not Thursday night. The Packers defense was not only suffocating, it was also cunning and very deliberate.
Clearly coaching in the NFL was on display, Thursday. As a result, the Packers defense was not only athletic and strong, but they were a united group, on the same page, bought in. They were the story of the game. Now we realize that for the first two weeks (Lions, Commanders) they are a most impressive unit beginning this 2025 season.
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How can the Giants fix their offense — fast?
Wide receiver Malik Nabers said the tape made him “sick to my stomach.” He had to turn it off. The coaches seemed equally perplexed with what they saw on the field.
“Offensively where we’re at isn’t where we want to be,” coach Brian Daboll said afterward.
The Giants didn’t produce a single touchdown and managed only 231 total yards of offense in the 21-6 loss. They were also stuffed twice from reaching the end zone despite driving inside the 10-yard line.
[P]erhaps the most interesting admission Nabers made is that for the Giants offense to become more efficient the team needs to spread the ball, get everyone involved. Darius Slayton signed a $12 million-per-year deal this offseason and was targeted once in the loss to the Commanders.
Nabers’ sentiments date to last season. Multiple players, including one on the defensive side of the ball, told ESPN unprompted last year that an offense where the ball was force-fed to Nabers was unsustainable. It needed to be addressed and be more of a team approach.
But even with a new starting quarterback in Russell Wilson the offense looked quite similar Sunday in the 2025 season opener. It was Nabers’ eighth game with at least 12 targets since the start of last season, the most in the NFL. The Giants are 1-7 in those contests.
Spreading the ball around more is hardly the only thing that needs fixing. The Giants, again, need better quarterback play to succeed offensively. If not, the calls for rookie Jaxson Dart will only get stronger.
Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs-Eagles 5 questions with the enemy: 4 offensive coordinators in 4 seasons?
Like the Chiefs, the Eagles didn’t get much production from their offensive line in Week 1. What’s the problem?
To me, the problem was less about the offensive line (although Landon Dickerson being banged up isn’t ideal) and more about the offensive design.
Against the Cowboys, Saquon Barkley faced stacked boxes at the highest rate (66.7%) in a game since 2019. And it’s not just like Dallas decided to stack the box regardless of what the Eagles intended to do on offense. The Cowboys were able to do that with such a high frequency since the Eagles oddly insisted on utilizing heavy packages (12 and 13 personnel) over and over. And the results weren’t very good with Barkley limited to just 60 yards on 18 carries (3.3 average).
The Eagles need to spread out the Chiefs’ defense and run out of 11 personnel more often. No reason for them not to when Dotson, who had a good offseason, looks like a capable third wide receiver. Not to mention that Dallas Goedert is now banged up — and his backup, Grant Calcaterra, just isn’t a good blocking tight end.
Again, I will be more concerned about the OL if Dickerson can’t play or has to leave the game early again like he did in Week 1. Backup left guard Brett Toth is largely untested.
Big Blue View
Jerry Jones’ priorities, more in our Giants-Cowboys ‘5 questions’
How much has the trade of Micah Parsons changed or impacted expectations from the fan base for this year’s Cowboys team?
David: I can’t speak for the entire fanbase, especially since there was a sizable contingent that wasn’t opposed to the trade of Micah Parsons. So I’ll only give you my view. The Cowboys are a lesser football team today than they were before the trade, and at a crucial position. It’s true the Cowboys are relatively deep at the EDGE position, but there is no one like Parsons in terms of disrupting an offense through sacks, pressure, and forcing double-teams to open things up for teammates. Here’s the thing though, I think many Cowboys fans had somewhat low expectations this year based on the disaster of 2024 coupled with having a new coaching staff, including a first-time head coach in Brian Schottenheimer. Before the Eagles game, expectations were pretty low and the Parsons trade added to that, but didn’t change the math that much. But after the Eagles game, there is some hope that this roster can contend for the playoffs without Parsons.
Upcoming opponent
Silver & Black Pride
Bold Chip Kelly is what Raiders need
Quarterback under duress and sacked. The ground game smothered and rendered ineffective.
That’s the type of stuff that can scuttle an offensive coordinator — especially one that’s brand new to the team and orchestrating an offense in hostile territory, of all places. Oh, and not to mention inclement weather.
It was a perfect storm of events that should’ve sunk the Las Vegas Raiders boat. Turns out, the rain pelting the field and players had nothing on Chip Kelly.
The Silver & Black play caller didn’t flinch, remained bold, gave quarterback Geno Smith the ability to let it fly in Foxborough and that steered the Raiders to a 20-13 victory over the New England Patriots this past Sunday.
Conventional wisdom says football teams run the ball when the rain starts to fall. Kelly bucked that trend, and in turn, the Patriots, too. And that type of boldness from their offensive coordinator is exactly what the Raiders need to not only attain victory, but establish an identity for the 2025 campaign.
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The Cleveland Browns rank No. 1 in cash-over-cap spending, but only 18th in Weighted Wins. That makes for a -17 differential, which is 30th in the NFL. The Los Angeles Rams, 28th in cash over cap and sixth in Weighted Wins, enjoy a league-best +22 differential.
More NFL teams are spending over the salary cap
Philadelphia Eagles
- Cash over cap: 20.3% (3rd)
- Weighted Wins: 75 (3rd)
- Bang-for-buck differential: 0 (T-17th)
The Eagles have dipped to 20th in cash spending this year, showing there will be ebbs and flows along the way, even if the overall trend is toward more spending.
The way Philly spends reflects what some in the league see as an overall mindset.
“Let’s say someone gets hurt and there is a need for a linebacker,” an exec from another team said. “Another team is going to sign a young guy, because if he gets hurt, it’s cheap, there is a split in his deal, no injury settlement. … Whereas Philly just goes and signs the best player, even if he’s older.”
Multiple execs noted that the 2024 Eagles’ lineup in Week 1 featured almost all of the same players as in the Super Bowl, meaning nearly all their investments worked out.
“That is rare,” one exec said. “The opposite happened to the 49ers, and look what happened to them.”
Washington Commanders
- Cash over cap: 5.63% (24th)
- Weighted Wins: 43 (17th)
- Bang-for-buck differential: +7 (8th)
There’s some expectation Washington will move up in cash-over-cap spending under new ownership (the Commanders rank 16th in 2025).
“They did a nice job of changing the place by signing a bunch of guys to short deals, so that if it doesn’t work out, you can move on,” an exec said. “Carolina did the same thing a few years ago but guaranteed the second year. The Commanders remained completely flexible. Loved what they did.”
Washington has traded significant draft capital to acquire aging veterans Laremy Tunsil, Deebo Samuel and Marshon Lattimore, but the long-term cash commitments are minimal. That figures to change for Tunsil, the strongest candidate of the three for an extension.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels will remain relatively cheap for at least this season and next. Early indications suggest he’s on track for a top-of-market extension once he becomes eligible after the 2026 season.
