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Washington Post (paywall)
Bobby Wagner and the art of tackling
The Commanders linebacker is close to becoming the third player in NFL history to make 2,000 tackles — a testament to his durability and dedication to his craft.
The complicated
part is everything else. It’s the year-round lifestyle he maintains to stay productive at 35 years old, the film he studies to predict the flow of a play or the shimmy of a running back. It’s all the meticulous work that precedes the straightforward act of bringing a ballcarrier to the ground.
With three games remaining in the Washington Commanders’ disappointing 2025 season, Wagner needs 25 combined tackles to reach 2,000 regular season tackles for his career — an exceedingly rare feat in a sport that counts tackling as one of its fundamental crafts.
The significance of that number, for a linebacker, can be difficult to grasp. The context is that only two players in NFL history have done it: Hall of Famer Ray Lewis, who amassed 2,059 tackles in 17 seasons, and longtime Washington linebacker London Fletcher, who recorded 2,039 over 16 years.
Wagner maintains he’s not chasing the 2,000-tackle mark. He said he hasn’t thought much about it. He always just thought a productive season featured 100 tackles and a few splash plays. “When you do that,” he said, “certain things like this happen.”
This year, Wagner has drawn criticism from Commanders fans for his lack of foot speed in coverage, which opposing offenses have exploited repeatedly. But he has also been a key leader and run-stuffing force in the middle of Washington’s defense. His 137 tackles rank fifth in the NFL, and he has played the past two games with a sprained MCL in his knee.
“I think all my success is studying, to be honest,” Wagner said.
Wagner said he pores over footage of running backs, and he is renowned by coaches for his note-taking. He knows who will try to spin their way out of a tackle and who prefers to juke. He knows who will try to run over a tackler and when. Some guys will stiff-arm a smaller defender, he said, but try to outrun a larger one.
“All that is on film,” he said. “So by the time I get to that point, I know who you are.”
The Athletic (paywall)
Shutting down Jayden Daniels can’t obscure the Commanders’ other issues
The confusing messaging has raised plenty more questions, including whether the team is coddling its young quarterback. It has also seemed to perpetuate a narrative that Daniels’ play style is reckless and makes him vulnerable to unnecessary hits (even if the game film shows otherwise).
When healthy, Daniels didn’t play at the level he did last season. Ensuring he stays available long term is and should be a priority. But the “can Daniels protect himself?” chatter has diverted focus from the issues that ultimately derailed Washington’s season; namely, a roster with clear deficiencies.
Daniels’ three injuries — the knee sprain against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2, the hamstring strain against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 7 and the dislocated elbow against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9 — weren’t bad plays.
On the first, he scrambled to evade pressure from Micah Parsons, who beat rookie tackle Josh Conerly Jr. on the right side; Daniels couldn’t avoid the low hit from safety Javon Bullard.
In Dallas, Daniels’s leg was folded awkwardly on a sack by linebacker Shemar James, a free rusher on a blitz.
If any of the three injuries were avoidable, it could have been the elbow.
“The one that he was injured is usually a runner or a throw to the flat,” Quinn said after the game. “It’s not a scramble. So, it wasn’t a designed read or play into that spot. If we’ve run it 50 times, it’s either hand off or a throw, you know, I’d say 50 times. So yeah, it’s a bummer, man in a big way.”
[M]any of the lessons Washington can take from this lost year will be in how it reshapes its roster this offseason.
Nearly two dozen of its players are headed for free agency, and there are roster holes aplenty. How it rebuilds, and how it helps its young quarterback will determine how far it goes.
A to Z Sports
Brandon Coleman gets a real chance to show his value once again with a massive start at left tackle against the Eagles on Saturday
It hasn’t been the season Brandon Coleman hoped for after moving from left tackle to left guard after the Commanders traded for Tunsil. Then, he ended up losing his starting spot at left guard to Chris Paul after a rough start to the year.
Tunsil went down last week against the New York Giants, and Coleman had to come in with no notice. He ended up having his best game of the season, and didn’t allow a single pressure or sack in 14 pass-blocking snaps.
Head coach Dan Quinn knows that Coleman has faced adversity this season, but he’s also stepped in when he was needed. Saturday is his chance to shine again at the left tackle spot.
“So, obviously disappointed when Chris [Paul] stepped in and stayed in that space,” Quinn said. “But then I also saw a guy working guard and tackle. He’s been our jumbo. . .I saw good practice habits number one. So, I wasn’t surprised that he performed well because this wasn’t a guy who put his head down and sulked about it. He said, ‘Okay, I’m going to go to work and get to it’. So, it’s not always smooth, but I thought that showed a lot about his resilience to say, ‘Okay, yeah, these are not the circumstances that I want, but I’m going to go battle for it’. And when called on or if called on, like he would show and demonstrate that he was ready, and some people bulls– themselves and say they’ll be ready, but like you have to put the work in to do that. And I’ve certainly seen that from BC.”
Coleman playing well this weekend is important for many reasons, despite a lost season. Either Coleman can be a really good backup at left tackle or left guard for the future, or he could be a real trade piece in the offseason if the right offer comes along.
It’s hard to find a versatile player who’s reliable at a premium position like an offensive lineman, so Coleman can have a lot of value here, or somewhere else.
Heavy.com
Lawrence Cager : Elevated for Sunday
The Commanders elevated Cager from the practice squad to the active roster ahead of Saturday’s game against the Eagles, Zach Selby of the team’s official site reports. Cager draws his first elevation of the 2025 season for a Saturday divisional matchup. The tight end was likely elevated due to the absence of Colson Yankoff (ankle), and he will most likely fulfill Yankoff’s role as a supplementary blocker for the Commanders’ offense and special teams.
Riggo’s Rag
Mike Sainristil’s ball-hawking skills can help Commanders stun the Eagles
Sainristil’s eight interceptions across his first two NFL seasons are second among all defenders drafted in the 2024 class, trailing only Houston Texans safety Calen Bullock. That number isn’t accidental.
Sainristil can align outside in man coverage, where his patience and leverage discipline allow him to contest throws without panicking. He can also operate in zone looks, driving downhill with timing and confidence when Hurts tries to exploit intermediate windows.
In divisional games like this, turnovers swing outcomes. And against an offense like Philadelphia’s, built on a run-pass-run rhythm despite its inconsistencies, a single takeaway can not only frustrate but also derail an entire game plan.
Commanders.com
Commanders cast new light on in-game entertainment, fan experience at Northwest Stadium
The set of primetime home games for the Commanders this year has given the team a unique opportunity to be creative with light. A collaborative effort led by Washington’s game presentation department, the execution of these moments has underscored an increased investment in the in-game entertainment and fan experience at Northwest Stadium.
“Last year was the first year since the stadium has been open that we could actually turn the lights on and off in a very fast capacity,” Washington’s Senior director of game presentation Darius Smith said. “We used to have the really old school lights that took 30 minutes to warm up and turn on. Through [Commanders’ Managing Partner] Josh Harris’ continued investment in the stadium and the fan experience we went to full LED lights at the beginning of last season.”
When the game presentation team was first discussing how to roll out the new light capabilities, they talked about “playing up the fact” that no one had seen anything like this happen at the stadium before.
“We wanted fans to think that something was wrong,” Smith said. “We built out the video as if it was kind of glitching out, and all of the visuals on the video board were kind of glitching out. And then we basically shut everything down. We gave it about five seconds and then that’s when we came back out to this kind of synchronized hype video with the lights and things like that. We knew we wanted it to feel very dramatic.”
With the standard set, the creativity will continue to flow and the envelope pushed. Smith and his team are excited to ideate and innovate in looking ahead to the seasons remaining at Northwest Stadium and beyond with the eventual move to the new state-of-the-art home at the RFK site.
