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Heavy.com
Commanders Signing former 49er pass rusher Drake Jackson to Boost Defense After Bears Defeat
Ex-San Francisco 49ers defensive end Drake Jackson will immediately join the active roster in Washington, his agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday, October 14.
Jackson,
who was taken with the 61st pick in the 2022 NFL draft, has only six sacks to his credit in the pros and hasn’t played since 2023. What the 24-year-old can be is a versatile scheme fit for the Commanders‘ hybrid fronts.
He’s also a player familiar to general manager Adam Peters. The latter was in the front office when the Niners sent USC stud Jackson’s name to the podium over three years ago, and the Commanders recently hosted the edge defender amid a slew of injuries at a key position.
ESPN
NFL Week 6: Biggest questions, takeaways for every game
Is the defense capable of playing better? Quarterback Jayden Daniels will bounce back from his tough plays Monday. It’s what he has always done. The defense, meanwhile, has yet to show it can consistently play well — and it has forced only three turnovers in six games. So, the short answer now is: apparently not. Six games is more than a trend. The unit surrenders too many explosive plays; Washington ranks 30th, having allowed 46 plays of 15 yards or more. The worst part for the Commanders is that they play explosive offenses each of the next two weeks on the road — Dallas and then Kansas City.
Quarterback performance: Daniels had a terrific night — and two deflating plays. He threw for 211 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 52 yards. He kept drives alive with his legs, and he made the passing game work with big plays despite missing top receiver Terry McLaurin for a third consecutive game. But Daniels tossed an interception and failed to execute a handoff late, leading to a fumble. Also, the Bears consistently applied pressure on him when Washington used an empty formation; the Commanders did not adjust well enough to that look.
Biggest hole in the game plan: Washington struggled versus Swift. The running back had not gained more than 78 yards from scrimmage in any of his first four games this season. Yet, he rushed for 108 yards and caught two passes for 67. He consistently burned Washington. The Bears did a good job opening holes for him, but coach and playcaller Ben Johnson also helped by calling misdirection runs.
Trend to watch: Croskey-Merritt fumbled for the second consecutive game. He has done a nice job, but at times, doesn’t protect the ball well enough — and it has hurt him when running through the middle. There’s a lot to like about him, and he rushed for 175 yards combined in those two games, but it’s something to monitor. — John Keim
Next game: at Cowboys (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)
NFL.com
Bears-Commanders on Monday night: What We Learned from Chicago’s 25-24 win over Washington
Daniels is definitely back. No, the 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year wasn’t perfect. Jayden Daniels’ interception came on an needle-threading attempt that was never going to work, and he mishandled a wet football right into a crucial fumble late in the game. But there was plenty to be excited about from Daniels, who finally looked healthy and like himself again, showing off his fantastic agility and mobility while dropping a dime on Chris Moore for a first-half touchdown, hitting a wide-open Luke McCaffrey for a score and patiently surveying before firing a bullet over the middle to Zach Ertz for six points. Unlike previous weeks, Daniels was playing with his full arsenal, powering the offense with his arm (19 for 26 for 211 yards, three touchdowns and one interception) and his legs (10 rushes for 52 yards). It’s a shame his late error led to the Bears’ walk-off win, but over the long haul, Monday night provided Commanders fans with the evidence they needed to rest easy going forward.
Commanders fans should remain optimistic. This Monday night loss will undoubtedly sting, but consider how Washington even arrived to a place where a win was possible. Daniels finally regained the form that powered him to AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year last season and threw three touchdown passes while playing without Terry McLaurin and on a quiet night for an injured Deebo Samuel. Zach Ertz can still do it, Luke McCaffrey refuses to go away and Chris Moore made a spectacular touchdown grab. The defense got bullied up front — an admittedly surprising and mildly concerning sign — but managed to weather two offensive giveaways and give the offense a chance to climb back into the game. And despite the final result, the Commanders fought through a rainy night and gave themselves a chance to win. I’m not a believer in moral victories, but silver linings undoubtedly exist. The shiniest of all was wearing No. 5.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Bears-Commanders (via NFL Pro): The Bears’ win probability nearly tripled as a result of their fumble recovery with 3:07 to play trailing, 24-22, from 14.9% to 42.3%, an increase of 27.4 percentage points.
NFL Research: The Bears’ defense has three straight games with at least three takeaways, the longest such active streak in the NFL.
Washington Post (paywall)
The NFL season is a haul, and the road is now rougher for Washington
After losing their grip on a promising start by giving one away, the Commanders face the costs of getting it back.
Whatever happened in the botched exchange between Jayden Daniels and Jacory Croskey-Merritt late in the fourth quarter Monday night at Northwest Stadium — “Completely my fault,” Daniels said — it made everything harder for the Washington Commanders against the Chicago Bears right then and there. A game in hand became a game given away, which was the takeaway as Monday turned into Tuesday.
Step back a bit, and the view is worse: That fumble, that gift, made the Commanders’ travels to where they want to go significantly more arduous.
The NFL isn’t a league that really permits you to play, “What if …” But close your eyes for a minute, and allow yourself to walk down that dangerous path following a head-scratching, walk-off 25-24 loss. What if Daniels had secured the ball in Croskey-Merritt’s belly at the Chicago 41 with just more than three minutes remaining? The Commanders could have held onto their 24-22 lead. On third and one, the Commanders could have gained the first down that might have forced the Bears to start burning their timeouts.
Execute that first-day-of-training-camp handoff, and the Commanders could have headed to Dallas for Sunday’s game at 4-2, tied with the suddenly unsteady Philadelphia Eagles atop the NFC East. The Commanders could have established momentum entering the teeth of their schedule and with some key members of their offense — receivers Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown and guard Sam Cosmi — expected to return from injuries soon.
This was a giveaway, no other way to put it. The biggest gaffe was the fumble by Daniels, the star quarterback, and Croskey-Merritt, the rookie running back, but that wasn’t all. Don’t forget Washington had an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter, called a blitz and had a chance at Bears running back D’Andre Swift on a screen pass.
Quan Martin, you’re a good football player. What happened?
“I gotta make that tackle,” the safety said.
The Athletic (paywall)
How many mistakes did Commanders make in loss to Bears? Let’s count them
Daniels then led the Commanders on a six-play scoring drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Ertz.
But the mistakes continued. Swift scored his long touchdown, and when the Commanders’ defense came up with another third-down stop, the offense turned it over a third and final time.
“I thought the game would be over when we got the ball back in that situation,” Ertz said. “… It obviously didn’t come down to that last drive. … We pride ourselves on finishing games out and we had an opportunity to do it. We just didn’t get it done.”
Commanders.com
Instant analysis | Commanders commit 3 TOs in heartbreaking loss to Bears
[I]n the end, the Washington Commanders’ 25-24 loss to the Bears, which dropped them to 3-3 for the season, wasn’t decided by one play; it was the conglomeration of several mistakes from both sides of the ball. Now, with the Commanders’ roller coaster season set to hit its toughest stretch yet, the team is still looking for answers on how to string together good performances.
Slow starts have been an unfortunate trend for the Commanders so far this season. Prior to Monday’s game, they had found themselves in double-digit deficits in three of their five games. That was also the case against the Bears, who jumped to a 13-0 lead before the Commanders could muster a response. This week, turnovers were the cause of the Commanders’ frustration, as they turned over the ball twice in their first two drives.
A to Z Sports
‘It was my fault’ – Jayden Daniels takes harsh criticism on key play that cost the Commanders game vs Bears
“I just lost the ball,” Daniels said. “Completely my fault. I didn’t even give Bill [Croskey Merritt] a chance. That was my fault. I’m not going to sit up here and blame it on the elements. I mean, at the end of the day, I got to focus. I get paid to go out there and focus on playing the play out. And I had a lack of focus right there, and it cost us a game.”
“You’re not gonna win many football games in this league if you’re losing the turnover margin. So shout out to the Bears and shout out to their defense. They did their job. They got the ball back for the offense to get extra possessions. And you know, you’re not gonna win games like that.”
Heavy.com
Luke McCaffrey : Gets into end zone Monday
McCaffrey brought in his only target for a 33-yard touchdown and returned four kickoffs for 127 yards in the Commanders’ 25-24 loss to the Bears on Monday night. McCaffrey got wide open down the left side of the field in the third quarter for his touchdown, erasing a 16-10 deficit in the process. The second-year wideout also had a splash play on his only catch in Week 5 against the Chargers, with that reception covering a season-high 50 yards. Despite his obvious big-play potential, McCaffrey has notably seen only three targets over the last two games with both Terry McLaurin (quadriceps) and Noah Brown (groin, knee) missing from those contests, keeping his fantasy value limited to deep leagues and large-field DFS tournaments in a Week 7 road matchup against the Cowboys on Sunday.
Podcasts & videos
Commanders Lose a Heartbreaker; A Breakdown of the Bears Game
Chicago Bears vs Washington Commanders Game Highlights | 2025 NFL Season Week 6
NFC East links
Bleeding Green Nation
Za’Darius Smith unexpectedly retiring is certainly not good news for the Eagles
The Eagles’ pass rush was already lacking WITH Smith on the roster. Without him? Feels like that unit is pretty screwed.
For now, here’s what the Eagles have at edge rusher:
- Jalyx Hunt
- Patrick Johnson
- Azeez Ojulari
- Joshua Uche
Those four players have combined for one sack through five games this season.
Bleeding Green Nation
Howie Roseman needs to sit out the trade deadline
The 2025 Eagles season is in danger of skidding off the tracks. What do people do when things are going wrong? They double down on what got them success.
For Howie Roseman, if the Eagles slide continues it could mean making a trade. He absolutely should not do this. In-season trades are a waste of time. Just look at last year:
Davante Adams was productive but a 3rd for 11 games isn’t a good return on investment. Baron Browning and Ernest Jones were re-signed, so those teams were happy with the trade.
For the rest though, it is hard to say that any of them were worth it. 14 of the 18 players were not brought back by the teams that traded for them. The draft capital exchanged for the players who are no longer on the team is impressive:
Outgoing: two 3rds, a 4th, five 5th, four 6ths, and five 7ths.
Incoming: two 6ths, five 7ths
And with the exception of Davante Adams, who was productive last season, none of them are doing anything of note this season that should cause any remorse.
So don’t make any more in-season trades Howie Roseman. That Tank Bigsby trade is already worthless.
Cowboys Wire
3 major takeaways from Cowboys’ loss include yet another QB having a field day – Mike Crum, The Cowboys Wire
Dallas couldn’t stop former teammate Rico Dowdle
Rico Dowdle told reporters that the Dallas defense needed to buckle up, but he ran over their car on his way to over 200 yards from scrimmage.
On his 30 runs, the Cowboys’ 2024 leading rusher ran half of them for at least seven yards. He was handed the ball 30 times for 183 yards for 6.1 yards per attempt. He also led the team with four catches for 56 yards. On 38 rush attempts, Dallas only had two run stops all game.
Dallas allowed another QB to outperform his past
Bryce Young had his highest yards per pass, completion percentage, and quarterback rating of the season and his most yards and touchdown passes since Week 1 when he threw the ball 55 times.
On the year, Young had only completed three passes over 20 yards on 12 attempts, but against Dallas, Young was perfect on all three of those throws. The Panthers leaned on the run, but when Young needed to make a play, he did so all game. He was a perfect 10 out of 10 for 125 yards and three touchdowns with a perfect passer rating when trailing against the Cowboys.
Blogging the Boys
What Cowboys history, and NFL history, tell us about their playoff odds in 2025
All told there are 43 teams in NFL history (once again shout out Stathead) who have begun [a season with 2 or fewer wins in 6 games] and still reached the playoffs.
[T]here are five total teams who had a tie at this point and they all held a 2-3-1 record just like the Cowboys do now.
- 1981 New York Jets
- 1972 San Francisco 49ers
- 1963 Buffalo Bills
- 1962 Houston Oilers
- 1943 New York Giants
This isn’t any kind of advocacy behind the Cowboys’ ability to reach the playoffs, we are simply looking to see how and when this challenge was fully met by someone
They are pretty far up against it as you can see. Barring anything major it is difficult to see them overcoming this start. It has been done before, but that doesn’t really make anyone feel better.
Big Blue View
Is the Giants’ cornerback rotation over?
The New York Giants have seemingly made their decision on their outside cornerback opposite Paulson Adebo, and it appears to be Cor’Dale Flott.
Cornerbacks Flott and Deonte Banks have split snaps as the “starting” outside cornerback opposite Adebo all year long, dating back to training camp. When the Giants released their initial depth chart, they listed Flott and Banks as “co-starters” on the outside. They held to that through the first four games, rotating the two players over the course of the game.
Then something seemingly changed in Week 5. Banks was coming off his most active — and best — week against the Chargers, only to play just 8 snaps against the New Orleans Saints. He then played just 3 defensive snaps against the Philadelphia Eagles.
To be fair, Flott was generally more consistent and is a more versatile corner. He is more advanced at the catch point and his game more easily lends itself to blending man and zone principles. At the same time, Banks was flagged for a pass interference penalty against the Saints that wiped out a Jevon Holland interception and marked the start of the Giants’ collapse.
Fans and writers alike wondered why the Giants even bothered putting Banks on the field in the first month of the season. That led to a certain amount of satisfaction when the third year corner was a virtual non-presence against the Philadelphia Eagles. We’ve seen proclamations from several outlets that Thursday night’s game, and Flott’s game-sealing interception, have ended the experiment.
NFL league links
Articles
ESPN
Titans fire Callahan, to give interim McCoy ‘every opportunity’
The Tennessee Titans fired Brian Callahan on Monday just six games into his second season as their head coach.
Callahan finishes with a 4-19 record, including 1-5 this season with Cam Ward, the first pick in the 2025 draft, as the Titans’ starting quarterback.
Senior offensive assistant Mike McCoy will take over as interim coach. McCoy previously was the head coach of the San Diego Chargers from 2013 to 2016. He had a 27-37 record, making the playoffs in his first season.
Brinker said the organization’s focus is on giving McCoy every chance possible to prove he can be its next head coach, not just the interim.
A team source confirmed a report by NFL reporter Paul Kuharsky that Titans offensive line coach Bill Callahan, whose son is Brian, also won’t remain with the team. There was no immediate word on any other potential staff changes.
The Titans were 3-14 in Callahan’s first season, finishing with the No. 1 pick and selecting Ward. With Callahan’s firing, the past four quarterbacks drafted No. 1 and six of the past eight have seen their head coaches fired during their rookie seasons, according to ESPN Research.
The Titans hired Callahan in 2023 after controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk fired former coach Mike Vrabel, who led the team to two AFC South division titles. Vrabel returns to Nissan Stadium this Sunday for a showdown between the Titans and the New England Patriots. Vrabel has the Patriots (4-2) in first place in the AFC East in his first season as coach.
The Athletic (paywall)
Tua Tagovailoa’s words say it all: Mike McDaniel’s Dolphins heading for a franchise reset
It felt like one of those A.I.-generated press conference rants that have become all the rage — where the subject expresses their thoughts with the most brutal and outlandish levels of honesty rather than politically correct responses.
But there was nothing artificial to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovaila’s revealing comments on the ills that plague his now 1-5 team following Sunday’s 29-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
“I think it starts with the leadership in helping articulate that for guys and then what we’re expecting out of guys,” the quarterback stated. “We have guys showing up to players-only meetings late, guys not showing up to players-only meetings. There’s a lot that goes into that. Do we make this mandatory? Do we not have to make this mandatory? It’s a lot of things of that nature that we’ve got to get cleaned up, and it starts with little things like that.”
This is how badly the wheels have come off in Miami. The franchise quarterback not only called out his teammates for a lack of caring and discipline, but his coach for a lack of support and direction as the quarterback and others tried to rally the troops for season-saving changes.
Tagovailoa’s revelations confirmed whispers that McDaniel has struggled to run a tight ship and consistently demand excellence from his players.
Miami has glaring weaknesses with no quick fix in sight. Although 11 games remain on the schedule, it’s too late for a dramatic turnaround. McDaniel should have corrected the signs of dysfunction and poor discipline and dedication long ago. Now, even if he beats on the podium in the next team meeting and demands better, his efforts will be in vain. The Dolphins already nodded through the lessons on accountability. They have tuned out any demands for excellence.
It feels like a matter of when, not if, another franchise reset will come.
Discussion topics
NFL.com
2025 NFL trade needs tracker: Every team’s top priority ahead of Nov. 4 deadline
NFC EAST
Philadelphia Eagles 4-2
BIGGEST NEED: Edge
The corner group sorely needs help, but Za’Darius Smith’s abrupt retirement highlights the Eagles’ issues at edge rusher. Though he was with the team for just five games, Smith led all Eagles edge rushers this season with 1.5 sacks. That won’t do for a defense that wants to live without relying on the blitz. Given the state of the defense, Howie Roseman is almost assuredly going to make a move. Adding a pass rusher and a corner would make sense for the defending Super Bowl champs.
Washington Commanders 3-3
BIGGEST NEED: Secondary
Washington’s bounce-back victory over L.A. showed improvement from the defense, which won at the line of scrimmage. That pressure aided a secondary that had been picked on early in the year, and Marshon Lattimore had his best coverage game of the season, allowing just 8.5 yards per catch on two grabs, per Pro Football Focus. That said, the secondary could still use some help on the outside and at free safety.
Dallas Cowboys 2-3-1
BIGGEST NEED: Safety
The pass rush has at least been more sprightly the last couple weeks, but the secondary has been eaten up against both the run and the pass. In Week 6’s loss to Carolina, the run D was a big culprit, but the safety crew remained wanting. Juanyeh Thomas, who was forced into action after Malik Hooker landed on IR with a toe injury, struggled filling in on the run when the front got blown off the ball. Donovan Wilson, meanwhile, was credited with allowing two touchdowns through the air. In reality, there is no part of this defense that doesn’t need help if the Cowboys are going to turn things around.
New York Giants 2-4
BIGGEST NEED: Wide receiver
The Giants’ big win over Philly highlighted the extreme upside for rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart. Imagine what the first-rounder could do with a legit receiver corps. Injuries to Malik Nabers and Darius Slayton have sapped the Big Blue depth chart, leaving Wan’Dale Robinson as the go-to target. Lil’Jordan Humphrey offers a big body, but this receiver room remains wanting. If the Giants decide against being sellers at the deadline, adding a veteran receiver would allow Dart’s development to take the next step.
