The Commanders opened their season on the road, in what is always a hostile environment in Philadelphia. Despite being heavy underdogs, Washington actually had a very competitive game against the 2025 NFC East champs, having a chance to tie the game in the final minutes.
Ultimately, the Commanders fell 24-22 to the Eagles and fans had many questions about some of the decisions made by this staff after the game’s conclusion — with the majority of them being fair asks.
So, what can Washington and head
coach Dan Quinn do to fix the current issues on this team?
Defensive Backs
Cornerback Mike StandRealStill:
Mikey is the wart on the toad, at the moment, on an otherwise promising defense. I stood up for the diminutive defender this offseason, but after seeing what I saw Sunday afternoon, my patience has disappeared. He can’t cover an 80-year-old in a Jazzy right now. His tackling and angles to the football leave a LOT to be desired.
Safety Jeremy Reaves:
I love Jeremy Reaves. He’s a great person, leader and special teams player. That should be his role on this team; not as a starting free safety. He lacks the athleticism to make plays consistently in this defense and, although he leaves everything out on the field, that’s just not enough at this level. Washington has had a terrible time stopping opposing tight ends and I fear that trend will continue with Reaves in the lineup.
Tyler’s Take — Mikey has to be benched. There is no other nice way to put this. Amik Robertson played a heck of a game against Philly on Sunday, but the worry is who plays outside opposite him until Trey Amos can return off injured reserve. What I would do is elevate Terell Smith, the 6-foot, 207-pound athletic corner from the practice squad and get him up to speed quickly. For now, Rasul Douglas showed enough against Philly to hold down that outside spot, but Smith may be the better long-term option if he’s finally back to health following a torn ACL during the 2025 preseason. There is also the possibility that Fabian Moreau can handle some slot duties in nickel, however I would lean more towards Smith in this role, as he played in the slot a bit in Chicago.
At free safety, I would take Reaves out of the starting lineup and give that duty back to Quan Martin. Martin had some bad gaffes last year in Joe Whitt’s horrible scheme, but he had a nice preseason and had earned an opportunity under Jones. I would also have Tyler Owens (who is the team’s best overall athlete) seeing more time in sub packages as that third safety. There can still be packages where Revo sees some burn, but the snap count should flip to him at 38% or less (he played 100% of the defensive snaps against Philly) with Martin and Owens getting more.
This may be getting a bit too aggressive but, if I’m Adam Peters, I’m having conversations with the Steelers for Joey Porter Jr., following a contract impasse between the team and player. I have one problem with this scenario. The draft is in Washington in 2027 and this team needs to keep their top pick(s). The rumor is Pittsburgh wants two first round picks for Porter and, if that’s the case, I hope Peters hangs up the phone. But if there is a way to get him for, say, a second-rounder in 2027 and conditional pick in 2028 or a player, I may be interested.
If Washington could somehow find a way to get Porter and eventually pair him with a healthy Tery Amos, the Commanders may have our secondary figured out for the foreseeable future.
Interior Offensive Line
Center Nick Allegretti:
Allegretti was extraordinarily bad against Philly, but is anyone really surprised?
The much-talked-about “center-by-default” was a human turnstile against the Eagles front. The issue here is that Adam Peters screwed up the situation so badly that there is really not a viable option to step in and take over center duties. Despite having better functional play-strength, rookie Matt Gulbin is likely not ready and very well could fare worse than Allegretti against the beasts Washington faces in the NFC East.
Left guard Chris Paul:
Chris Paul wasn’t quite as bad as his running mate to the right, but he remains a liability up front. He lacks the lateral athleticism to function adequately as both a zone run blocker and pass protector. Much like Allegretti, he’s currently the best of some bad options.
Tyler’s Take — Center and left guard are going to need a lot of help to get through the season. Sliding protection to the left side could help Paul, however that is not always an option based on what the defensive front is showing. One option is leaving a running back in to help pass protect, but that only works if he doesn’t have to pick up a free rusher elsewhere.
Like I mentioned above, inserting the rookie Gulbin may result in more trouble than Washington currently has, so unless and until he’s both physically and mentally ready, the wait may have to continue.
There is one other option for left guard, and that would result in elevating Esa Pole from the practice squat to play left tackle and moving Coleman back inside to guard. This seems a bit far-fetched, too, and I don’t think the staff would consider this route unless an injury were to occur.
My conclusion would be to leave a running back in to help AND get some more designed rollouts in the passing game that allow Jayden Daniels to get outside the pocket and either have the option to run or throw. Quick passes and designed screens can also help in this regard — just don’t ask either Allegretti or Paul to get outside to block for them.
Wide Receiver
Dyami Brown:
Quinn decided to have Dyami Brown active while keeping both Treylon Burks and Luke McCaffrey inactive. Brown was the only active receiver to not record a stat in the game. And let’s not act like his blocking in the run game was anything to laud. The Eagles corners are fast and physical, and they easily locked down Brown on most of his routes (as was evident from All-22 film).
Tyler’s Take — I think this one is pretty easy. I would activate Burks and let him work the intermediate areas of the field with his outstanding play strength and big body. Tight end Chig Oknokwo and Burks would put a lot more pressure on linebackers and safeties, which could open up space for others. He also shows to be a much better blocker in the run game. I would also make sure rookie Antonio Williams sees MUCH more than 37% of the offensive snaps.
Offensive Play Calling
David Blough:
Blough had a rough debut against coordinator Vic Fangio and the Eagles much heralded defense. He and Daniels were not on the same page for the better part of three quarters, and it took a throwback effort in the fourth for Daniels to finally find his groove and get Washington’s passing game on track. Unfortunately, it was too-little, too-late for Washington.
Tyler’s Take — I really liked Blough’s commitment to the run against Philly, even running into the teeth of that very stout front. There were 32 attempts (although a few were on scrambles by Daniels) which resulted in 132 rushing yards and a touchdown by Bill Croskey-Merritt. The passing game, however, left a lot to be desired through three quarters. In my opinion, Blough ran way too many passing plays with just two receivers, and to be successful in the passing game against a defense that often relies on rushing just four, that won’t cut it.
The spacing in the passing game was off, the timing from Daniels was not there and the big plays were lacking. What DID work well was when Blough used the deep post/go and over-route underneath it. There was also some success working the middle of the field, although Washington didn’t take many shots there.
I would like to see a bit more pre-snap motion to get the defense to show their hand in coverage and to allow for favorable matchups against safeties and linebackers, especially with Terry McLaurin. With McLaurin, Williams and Diggs, you get three very good route runners who should be able to uncover quickly. Throw in Burks, who can win in the intermediate areas with his strong hands and play-strength, and that should help when passing is a must.
There is no reason to have Brown in the game to act as a “decoy”. He’s a one-trick-pony and that one trick is really not that good.
