What an absolute disaster.
The Commanders dropped a 37-20 result to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at AT&T Stadium to fall to 0-2 on the season and in the NFC East.
They lost quarterback Jayden Daniels to a left elbow dislocation that looked to be significant. Right guard Sam Cosmi (concussion), left tackle Brandon Coleman (finger), defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw (shoulder) also left with injuries of unknown severity.
Most everything that could go wrong did after the Daniels injury, which occurred on the last
play of the first half. This game wasn’t without bright spots, but everything seemed to go against Washington with a series of unfortunate events that could have a lasting impact beyond those four quarters.
We’ll get more into the game than in most other stories, but we’ve still got a game to grade in this Week 2 report card:
Rushing offense
Daniels was dynamic when in scramble mode (and pre-injury), averaging 9.9 yards per carry. Bill Croskey-Merritt was inefficient in this one and not as effective as Rachaad White, who averaged 6.1 yards per tote on seven carries. Don’t be shocked if White starts eating into Croskey-Merritt’s snap count. He was the better runner, but it was hard to establish a designed running game when the Commanders were playing from behind all afternoon.
Grade: C
Passing offense
Daniels and Mariota were both solid throwing the ball, with 207 yards, two touchdowns and two touchdowns between then. Antonio Williams missed a wide-open Terry McLaurin on a receiver pass and Dyami Brown lost a fumble. Both of those moments were strikes against. Washington got screwed out of a touchdown from Mariota to Brown, where a bogus incompletion call in the end zone was confirmed on replay.
The Commanders targeted Terry McLaurin had nine targets up only two catches. Stefon Diggs had two touchdowns and the pass protection was generally okay.
Grade: B
Rushing defense
The Commanders run defense wasn’t too bad. Javonte WIlliams averaged just 2.5 yards per carry and no one outside of Dak Prescott could move the ball on the ground. The effort from the front seven was strong in this regard, though the pass defense couldn’t stop a gosh darn thing. Why run when you can throw wherever you want whenever you want?
Grade: B-plus
Passing defense
The Commanders gave up four passing touchdowns to Prescott, who had 143.8 passer rating. Let’s put this simply: when the Commanders don’t generate pressure, they can’t stop the air attack. CeeDee Lamb was dominant early and then again in the game’s latter stages. Mike Sainristil is borderline unplayable at this stage. The secondary is unreliable overall. Right now, coverage might be the team’s weakest link.
Grade: F
Special teams
Drew Stevens has played two NFL regular-season games. He has two misses in that span, including a wide volley from 51 yards out today. There’s little doubt that Stevens has a strong and accurate leg, but how much margin for error does he have before red flags start to go up? Jaylin Lane didn’t have his best day returning kicks or punts on Sunday, and he has to be better.
Grade: C-minus
Coaching
Dan Quinn’s decision to go for a touchdown on that final (and fateful) play where Daniels got hurt is being called into question. Take the field goal and get some points and take JD5 out of harm’s way is the logic, I think. Don’t get that. He was being aggressive in a game where touchdowns were required. That was not a play call where Daniels was put in a bad spot. A crazy thing happened and that sucks. What happened is not on DQ.
Overall, though, the defensive game plan didn’t work. Dallas is more talented, but Daronte Jones couldn’t generate the pressure required to get turnovers. David Blough’s play calling was better than in Week 1, and he kept his foot on the gas after Daniels was done.
There’s no avoiding the fact that Sunday cemented an 0-2 start with two divisional losses. That’s unacceptable. A few more early losses and this whole season could spiral.
Grade: D
What grades would you give the Commanders in each of these phases of the game? Give us your report card in the comments below:
