The Commanders lost a very winnable game in Madrid because of a few bad plays. The Dolphins didn’t do much to beat them. While there were plenty of mistakes on offense, the Commanders’ fate was sealed by five critical mistakes, three on special teams and two on offense.
Just scroll down to the Biggest Plays for the Dolphins, and you can see them listed. That’s right, the five biggest plays for Miami, as judged by EPA, were all mistakes by the Commanders.
There were still a few bright patches between
the clouds, including gutsy performances by Chris Rodriguez and Deebo Samuel, quality play by the OL, first NFL touches by two young players, outstanding run defense by Javon Kinlaw and Eddie Goldman, and good games by Jacob Martin, Jonathan Jones, Bobby Wagner and Jeremy Reaves.
But it was not enough to keep the game from staying close enough for their mistakes to catch up with them.
With that compelling introduction out of the way, here are stats and snaps from the Commanders’ 13-16 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Madrid.
Stats Sources
Stats were sourced from the NFL, Pro Football Reference (PFR), Pro Football Focus (PFF), or ESPN. NFL official stats were used whenever available. When the source is not indicated, it means either than NFL official stats were used or that there was agreement between stats service.. The source is indicated when there was disagreement between services or if the stat is only available from one source (eg. PFF: stops, run stops, Y/RR, QB hurries). QBR is proprietary to ESPN.
BIGGEST PLAYS OF THE GAME
Expected Points Added (EPA) quantifies the contribution of individual plays to a team’s scoring potential on a drive. These are all the plays with EPA greater than 2.2 or less than -2.2.
Biggest Plays for the Commanders
Q4, 10:55, 3rd and 9 at WAS 41: Marcus Mariota scrambles right end for 44 yards. EPA 4.08
Q3, 11:32, 1st and 10 at MIA 20: Marcus Mariota pass complete short right to Deebo Samuel for 20 yards. EPA 2.76
Q4, 1:05, 3rd and 6 at WAS 35: Marcus Mariota pass complete short right to Jacoby Jones for 25 yards. EPA 2.62
Q1, 7:32, 4th and 1 at WAS 46: Marcus Mariota pass complete short right to Colson Yankoff for 4 yards. EPA 2.58
Q2, 6:26, 3rd and 5 at MIA 46: Tua Tagovailoa sacked by Jonathan Jones for 12 yards. EPA -2.2
Q2, 12:12, 3rd and 2 at WAS 10: Tua Tagovailoa sacked by Jacob Martin for 11 yards. EPA -2.45
Q3, 6:14, 4th and 2 at WAS 2: Tua Tagovailoa pass incomplete short middle intended for Jaylen Waddle (defended by Bobby Wagner). EPA -2.87
Q4, 1:44, 4th and 1 at WAS 1: Ollie Gordon up the middle for -2 yards (tackle by Eddie Goldman and Frankie Luvu). EPA -3.17
Biggest Plays for the Dolphins
Q4, 4:17, 4th and 19 at MIA 13: Jake Bailey punts 51 yards, Mike Sainristil fumbles catch, recovered by Ethan Bonner at WAS-42. EPA 5.28
Q4, 0:15, 4th and 8 at MIA 38: Matt Gay 56 yard field goal no good. EPA -2.71
Q2, 7:35, 4th and 16 at MIA 33: Matt Gay 51 yard field goal no good. EPA -2.81
Q4, 6:06, 4th and 1 at MIA 1: Marcus Mariota pass incomplete short left intended for Zach Ertz. EPA -3.17
OT, 10:00, 1st and 10 at WAS 35: Marcus Mariota pass short left intended for Zach Ertz is intercepted by Jack Jones at WAS-40 and returned for 7 yards. EPA -4.65
OFFENSE
Marcus Mariota completed 20/30 attempts for 213 yds, 1 TD and 1 INT, and only took 1 sack for 6 yds. He was second on the team in rushing yards, with 4 rushes for 49 yds (Success Rate 50%). 44 of his rushing yards came on a single run.
His effort was good for a 46.7 Total QB, which ranked 14th among NFL starting QBs in Week 11.
Chris Rodriguez claimed the lead back role with a career high 15 rushing attempts. He ran for 79 yds (5.3 Y/A), 6 first downs, and 1 TD (Success Rate 60%). According to PFR, he broke 1 tackle. PFF counted 2 forced missed tackles. CRod averaged 2.3 YBC/att rushing, according to PFR. PFF had him at 1.67 YBC/att.
He had 1 target and 1 reception for 6 yds.
He also committed the first penalty of his career, a 5 yd false start on 4th and 2 at the MIA 3 yard line in the first quarter.
Bill Croskey-Merritt took 9 carries for 28 yds (3.1 Y/A) and 1 first down (Success Rate 44.4%) and caught his lone receiving target for 5 yds. He averaged just 0.9 YBC/att rushing per PFR, or 1.33 YBC/att per PFF.
Jeremy McNichols ran 4 times for 13 yds (3.3 Y/A, 25% Success Rate). He also caught 2/2 receiving targets for 16 yds.
Deebo Samuel led Commanders’ receivers with 7 receptions/8 targets (87.5% rec, ADOT 2.9 yds) for 74 yds, 2 first downs and 1 TD. He was the most productive receiver with more than 1 target at 2.55 Y/RR, and averaged 9.5 YAC/Rec. He also had 1 run for 3 yds.
Deebo collected his first penalty as a Commander on a 10 yd offensive pass interference call.
Chris Moore caught 2/5 targets (40% rec, ADOT 17.3 yds) for 28 yds (1.04 Y/RR). Moore caught 1/2 contested targets and dropped 1 pass.
Jacoby Jones caught his first NFL receiving target for a 25 yard reception, with 22 yards gained after the catch. He also earned the highest PFF run blocking grade on the team with an impressive 86.4. Who is Jacoby Jones, you ask? Jones is a 6’3”, 228 lb WR out of University of Central Florida, who signed with the Commanders as a UDFA after the 2025 draft. He has been on the practice squad and was signed to the 53 man roster last week due to all the injuries at WR.
Jaylin Lane caught his only target for 13 yds, with 1 YAC.
Robbie Chosen had 1 target but did not make the catch.
Colson Yankoff caught his first NFL target for a 3 yard reception and a first down, to bring his career receiving success rate to 100%. PFF rated his run blocking a solid 60.5. He also led the team in snaps taken at FB.
Zach Ertz caught 4/8 targets (50% rec, ADOT 11.1 yds) for 42 yds and 2 first downs. He was also penalized 5 yds for a false start at the WAS 13 yd line in the 3rd quarter.
John Bates was mainly used as a blocker, as usual. PFF graded his run blocking above average at 57.4.
Fans looking for bright spots this season might want to have a look at the OL, particularly in pass protection.
LT Laremy Tunsil allowed 1 QB hit and 1 hurry in 35 pass blocking snaps. His 5.7% Pressure Rate allowed was near the high end of acceptable for OTs. Tunsil has now gone 5 games in a row without a penalty. His 72.8 run blocking grade was fifth highest on the team.
LG Chris Paul had one of his worst games this season. He allowed 3 hurries in pass protection (8.6% Pressure Rate), and earned a 48.3 run blocking grade, the second lowest grade on the team.
C Tyler Biadasz pitched a shutout in pass protection, with 0 pressures allowed. His 64.8 run blocking grade was 6th highest on the team.
RG Sam Cosmi allowed just 1 hurry in pass protection (2.9% Pressue Rate). His 78.0 run blocking grade was third highest on the team.
RT Josh Conerly Jr allowed 2 pressures in pass pro (5.7% Pressure Rate). He was the fourth highest graded run blocker on the team with an impressive 77.6 from PFF.
Brandon Coleman was used as the extra OL in heavy run blocking packages, a role that had belonged to Trent Scott earlier in the season. His 79.1 run blocking grade was second highest on the team. Coleman committed his first penalty of the season, when he was called for a false start on 1st and 10 at the WAS 2 yard line, which moved them back half the distance to the goal line.
DEFENSE
Jacob Martin led all Commanders with 3 QB pressures, including 1 sack, 1 QB hit and 1 hurry. His 15.8% Pressure Rate in the pass rush was also team leading. Martin made 1 tackle for loss and 1 tackle assist. PFR credits him with 1 missed tackle, while PFF counted 2.
He dropped into coverage on one snap and was targeted but did not concede a reception.
Von Miller only generated 2 pressures in 16 pass rush attempts (12.6% Pressure Rate) with 1 sack. He added 1 TFL to finish the game with 2 defensive stops.
Jalyn Holmes mainly played on running downs, but did not record a run stop. He generated 0 pressures in 8 pass rush attempts. His statistical output consisted of 2 tackle assists
Preston Smith made 2 tackles with 1 TFL.
Javon Kinlaw had his most productive game as a Commander. He generated 4 run stops in 23 rushing downs for a whopping 18.2% run stop rate. In 20 pass rush attempts, he generated 2 QB hurries (10% Pressure Rate). Overall, he recorded 2 tackles and 3 assists. PFF counted 3 missed tackles, while PFR didn’t see any.
Kinlaw was responsible for the only penalties called on the defense. He was penalized 5 yds for being offside on 2nd and 10 at the WAS 20 yd line in the 3rd quarter. He was also called for holding in the first quarter, but the penalty was not accepted.
Not to be outdone, Eddie Goldman made 4 run stops in just 17 rushing downs, for a massive 23.5% Run Stop Rate, reminiscent of his early career. He did not generate pressure in 8 pass rush attempts. Official NFL stats record 3 tackles and 2 assists with 2 TFL. That’s a pretty good outing for a nose tackle.
Johnny Newton generated 1 QB hurry in 11 pass rush snaps (9.1% Pressure Rate). He made 1 tackle for a defensive stop.
Sheldon Day left no imprint on the stats sheet.
Bobby Wagner led the team in combined tackles, with 4 tackles and 4 assists, but no stops. PFF blames him for 1 missed tackle, but not PFR. He was targeted once (PFF) or twice (PFR), with 1 PBU on a pass intended for Jaylen Waddle and no receptions. PFF counted 1 missed tackle, but PFR did not.
Frankie Luvu made 5 tackle assists and 1 defensive stop. PFR counted 1 missed tackle, which PFF did not see. He was targeted 3 times in 23 coverage snaps, conceding 3 receptions for 34 yds.
Jordan Magee made 4 tackles and 1 assist, with 2 defensive stops. He was targeted 3 times in coverage, allowing 3 receptions for 21 yds per PFF (11 yds per PFR).
Mike Sainristil played mainly at right outside CB. He was targeted 4 times in 27 coverage snaps, giving up 3 receptions for 42 yds (1.56 Y/Cov Snp) per PFF. PFR recorded 2 rec/4 tgt for 52 yds (1.93 Y/Cov Snp). Those figures are around twice the rate of yardage conceded than we would like to see from an outside corner.
Sainristil made 1 tackle and 4 assists, with 2 missed tackles per PFF (PFR 1).
Jonathan Jones sacked the QB on his only pass rush attempt. He allowed 2 receptions out of either 3 (PFR) or 4 targets (PFF) for 31 yds. Jones was third on the team in combined tackles with 4 tackles, 2 assists, 1 TFL, 1 missed tackle and 2 defensive stops.
Noah Igbinoghene played mainly as a box safety/nickel CB. He made 2 tackles for stops with no missed tackles. He was targeted once in 18 passing downs, allowing a 7 yd reception.
Antonio Hamilton played just 5 defensive snaps without incident.
Jeremy Reaves was second on the team, with 5 tackles and 2 assists. PFF recorded 1 missed tackle, but PFR did not. In coverage, PFF recorded 2 targets and 0 receptions. PFR recorded 2 rec/2 tgt for 28 yds.
Quan Martin made 1 tackle and 3 assists, with 1 stop and 1 missed tackle. He was targeted once in 21 coverage snaps and conceded a 14 yd reception.
Darnell Savage made 1 tackle and 1 assist. According to PFF, he was not targeted in 11 coverage snaps. PFR counted 2 rec/4 att for 20 yds.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Matt Gay got himself released by missing 2/4 field goal attempts from 51 and 56 yds. His missed field goals were the fourth and fifth biggest plays for the Dolphins in the game.
Mike Sainristil attempted his first punt return of the season. He fumbled the catch, giving the Dolphins the ball at the WAS 42 yard line. His fumble turned Miami’s punt into the biggest play of the game in terms of EPA (5.28).
Jaylin Lane attempted 1 punt return for no gain.
Chase Edmonds made his Commanders’ debut as the kick returner. He returned 4 kicks for 93 yards (23.3 YPA), with a long of 29.
Tress Way punted once for 41 yards, with a 3 yd return.
Tyler Ott snapped like a champion.
Kain Medrano and Colson Yankoff were the only Commanders to make tackles on special teams.
Percy Butler was flagged for a 5 yd holding penalty. It was the Commanders’ only penalty on special teams, and only the third penalty in his career.
