If there is a welcome-to-the-NFL moment for a rookie offensive coordinator, David Blough of the Washington Commanders had his on Sunday.
The 31-year-old former NFL quarterback is only in his third year of coaching and, of course, his first as a coordinator. His first assignment was against the Philadelphia Eagles and their vaunted defensive front, led by Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis. For his first game, Blough had to match wits with legendary defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
Washington’s offense struggled through three quarters, yet hung around. Blough and quarterback Jayden Daniels finally seemed to capture some momentum in the fourth quarter, scoring two touchdowns. Daniels was flawless in the final quarter, completing 9 of 11 passes for 100
yards and two touchdowns.
With a little over one minute remaining, Daniels found rookie wide receiver Antonio Williams for a touchdown. It made the score 24-22. The Commanders were a two-point conversion away from potentially taking the defending NFC East champion to overtime on the road in Week 1.
Blough’s call? A pass, with tight end John Bates as one of his primary options. After the snap, Daniels tossed a shovel pass to Bates as he crossed the left side of the formation. Center Nick Allegretti was beaten, allowing Eagles defensive tackle Moro Ojomo to spin around and hit Bates almost as soon as he caught the ball.
Game over.
Blough has received plenty of criticism for the call. However, several former NFL players and coaches have defended Blough, saying it was blocked properly, the Commanders would have tied the game.
The legendary Tom Brady was on the call for Fox Sports. He didn’t like the call and explained why after watching it back on replay.
“Whether it’s Terry McLaurin or Stefon Diggs, are you really thinking John Bates in that situation?” Brady said. He didn’t mean it disrespectfully toward Bates, one of the NFL’s better blocking tight ends. Brady felt the ball should be in the hands of your best playmakers, starting with Daniels, and that he would’ve run a play to get it to one of Washington’s top skill players.
His next line is something that Blough will probably remember for the future.
“In big-time moments, you gotta think about players, not plays. They run the shovel pass to Bates. Ojomo beats the block. That’s a pretty easy stop there for the Eagles’ defense. I was thinking, give Daniels a run-pass option. You’ve got Terry. You’ve got Stefon. I’m not thinking Bates.”
Tom Brady clearly didn’t like the Commanders’ final play-call in that 2-pointer.
— Henry McKenna (@henrycmckenna) September 13, 2026
“In big-time moments, you’ve got to think about players not plays. … I was thinking give DAniels a run-pass option. You’ve got Terry (McLaurin). You’re got Stefon (Diggs). I’m not thinking Bates.” pic.twitter.com/HBgcC1ePcZ
Players, not plays. Great advice from the best to ever do it.
Blough will speak to the media on Thursday, so it will be interesting to see how he explains the final offensive play.
Whether it was intended or not, Brady offered Blough some good advice moving forward.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Tom Brady with some advice for David Blough
