The Washington Commanders’ season has been a struggle, to say the least. We’re at the halfway mark of the season, and they just got their third win of the year. Luckily for them, it came against a divisional opponent, the New York Giants, which will help them if they finish the season tied with the Giants.
Before they can worry about that, though, they have to win more games. This win means almost nothing if Washington doesn’t fix its problems. They started to right the ship with Thursday night’s win; it was the most complete game the Commanders have played since a Week 3 win over Seattle. Now, they have to keep doing that and prove they can be consistent if they want to keep winning.
Let’s take one last look at this win and see how we graded
the Commanders in our Week 10 report cards.
Offense: B-
The offense still has plenty to work on. We saw a lot of good and a lot of bad in this win. The ground game still needs some serious work - Austin Ekeler ended the game with nine carries for 28 yards, Rachaad White had 11 carries for 47 yards, and the team ended with 33 carries for 105 yards (an average of 3.2 yards per carry). However, both Ekeler and White had some tough, key runs, and Daniels made a few plays with his legs, too.
Seven different receivers were targeted in this game, and together they combined for 23 receptions for 249 yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Ben Sinnott finally got a chance to show what he can do when given an opportunity, and each receiver stepped up at a different time to give the Commanders breathing room and extend drives.
Defense: B+
The defense gave up nearly 400 yards on the ground, but even the Giants acknowledged the Commanders were letting them have the middle of the field. Cam Skattebo led the charge with 78 yards on the ground, but most of his runs weren’t impactful, except for his second touchdown run. What hurt more was J.J. McCarthy's 34 rushing yards, which kept giving the Giants first downs.
Washington completely shut down Malik Nabers and forced him to fumble in the red zone at one point. Isaiah Likely’s 66-yard touchdown really shouldn’t have happened. For some reason, Nick Cross pulled up on the blitz, allowing McCarthy time to find Likely.
Overall, the defense put together another great effort. Daronte Jones is owning the defense, and he’s doing a great job keeping them all on the same page despite the major injuries to the defensive line. Jones’ defense won this game with pressure on the final drive, and rookie Sonny Styles had another huge game. It won’t be long before he is the face of the defense.
Special teams: B+
The wind played a major role in last night’s game. Tress Way punted into the wind several times, and as usual, he did well to average close to 50 yards per punt. Drew Stevens nailed a 46-yard field goal into the wind, too, as he continues to be a bright spot for the Commanders.
The return game wasn't great, but Luke McCaffrey’s football IQ shone bright in last night’s game. With just over eight minutes left to play in the 4th quarter, McCaffrey was inside Washington’s 10-yard line to receive a kick. The ball was sailing to the sideline, and McCaffrey trailed it. He stepped out of bounds to catch the ball, creating a penalty on the Giants for a kick out of bounds. Instead of getting the ball inside their own 10, the Commanders got the ball at the 40.
Overall, the special teams unit was impressive against the Giants on Thursday.
Coaching: A
Yes, you read that right: the coaching staff gets an A for Thursday’s performance. David Blough had a good night. Jayden Daniels was sacked only once, and Blough mixed run and pass plays well, especially on first down. The Commanders were 7-of-14 on third downs, and Blough managed to keep them out of third-and-long situations.
Jones conceded the middle of the field to keep Nabers from being a major problem, which worked well since he ended the game with just 44 receiving yards and zero touchdowns. Jones’ calls at the end of the game, on the final drive, are what won this game.
Dan Quinn gets some props, too, because he managed the clock well at the end of the first half and won a huge challenge that kept Washington in the mix. Overall, it was a great night for the coaching staff.
Jayden Daniels: B+
If it wasn’t for those two interceptions, Daniels would be getting an A for his performance last night. In fact, he still almost deserves an A because of how he bounced back and led a game-winning drive after surrendering two interceptions on back-to-back drives. He made some plays with his legs, including a few impressive throws on the run. He played very well, and we saw a lot of good things. The interceptions were inevitable, but how he handled the turnovers is a response every coach dreams of.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders report card: How we graded the Week 10 win
