The Washington Commanders can't seem to figure things out this season. They started out pretty well against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, but then fell apart in the second half and couldn't get anything going. It was a long day for the defense, which spent entirely too much time on the field, and it was a frustrating day for the offense, which couldn't move the ball down the field.
We all know there are definite areas of opportunity for the Commanders, but there are things they're doing well as a team. While it may feel like there's no hope for this season, the truth is, we're only halfway through it and if they can turn things around, maybe they can at least end the season on a strong note.
Let’s take one last look at this win and see how we
graded the Commanders in our Week 9 report cards.
Offense: D
Someone on this offense has to step up and take a strong leadership stance. Jayden Daniels missed some easy, open throws that could have changed the outcome of the game, including one on the second-to-last drive of the game. We'll dig into his play in another section, but his performance weighs heavily on how the offense is graded as a whole.
The ground game continues to be nonexistent, with just 60 yards on the ground on Sunday. Rachaad White at least averaged four yards per carry, but with only seven carries, that didn't get them far. Austin Ekeler averaged just two yards per carry. That is never going to be good enough in this league, regardless of who you play. Washington has to find a way to get yards on the ground so the rest of the playbook can open up.
As far as pass-catchers go, Van Jefferson was the best wide receiver on Sunday, and that's a tad concerning. No one was winning deep, and no one was making Daniels' job any easier. That last part includes the offensive line because Daniels' protection wasn't good on Sunday. The entire offense needs to get their heads back in the game and figure out how to work with the personnel it has on hand.
Defense: B+
Some people might be surprised by this grade given the Commanders' loss, but we want to point back to the offensive struggles again and understand that the defense was gassed by the fourth quarter. And, honestly, if Puka Nacua didn't have 14 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown, the defense might even get an A here.
If you look closely at the game, the defense actually played well enough to win this game. They needed to put more pressure on Matt Stafford, but they did enough to disrupt his rhythm and make him falter more than once. Even with Nacua's 14 catches, he didn’t crush the defense with deep, explosive plays. The catches were short, contested catches that were well-defended, including Trey Amos’ coverage on Nacua’s touchdown.
Despite the loss, the defense played well, and it has been a bright spot for this team over the last few weeks.
Special teams: A-
The Rams did a great job with their kickoffs, limiting Luke McCaffrey’s ability to return them. Only two kicks were returned: one for 22 yards and one for 20 yards.
For the Commanders, Drew Stevens was perfect on field goals and extra points again. His consistency is improving, and that's what Washington needs from him. His kickoffs need some work, but the coverage on kickoffs was solid. Only one kick was returned for 29 yards.
Tress Way is always good, and on Sunday he was his usual phenomenal self. He averaged 47 yards per kick with great hang time. Three of his punts landed inside the 20, and the Rams had no punt return yardage.
Coaching: C-
The offense struggled so much that it was a very rough day for offensive coordinator David Blough. The sad part is that most of it was self-inflicted, including on the Commanders’ last drive. That final play call and execution were strange. Plus, Blough didn't make any adjustments to Myles Garrett, which is not only mind-blowing, but inexcusable. Your job as a coach is to make adjustments to give your players the best possible shot at winning. If you're not making adjustments, nothing is going to change.
Daronte Jones’ defense was good, for the most part. He needed to find a way to force Nacua to earn more of his catches. There was way too much cushion at the line of scrimmage on many of the snaps, and that just opens up space for Nacua to wiggle away and make an easy grab. He's not a guy you can let run freely; someone has to stick to him and make him work for his yards.
Jayden Daniels: C
Daniels put up decent numbers with a lot of dink-and-dunk plays. Most of that was by design because the Rams put so much pressure on Daniels, and the Commanders’ best deep-ball threats are all injured (Terry McLaurin, Treylon Burks, Dyami Brown). In the first half, Daniels missed an easy completion to Rachaad White that would have kept the drive going, but instead resulted in punting the ball away. He missed another easy pass to Van Jefferson with two minutes left in the fourth quarter, which turned the ball over on downs. That pass would have easily put the Commanders in the red zone, or even set them up for a touchdown to tie the game.
Daniels has to get a handle on his play just as much as the coaching staff has to get a handle on the play calling. There is a disconnect somewhere with this team, and until they find it and fix it, they will continue to struggle.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders report card: How we graded the Week 9 loss
