The Washington Commanders are coming off a 17-point win over the Eagles on Sunday night that perhaps kept the competitive portion of their season alive.
They still have familiar problems they'd like to clean up.
“We need plenty of work on penalties, false starts in particular,” coach Dan Quinn said Monday. “Like, corrections that eliminate beating ourselves. That's the thing that kept us honestly from playing what I'd consider a complete game, the fouls
and things that can eliminate to make sure we don't do that. You may ask, 'How many times am I going to keep saying that?' And my response would be, ‘As many as it effin' takes.’”
Washington spotted Philadelphia a 10-0 lead, then scored the final 27 points while holding the Eagles scoreless for the final three quarters. But the team still committed far too many penalties.
During one sequence in the first quarter, back-to-back false starts preceded a missed field goal. Another penalty took an interception away from the defense later in the game. The Commanders were penalized nine times for 70 yards against the Eagles, and, through seven games this year, they've committed 55 penalties for 429 yards.
Some have been extremely ill-timed. A flag erased a game-tying touchdown against the 49ers in an eventual six-point loss. Up by two touchdowns against the Giants in the second half, an interception was waved off due to a defensive penalty in an eventual tie.
Quinn was asked whether there was a reason for the penalties that fans and reporters were missing.
“I wish that there was. I'd share it with you immediately,” he said. “I liked the team getting together to say, ‘Enough is enough. We have to get this right.' Just one thing, OK, let's eliminate that from the plan. But it could be as simple as a long cadence, we did want to draw them offsides, but to have four in the negative side, not good enough. We can't continue to beat (ourselves) and have these fouls.”
Winning the turnover battle. The Commanders have a plus-7 turnover differential this season, which is tied for the best in the NFL. That makes their 2-4-1 record all the more baffling. Jayden Daniels has thrown just one interception this season, and the Commanders are tied with the Texans and Lions with just one pick as a team.
Scoring in crucial situations. The Commanders kicked three field goals against the Eagles from inside the 25-yard line, including one drive where they kicked from the Philadelphia 7. While kicker Drew Stevens put points on the board, the Commanders will have to turn those drives into touchdowns, especially with the Rams, Giants and Bengals up next on the schedule.
Antonio Williams. The rookie wide receiver had his best game as a pro against the Eagles. He caught five passes for 54 yards and led the team in targets with seven. Williams should get plenty more opportunities with top receiver Terry McLaurin out for the season.
The Commanders' performances early in games. They fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter to the Eagles on Sunday, a game after trailing the 49ers 20-3 at halftime.
Defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw was unavailable against the Eagles with a knee injury. Running back Jeremy McNichols has a foot injury.
3.1 — The Eagles' average yards per carry against the Commanders. That was impressive, considering Washington entered the game with a banged-up defensive line. Defensive tackle Daron Payne suffered a foot injury on Friday that landed him on injured reserve.
The Commanders host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
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