Sam Cosmi owns Jalen Carter
The Washington Commanders have one of the league's best right guards in Sam Cosmi. He's easily their best protector with Laremy Tunsil out, and he continued his exceptional recent form against Jalen Carter with another dominant display.
Cosmi has always held his own against Carter, and this one was no different. The former Texas standout is one of the very few guards around the league who can cope with him one-on-one, and the Philadelphia Eagles' defensive lineman found life extremely difficult throughout the contest.
The Commanders recognized Cosmi's importance, giving him a lucrative contract extension soon after the new regime came on board. He's been worth every cent of it so far.
Treylon Burks' big night
Things could have fallen flat for wide receiver Treylon Burks after he dropped a first-half layup that would have resulted in a third-down conversion. Thankfully, the 2022 first-round pick brushed it off and went on to have his most productive game since joining the club.
Burks didn't let his error impact anything else. He was sharp out of his routes, gave Jayden Daniels an outlet all over the field, and his deep gain after bamboozling Quinyon Mitchell shows just how much he's growing under offensive coordinator David Blough.
With Terry McLaurin out, the Commanders need more from Burks. If this is a sign of things to come, all hope might not be lost, and his chances of another deal will improve exponentially.
Commanders' blitz success
Daronte Jones was in the headlines through no real fault of his own over the bye week. Steve Wilks' appointment caused a stir, but with backup quarterback Tanner McKee under center for the Eagles, the defensive coordinator had extra incentive to be aggressive.
The Commanders' defense likes to blitz. It's what Jones picked up from Brian Flores during their time together on the Minnesota Vikings, and even though it's not perfect, Washington's blitz success in this one caused endless problems for McKee.
Jones gave his players the freedom to attack from all angles, and they did so with great success. Everyone played their part, which was just enough for the Commanders to maintain their slender advantage.
Commanders did just enough to get the job done
It wasn't pretty. Nobody expected it to be.
The result is all that mattered. And by any means necessary, the Commanders got the job done.
While it probably would have been a different story against a half-decent team, the Commanders can only beat what's in front of them. It wasn't the most fluid performance, but as Stefon Diggs said earlier in the week, they just needed one to "go through the hoop" to regain some confidence.
In that regard, the mission was accomplished. Bigger tests are coming, but this alleviates a little pressure from head coach Dan Quinn's shoulders.
Plenty of areas still need brushing up. But in this game, the result mattered far more than style points.
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