Washington Commanders fans are surely still catching their breath from the team’s rollercoaster win over Jacksonville. Everyone and their mother missed football, but I did NOT miss the stress that comes with it. Might as well set the stage for what is sure to be a chaotic season with Carson Wentz under center, though, right?
Like a proper redemption story in any classic film, Wentz went from hero in the first half to the main antagonist with back-to-back interceptions in the second half, before returning to hero status with two clutch touchdowns to Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson to bring the Commanders back in the fourth quarter.
While Wentz, Dotson, McLaurin (because of how clutch his touchdown was) and Curtis Samuel, who was the blood and soul of Washington’s offense for most of the first half, stole the show Sunday, let’s underline some players who were vital to the win, but whose contributions might get lost in the shuffle.
3 unsung heroes from the Commanders thrilling win over the Jaguars
3. Daron Payne
The Commanders’ defense was fortunate to only give up 22 points. The Jaguars moved the football with relative ease against Jack Del Rio’s unit. Between finding success in the running game and Trevor Lawrence doing whatever he wanted in the middle of the field, it wasn’t a great performance by the D.
Payne, on the other hand, came to play. So did others, but Payne delivered arguably the most important play of the game on a 3rd and 4 with 7:25 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Jaguars holding a 22-20 lead near midfield when he sacked Trevor Lawrence to put the Commanders back on the offensive.
Wentz responded by leading a 13-play, 90-yard drive that took just over five minutes off the clock and culminated in the Dotson game-winner. If Payne doesn’t make that play and Jacksonville converts, this game might’ve had a different ending.
Even before the clutch sack, Payne was a menace on third down. He generated multiple pressures on Lawrence and tipped a third down pass to end one drive.
If this is the version of Payne we’re going to see all season — we just might considering he’s playing for a new contract — the Commanders’ defensive line will be just fine, even with Phidarian Mathis suffering a potentially serious injury.
2. Darrick Forrest
Do the Commanders have a potential stud on their hands in Forrest? If you’ve been following along through OTAs, training camp and preseason, you weren’t totally taken aback by Forrest’s performance against the Jaguars. Forrest made his presence felt the entire offseason and Sunday was just a culmination of that.
But was anyone expecting Forrest, who played less than 30 defensive snaps as a rookie last season, to be the Commanders’ most important defensive player Sunday? We noted beforehand that Forrest needed to step up with Kam Curl (thumb) sidelined, and he did more than fans could’ve imagined.
Given the most substantial playing time of his young career, the Cincinnati product compiled two pass deflections in the end zone, a forced fumble on a thumping hit of Travis Etienne that unfortunately bounced out of bounds and the game-sealing interception in the final minute.
For good measure, Forrest also finished with the second-most tackles on the defense. It was a breakout performance from the second-year defender and most fans would agree the Commanders don’t win this game without him.
1. Antonio Gibson
We really wanted to give Forrest the No. 1 spot, but he made one too many splash plays for him to warrant the top unsung hero from the win.
Gibson, on the other hand, was a silent assassin all game long, which is insane in retrospect considering he led Washington in rushing and receiving. He only managed 58 rushing yards but he wore down the Jags’ defense in the fourth quarter, which is quietly one of the most underrated aspects of his game.
Throw in Gibson’s seven catches for 72 yards and he turned 21 touches into 130 yards. Pretty impressive performance, wouldn’t you say? Gibson is so comfortable as a receiver and operating in space and it was great to see Washington put him in position to succeed. That’s called good coaching, folks.
Gibson didn’t find the end zone and didn’t generate as much buzz as Wentz, McLaurin, Dotson and Samuel, but he was pivotal to this victory.
It’s not that hard to see Gibson’s potential as an offensive weapon and it was damn impressive to see him respond after he lost his starting job to Brian Robinson and assumed an unexpected role as a kick returner.
Bad day for the Gibson haters. Too bad!