Key numbers from Week 2 as Commanders’ defense disappears in Detroit

The Lows: Big plays continue to plague Washington’s defense

9: The big play struggles continued. After allowing 8 big plays last week, the Commanders’ defense gave up 9 big plays in Week 2 (passes over 20 yards, rushes over 10 yards), including plays of 58, 52, 50, and 49 yards.

24:10: It took 24 minutes and 10 seconds of the game clock until Washington was able to get its initial first down of the game. By that point, the team was already down 22-0. Unacceptable performance by both the offense and defense in the first half.

56: Washington’s offense had 56 total yards at halftime. To put that in perspective, that was the same amount of rushing yards as D’Andre Swift in the first half and was 30 yards less than Aman-Ra St. Brown had receiving in the first half.

7.48:  Washington’s defense is allowing 7.48 yards per rushing attempt through the first two weeks of the season. At the same point last season, that number was at 4.4 yards per attempt. Not very surprising that the team has regressed as it did not make any major efforts to improve its defensive unit in the offseason.

1-6: Washington and Detroit have been among the bottom dwellers of the league in recent years, but in their last seven meetings, Washington holds a 1-6 record.

-3: The turnover differential for the season now stands at -3 with Carson Wentz throwing another interception on the second drive of the second half. Benjamin St-Juste nearly nabbed an interception but it fell out of his hands.

0:  Terry McLaurin’s first-half stat line was 0 receptions for 0 yards. Last week in the first half, he only had 1 reception for 9 yards. If Washington wants to win games, they need to feed Terry the ball.

7: Washington was again plagued with a slow start, which has been a common theme throughout Coach Rivera’s tenure, including a span of 16 straight games without scoring on an opening drive during the 2020 season. Against the Lions, the Commanders’ first seven drives resulted in four three-and-outs, two additional punts, and a safety. Not very inspiring.

11: Detroit was supposed to be the offensive line expected to struggle with key starters missing, but Washington’s o-line had issues all day allowing 11 QB hits and 5 sacks.

116: Washington’s defense allowed Amon-Ra St. Brown to have a career-day. He had a career-high 116 receiving yards and a career-high 68 rushing yards. He also became the first player in NFL history to have six straight games with eight-plus receptions and a touchdown and tied Michael Thomas and Antonio Brown with most consecutive games with eight or more receptions. In one game, he almost bested Dyami Brown’s career stats, who was drafted 30 picks before him.

After the elation of Week 1’s victory, Week 2 serves as a bit of a wake-up call for the Commanders. How will they react as they take on the Eagles in Week 3 in what should be a meaningful game for Carson Wentz?