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

All the elements were there for the Washington Commanders to earn a resounding, critic-silencing victory over the Detroit Lions.

Detroit was favored for the first time in 24 games, providing bulletin board material for the Commanders’ locker room. The Lions had a hobbled offensive line and D’Andre Swift was banged up so Washington’s defense should have feasted. But then, the game happened. The offense came out flat and Washington’s defense made the Lions look like the Chiefs, with Detroit taking a 22-0 lead going into halftime.

In the Captain Obvious comment of the year, Ron Rivera said, “We didn’t play very well, that’s probably the biggest thing…If you look at this in every phase of the game, we got beat in the first half, that’s the truth of the matter.”

Yes, when you get down 22-0 in a half, you definitely got beat. The lack of urgency from the defense. The lack of adjustments made on offense. That speaks volume to how this team is being coached.

The offense did have a turnaround in the second half, making it a competitive game, but as is common with this franchise, it was too little, too late. The defense stifled Detroit’s offense for a small period, but not when it mattered most.

The bend-but-don’t break defense that would allow teams to pick up large amounts of yardage before providing key stops in the red zone BROKE. I mean, how do you allow a player to catch a pass, fall down, get back up, and still score a touchdown?

The lack of effort and awareness is a problem. Rivera has blamed injuries for some of the issues but at a certain point, the excuses need to stop, and change needs to be seen.

The Commanders’ offense has the potential to be great, but the defensive lapses, questionable coaching decisions, and slow starts that have plagued this franchise throughout Ron Rivera’s tenure need to be fixed.

Let’s take a look at some of the key numbers from the Commanders’ 36-27 loss to the Lions in the Motor City.

The Highs: Washington’s offense continues to show potential

6: After throwing six touchdown passes in his first two games, Carson Wentz became the first Washington quarterback to accomplish the feat since Mark Rypien in 1989.

300: Wentz also became the first player since 1950 to have over 300 pass yards and 3+ passing touchdowns in their first two starts with a new team. Wentz is averaging a 65.5% completion percentage and 325 passing yards in two games with 7 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Meanwhile, in Indy, Matt Ryan is averaging 273.5 yards per game with 1 touchdown and 4 interceptions. And he doesn’t have these juke moves.

28%: Over the past two weeks, Washington’s third-down defense has been much better than last year, allowing opponents to only convert 28% of the time.

3: Kendall Fuller had three passes defended, including two in the end zone, which could have made this game an even bigger blowout for Detroit.

14.13: Washington’s trio of receivers (Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel) averaged 14.13 yards per reception along with two receiving touchdowns, showing the big play ability of Washington’s receiving corp.

19: Washington came out aggressive in the second half, scoring touchdowns on four of its first five second half drives. After only having two first downs in the entire first half, Washington had 19 first downs in the second half along, more than Detroit’s 17 in the game. Washington also finished with 340 total yards in the second half after getting only 56 in the first half.

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?