And just like that, the Washington Commanders are 1-1.
It was a tale of two halves for the Commanders against the Detroit Lions. Actually, we take that back. It was a tale of two halves for the Commanders’ offense on Sunday. The defense, meanwhile, looked much of the same over the final 30 minutes as it did in the first two quarters: dazed and confused.
Our biggest takeaway? The offense’s first half performance was an outlier. The offensive line couldn’t figure out the Lions’ pass rush. To their credit, they regrouped and gave Carson Wentz enough time in the pocket to mount a comeback.
The defense just refused to jump on the bandwagon. It’s now surrendered 58 points through two games and looks an awful lot like the unit that was arguably the worst in the league out of the gates last season.
While the overall feeling surrounding Washington is negative, that doesn’t mean we should punish the team’s top performers from the game. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the Commanders’ studs and duds from Sunday’s loss.
Commanders studs and duds from Week 2 loss to the Lions.
Stud: Jamin Davis
Davis was clearly out to prove something Sunday after Jack Del Rio crucified his Week 1 performance. It’s not often you see a defensive coordinator be so openly critical of a player, but Davis seemed to use it as motivation because he came out scalding hot on the Lions’ first two offensive possessions.
Davis didn’t start the game, but he subbed in on third down and sacked Jared Goff to force a punt. The second-year linebacker also applied sticky coverage on D’Andre Swift on a pass to the end zone and made a big stop on second and goal with the Lions knocking on the door in the second quarter.
Davis wasn’t perfect, but he was definitely a positive.
Dud: Dax Milne
I’m not gonna pretend like I know better than NFL players, but when a kickoff lands in the end zone, just take a knee or don’t even catch it. I’ll take a surefire start at the 25-yard line over the small chance that a returner breaks off a big run.
Bottom line? If you return a kickoff from the end zone you better make it past the 20. Each of Milne’s first two returns went to the 16-yard line; tacking on extra yards for the offense to get in scoring range. Wouldn’t hate to see Antonio Gibson (or someone else) mixed in from time to time after this performance.
Milne has looked solid as a punt returner, but he looks out of his element as a kick returner. Changes should be made.
Stud: Curtis Samuel
A healthy Curtis Samuel is a wonderful thing. After he logged eight catches for 55 yards against Jacksonville, Samuel was back making plays for Washington, finishing with seven catches for 78 yards on 11 targets, including a terrific TD grab that helped inject some wind back into the Commanders’ sails coming out of halftime.
That’s two touchdowns in two weeks for Samuel.
Dud: William Jackson
Jackson had a mammoth hit on the Lions’ first possession. From there, it was all downhill for the veteran cornerback. He and Benjamin St-Juste had a miscommunication that resulted in a massive gain for Amon-Ra St. Brown on third down.
Shortly thereafter, St. Brown beat Jackson for a touchdown to extend Detroit’s lead to 12-0. It wasn’t awful coverage by any stretch, but Jackson lost his footing as the ball arrived, allowing St-Brown an easy grab in the end zone.
Signed to a three-year, $40.5 million contract last offseason, Jackson’s had far more lowlights than highlights since he arrived in Washington.
Dud: Offensive line
You know the OL had a bad day when the normally-reliable Charles Leno gets beat for a strip sack that results in a safety. Overall though, the offensive line was horrendous, which is ironic considering the Lions were without their entire starting interior (left guard, center and right guard) due to injury.
The Commanders looked like the team with the decimated offensive line. While the group performed better after halftime, their first-half showing was a huge reason Washington found itself in a huge hole. In total, Wentz was sacked five times for 29 yards and was under constant pressure throughout the game.
Scared to look at PFF’s final numbers for the game.
Stud: Jahan Dotson, Terry McLaurin
More often than not, Terry McLaurin is going to be a stud. it just depends on whether Washington gets him the football. That didn’t happen in the first half, but McLaurin gave Detroit’s defense all kinds of fits in the third and fourth quarters.
Dotson could soon find himself on similar ground, to be fair. The No. 16 overall pick followed his two-touchdown debut by catching all four of five targets for 59 yards and another fourth-quarter touchdown. He makes the difficult catches look so easy and his role in and importance to the offense will only grow as the season goes on.
Dotson is just an outstanding player. Plain and simple.
Dud: Coaching staff
For starters, the conservative play-calling in the first half was NOT ideal. Yes, the offensive line was a turnstile, but the give-up running plays and short, uncreative passes didn’t help the cause. Thankfully, Scott Turner broke out of his shell after halftime and it was actually enough to win the game. The defense just didn’t cooperate.
Time to rip Ron Rivera.
With the Commanders storming back in the second half, an Antonio Gibson touchdown run made things 29-21. Kick the extra point and go down a touchdown, right? Nope, Rivera made the completely boneheaded decision to go for two. It fittingly didn’t pay off and came home to roost later in the game when Joey Slye missed an extra-point that kept Washington in a nine-point hole with 1:56 remaining.
Between Turner’s first half, Rivera’s game management, Jack Del Rio’s defense getting carved open like a Thanksgiving turkey and Nate Kaczor’s special teams unit turning in an absolute clunker, Sunday was a day to forget for the Commanders’ coaching staff across the board.
Other than that, though …