5 reality checks for the Commanders’ Week 3 battle with the Eagles
By Tim Payne
3. The Reality Is, manhood has been called into question.
The Detroit Lions put up 22 unanswered points on this team on the strength of dominant performances by both their offensive and defensive lines and brilliantly aggressive gameplans and play calling from both coordinators. Washington got out-coached, out-worked, and out-executed by the LIONS. If that’s not a gut-check moment for a professional football team, I’m not sure what would be.
The Commanders need to take a long look in the mirror – from the coaching staff down to the practice squad – and decide what type of team they are going to be this season. For large chunks of the game on Sunday, there was a decided lack of energy and focus evident from large swaths of the team. The coaching staff put in a complacent gameplan. The offensive line turned in effort train station turnstiles would have been embarrassed by, and the linebackers and safeties played slow and reactionary. At least the special teams failed miserably in all three phases, making glaring physical and mental mistakes.
Good football teams respond to that kind of letdown with an inspired effort the following week. Bad football teams act like that was just a fluke and go about business-as-usual. How this team looks on Sunday as they host the division-leading Eagles will tell us a lot about what the rest of this season will be.