Instant reactions to the Commanders third straight loss

The Defense

The Good 

• Jonathan Allen deserves better. He stuffed the stat sheet, with a sack, four tackles for loss, and a pass deflection that nearly resulted in a defensive touchdown. He continues to live up to the contract extension he inked the last off-season.
• Daron Payne had a tackle for loss, a pass deflection, and multiple pressures on the day. Coming into today he was in the league leaders for pressures among interior defensive linemen. Payne will be paid big by someone this offseason.
• Benjamin St-Juste may officially be Washington’s best corner. He is sticky in coverage and had his first career interception called back on a questionable call.
• Washington’s defense has been solid since Kam Curl has returned and that isn’t a coincidence. The secondary is much more in sync with him back there, and Curl routinely makes plays.

The Bad 

• Trai Turner was benched for poor play in the first half. William Jackson III may be headed that way due to poor play and a lack of effort, like on CeeDee Lamb’s dagger touchdown reception in the fourth quarter.
• Kendall Fuller has had a rough start to the year. He was burnt by Anthony Brown on the drive that led to the Cowboys’ backbreaking touchdown drive, to extend the lead to 22-10.
• Jamin Davis, despite improving, is still very far away from being an impact player. He makes far too many mistakes.
• Montez Sweat is one of the best-run defenders in the NFL. It may be time to accept that he won’t be a dominant pass rusher. This team badly needs Chase Young back.
• The Commanders had two interceptions called back on penalties. The Commanders still remain in last place for interceptions forced.

Overall the defense was solid and gave Washington a chance to win. They still gave up a few too many big plays and failed to make any big plays.