Studs and duds from Week 4 as Commanders lose third straight game

The Washington Commanders had an excellent opportunity to get their season back on track Sunday. Win on the road against the insufferable Dallas Cowboys and the blowout loss to the Eagles suddenly becomes a distant memory.

While the Commanders started better than they have in recent weeks, their pass-protection and lack of discipline on both sides of the ball (11 penalties for 136 yards) ultimately proved to be their downfall as backup quarterback Cooper Rush led the Cowboys to their third-straight win without Dak Prescott.

Washington, meanwhile, has lost three straight after its season-opening win over Jacksonville. Just four weeks into the campaign and the Commanders have officially entered the must-win portion of their schedule.

Unfortunately, the black uniforms weren’t enough to save Washington today.

In light of another disappointing performance, let’s highlight the game’s best and worst performers on the Commanders’ side of things.

Commanders studs and duds from Week 4 loss

Stud: Jonathan Allen

Allen has been limited by a groin injury in recent weeks but he came up with a huge third down sack in the first quarter that forced a Cowboys punt. On the previous play, Allen stuffed Ezekiel Elliott for a two-yard gain. It was only 3-0 at the time, but Allen dominated this drive and forced a punt on his own. Impressive stuff.

Allen now has two games this year with multiple tackles for loss. Later in the game, Allen batted a third-down pass in the end zone that could’ve resulted in a defensive touchdown had a teammate been close enough to pluck it out of the air.

Dud: Defensive game plan

The Commanders defense deserves credit for holding their own, but the Cowboys found a way to get Jamin Davis matched up against CeeDee Lamb on two straight plays at the end of the first quarter. You can imagine how those plays went for Davis. Lamb caught both passes for gains of 23 and 16 yards, respectively.

In Week 1, Davis got isolated against Christian Kirk on multiple occasions. The second-year linebacker is going to play in coverage from time to time, but maybe don’t have him responsible for covering dynamic slot receivers? Why is it so hard for this coaching staff to put its players in positions to have success?

Dud: Trai Turner

Turner certainly hasn’t been the stabilizing interior presence the Commanders thought they were getting when they signed him. The veteran guard has been pancaked multiple times to start the year. On Sunday, he missed an assignment that allowed Cowboys defensive lineman Neville Gallimore a free run at Carson Wentz.

Looks like Nick Martin shifted to block the blitzing Leighton Vander Esch and Turner didn’t realize Gallimore was his assignment until it was too late. After this drive, Turner was benched for Saahdiq Charles. Surprised it didn’t happen sooner.

Dud: Game management

Anyone else confused by the end of Washington’s first half? First they declined a 10-second run off when Dallas still had possession. After the Commanders took over with1:04 remaining they showed no urgency to score before halftime. They ran on first down, moved the chains with another run then Wentz took a deep shot against Trevon Diggs intended for Jahan Dotson and got picked off.

Either be all in to get more points or milk the clock entirely. The half-pregnant strategy was just a weird watch. Need better clock and game management. Not the first time we’ve said that this season and it wont’ be the last.

Stud: Jahan Dotson

Before the bizarre end to the half, Dotson scored his fourth touchdown in four games as a rookie. Despite being undersized at 5-foot-11 and 184 pounds, the 2022 first-round pick is loudly emerging as the offense’s top red zone threat. Dotson now has the second-most receiving TDs by a Washington rookie through four games.

Dud: Sam Cosmi

So … are we sure Cosmi has a future at right tackle in this league? Sophomore slumps are more superstitious than anything else, but the second-year lineman is going through one right now. After a disaster showing against the Eagles in Week 3, Cosmi once again looked overmatched at right tackle vs the Cowboys.

The Texas product was called for multiple penalties and had a boneheaded moment in the third quarter when he didn’t account for Dallas’ edge rusher, Dante Fowler, who nearly caught the handoff from Carson Wentz. That’ll happen when two linemen are unnecessarily double-teaming an opposing rusher.

Stud: Commanders RBs

To be fair, all three Commanders running backs played well. JD McKissic ripped a 33-yard run up the sideline that set the stage for Dotson’s touchdown and Jonathan Williams added gallops of 18 yards and 23 yards. And for the second straight week, Gibson looked strong between the tackles.

We’re all aware of Gibson’s vision (or lack thereof) in the trenches but he’s rebounded from a woeful start to the year. Brian Robinson is nearing a return, but Gibson is showing he deserves to be the lead back for the time being. Running back is a clear position of strength for the Commanders.

Dud: Kendall Fuller

In Fuller’s defense, he’s not a press-man corner. The veteran is clearly more comfortable playing off-coverage and with vision to see what’s happening in front of him. This was evident on Cooper Rush’s 45-yard to completion to Noah Brown in the third quarter. Brown isn’t a speedster by any means, but he looked like a track star against Fuller, beating the cornerback by a good five yards on a deep route.

Part of that is on the coaching staff, but you expect Fuller to put up a better fight than this. Unfortunately, this play encapsulated how Fuller has looked in coverage all season: not good enough and a step behind.

Stud: Daron Payne

Payne is having his best season to date. Convenient timing, as his rookie contract expires after the season, but who are we to hold that against him?

Payne wants his money and he’s playing like someone who deserves to become among the league’s highest paid interior defensive linemen. We’d be interested to know many fans would like to see the team extend Payne over Montez Sweat, who had another quiet game.

The way both players are performing, it shouldn’t matter that the Commanders have already locked up fellow DT Jonathan Allen.

Dud: Penalties

Say what you will about the refs favoring the home team, but the Commanders shot themselves in the foot repeatedly on Sunday. Between a handful of false starts, holdings and penalties in coverage that negated TWO Washington interceptions, the team’s brand of football simply wasn’t conducive to winning. Couple that with the woeful pass protection and it’s no surprise the Commanders came up short.

Dud: William Jackson III

What more can you say at this point? A couple more penalties from Jackson and he was in coverage on the CeeDee Lamb touchdown that put the Cowboys up 22-10 early in the fourth quarter. A regular feature on the duds side of this article, we can’t remember the last time Jackson deserved a stud mention.