In Week 1, the Washington Commanders had the makings of a potential offensive juggernaut and opportunistic defense. Since then, the Commanders’ defense has incredibly become the strength of the team. Maybe it’s less of a weakness because the offense has been that bad and they’re still making too many mistakes.
Wherever you stand, the bottom line is Washington is a 1-3 football team. Remember after Week 1 when fans were talking playoffs? After the last three games, they look more like a potential lottery team than a wild card side.
The problems go way beyond the players. The coaching staff and front office need to be held accountable. In light of the Commanders’ third-straight defeat, let’s highlight some harsh lessons we learned from the game.
3 things we learned from Commanders third-straight loss
3. William Jackson signing was a failure by the front office
No, Jackson wasn’t the reason the Commanders lost this game, but we’ve seen enough to know this signing just isn’t going to work out. Jackson’s debut season in 2021 was marred by injuries, penalties and miscommunication. While he finished the year strong, 2022 has been much of the same for the cornerback.
On Sunday, Jackson was flagged for two more penalties, one of which negated a gorgeous interception by Kam Curl. In the third quarter, Jackson was in coverage on the CeeDee Lamb touchdown that put the nail in Washington’s coffin.
A simple head fake was all it took for the Cowboys receiver to bamboozle Jackson, who showed minimal effort on the play. We don’t doubt that Jackson is a talented cornerback — his Bengals tenure proved he can play the position at a high level — but he’s proven to be a woeful fit in Jack Del Rio’s zone scheme.
The Commanders coaches can’t go out there and execute the game plan themselves, but it’s more than fair to question why the front office signed a press-man corner to play a zone scheme. We’re only 15 games into Jackson’s Commanders career and his three-year, $40.5 million contract, which included $26 million guaranteed, is reaching disaster territory.
Is that more on the player or the front office?
2. Trai Turner signing was a failure by the front office
Unlike Jackson, who has a 15-game sample size with the burgundy and gold, the Turner signing looks like an organizational failure after four games.
We hate to cast aspersions about a player, but it looks like Turner wants not part of playing. If that’s the case, he got his wish on Sunday as he was benched for Saahdiq Charles after a woeful two-play sequence in the first half where he was flagged for a false start and gave up a sack on blown assignment any run-of-the mill OL could’ve executed on the very next snap.
The Commanders were never going to replace Brandon Scherff with an equally-talented player, but Ron Rivera’s Panthers connection got the best of him here. After Sunday’s performance, fans are right to have questions whether the front office should’ve pursued alternative options in the draft or free agency.
Turner admittedly has five Pro Bowls on his resume and a strong rebound season in Pittsburgh last year after an ineffective 2020 with the Chargers.
The 29-year-old is now three years removed from his last Pro Bowl (with Rivera and Scott Turner in Carolina in 2019) and looks more like the turnstile the Chargers signed to start at guard two years ago. Talk about an organizational failure.
The Commanders have more problems on their offensive line than Turner, but they should’ve been more thorough in their search to replace Scherff, who was the unit’s pillar and most consistent player for almost a decade.
1. Having an elite WR trio doesn’t matter if you can’t get the ball to them.
The Commanders’ WR trio isn’t a secret anymore. While Terry McLaurin’s workload, or lack thereof, continues to be maddening, nobody can deny after four games that McLaurin, Curtis Samuel and Jahan Dotson form an elite receiver room.
We could wax poetic for hours about McLaurin, Samuel and Dotson, but it ultimately doesn’t matter if they can’t get the football. That’s been the case for the last couple of games as Washington’s pass-protection has been non-existent.
Are there plays where Wentz holds the ball too long and tries to make something out of nothing? You bet, but you can probably count on two hands how many times the quarterback has had a clean pocket to work with in the last two games.
It’s awesome the Commanders decided to get McLaurin some help, but what good is flaunting a scary WR trio if you can’t properly utilize them? These players are too good to be dormant until garbage time. The saddest part is they couldn’t even get going with Washington down multiple scores in the fourth.
Dotson finished with four catches for 43 yards and a touchdown, Samuel had four receptions for 43 yards and McLaurin had two catches for 15 yards … days after Scott Turner said he wanted to get McLaurin more involved early in games.
Like we said, though, it doesn’t matter if your receivers are open if the offensive line doesn’t give your quarterback enough time to throw to them.