6 Commanders who deserved a win in Week 5 loss to Titans

The Washington Commanders are officially in desperation mode after Sunday’s defeat to the Tennessee Titans. It’s the team’s fourth-straight loss and you can all but rule out them competing for the NFC East crown. Even the playoffs might be out of the equation for Ron Rivera’s group if the surprisingly competitive NFC.

It was the same old story for the Commanders, who played a sloppy game and committed nine more penalties after getting flagged 11 times in Week 4. Despite that, they had a chance to win the game after Terry McLaurin drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone, setting up a 1st and goal from the two-yard line.

It had all the makings of a storybook ending, but Carson Wentz controlled the script and threw a game-sealing interception on 3rd and goal after he was lucky to escape without a turnover on the first two plays of the sequence. It’s an unfortunate ending for Wentz, who was largely brilliant all game.

Wentz was the reason the Commanders were in the game at the end, but so were these studs, who really deserved to be on the winning side.

6 Commanders who deserved a win in loss to the Titans

6 & 5. Terry McLaurin/Cole Holcomb

McLaurin ALWAYS deserves better. That goes without saying, but the receiver was once again dominant (when given the chance) on Sunday. His first reception came on a crossing route in the slot. Highly underrated after the catch, McLaurin broke several tackles to get the Commanders some breathing room after they started the drive pinned deep int their own territory.

McLaurin finished the game with 5 catches for 76 yards on six targets. Still not enough volume, but an improvement relative to previous games. How he wasn’t targeted on the final drive that ended in a Carson Wentz interception is beyond me. Instead, Scott Turner opted for a bunch of clustered passes in tight end formations. Someone should tell Turner that McLaurin thrives in contested-catch situations.

Holcomb, meanwhile, was flying all over the FedEx Field turf. He finished the game with 15 tackles, by far a season-high. The most pleasing aspect of Holcomb’s performance was he remain disciplined despite playing with high energy.

We have to go back and watch the film, but we don’t recall many instances where a Titans ball-carrier wiggled free from Holcomb’s clutches. After a rough start to the season, this was the Holcomb fans were expecting to see on a more consistent basis after his breakout 2021.