Key numbers from Week 7: Commanders dominate second half vs Packers
![Oct 23, 2022; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) celebrates as Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke (4) looks on after connecting on a third down convewriosn against the Green Bay Packers /during the final minutes of the fourth quarter at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports Oct 23, 2022; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) celebrates as Commanders quarterback Taylor Heinicke (4) looks on after connecting on a third down convewriosn against the Green Bay Packers /during the final minutes of the fourth quarter at FedExField. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/16b405ad5d4916af5e3ccdcc1e938ed058cb8cad3fc7a1e205e25ebae17bcce6.jpg)
The Bad: Penalties and early mistakes continue to plague the Commanders
0: After starting 1-for-7 with a pick-6, Heinicke had a 0.0 passer rating. Although he turned it around, there were a lot of risky throws that could have gone either way but bounced in the Commanders’ favor.
7: Washington is one of the most penalized teams in the NFL, giving up the fifth-most penalty yards in the league while having the 9th most penalty calls. Washington had 7 penalties against the Packers, including 3 on the drive that allowed Green Bay to cut the lead to 2. Two of those penalties on that drive occurred on third downs, keeping the drive alive.
47: Joey Slye missed a 47-yarder and has now missed field goals in two straight games along with a missed PAT this season for Washington. Last season, Washington cut Dustin Hopkins after he went 12-for-14 on field goals with 2 PAT misses.
On the same drive that Slye missed the field goal, Washington was bailed out by an illegal contact penalty on a Heinicke fumble that was returned for a touchdown. That would have put the Packers up 21-10.
Heinicke looks to scramble on 3rd down, hit from behind and fumbled. Packers recover and run it all the way back. Packers get called for a penalty that bails out the Commanders pic.twitter.com/s5ymjPH7Md
— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) October 23, 2022
21: On Washington’s first three drives, they ran 12 plays and only gained 21 yards. They did get good field position after the special teams unit recovered a muffed punt for the second week in a row.
28.57%: Over their last three games, Washington’s red zone scoring percentage (TDs) is 28.57%, which is third worst in the NFL, behind only Denver and Chicago. Not the best company to be in. Washington got into the red zone four times, but only scored a touchdown once. Scott Turner needs to improve the red zone offense or Washington won’t be able to keep up with higher-scoring opponents.
1: Washington is tied for the NFL-lead in QB hits but only had 1 QB hit and 0 sacks against the Packers, despite Aaron Rodgers playing behind a subpar offensive line.
The Commanders will be taking on the Colts next week in what should have been a rivalry game for Carson Wentz. The ironic part is Wentz is injured and his replacement for the Colts, Matt Ryan, has been benched.
Washington will look to continue their mid-to-late season success under Rivera as the team heads into November. During Rivera’s tenure in the nation’s capital, the team has gone 8-3 in games between November and mid-December. Will that success continue this year?
4 things we learned in season-saving win over the Packers. dark. Next