3 telling revelations from the Commanders’ loss to the Vikings

The Washington Commanders’ winning streak came to a screeching halt in Landover, Maryland as they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Up 17-7 early in the fourth quarter, the Commanders were on the precipice of a four-game winning streak, and moving above .500 for the first time in Ron Rivera’s tenure.

It was not to be, however, as in excruciating fashion Washington made blunder after blunder en route to watching their double-digit lead vanish. Donning their sweet new black uniforms for the second time of the year, and the first time at home, Washington produced their most frustrating loss of the season.

The season isn’t lost by any means yet but it made the circumstances for the Burgundy & Gold (& black) much tougher. With Jahan Dotson and Chase Young expected back any week now, going into Philly 5-4 could have been huge. Most of all, though, it revealed a few things about the Commanders that are undeniable at this point, as the NFL season has officially passed the midway point.

3 telling revelations from Commanders crushing loss to Minnesota

1. The offense is bad 

We can say this one now with no qualifiers, the offense is bad. For as stingy, disciplined, talented, and awesome the defense has been the offense has been equally poor. From the play-calling to the quarterback play to the offensive line play, the Commanders’ offense is leaving the defense out to dry.

Why on fourth & inches is the play call to roll Taylor Heinicke out to pass when he has struggled all day? Inches, legitimately inches are needed. Line Heinicke under center, put Brian Robinson behind him, and push Heinicke across the line. It can’t be this hard.

That doesn’t even mention the 3rd & 9 draw early in the game. After being unsuccessful, the Commanders would punt. That was a play being set up to make the fourth down more manageable but again the whole process is just flawed there.

That doesn’t make Taylor Heinicke infallible either though. He was inaccurate all day long, was frankly lucky on his touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel, and his interception came at the worst time. He certainly gives the team a bolt of confidence because of his charisma, leadership, and inspiring story but sometimes his lack of physical traits are too hard to overcome.

It also doesn’t help Heinicke, a quarterback that is smaller in stature, that has an offensive line that had the Minnesota front in the backfield all day long. The Vikings front totaled 3 sacks, 6 tackles for loss, and 7 QB hits on the day. They completely lived in the backfield. Andrew Norwell and Trai Turner remain huge swings and miss from the Commanders 2022 free agency cycle.

So to recap, the offensive play-calling puts the Commanders at a disadvantage, the quarterback is severely physically limited, and the offensive line is well below average. That is not a winning recipe. In fact, that is a recipe for an offense that ranks bottom in the league. With no “well, but” statements needed, the Commanders offense is bad — really bad in fact — and its only saving grace is its strong supporting cast at the skill positions.

2. Ron Rivera still struggles with in-game management

As the Vikings were able to slowly widdle the clock down following John Ridgeway’s penalty, it was easy to look at the Commanders’ (lack of) timeouts. They only had one remaining, one was blown for them to come up with the brilliant 4th & inches failed play call, and another on a challenge that Washington was never going to win.

Neither timeout needed to be burned in that situation. The fourth and inches game plan should have been pretty simple: sneak it, and if Minnesota stops you, tip your cap. Instead, the Commanders wasted a timeout, to try to outsmart their opponent, only for them to shoot themselves in the foot.

Rivera must be getting poor information from those telling him to challenge calls, as well. Because challenging the spot of the ball on Heinicke’s scramble was both unlikely to be overturned, and largely inconsequential. They had one yard to get on two downs, as they faced a 3rd & 1 at midfield.

On the next play, Armani Rodgers would scamper for 25 yards on a tight end sweep. The timeout was wasted for mostly nothing. That comes only four weeks after Rivera haplessly wasted a timeout on Washington’s final drive against Tennessee, and their lack of those came crucial later in that drive.

Add that to Rivera’s puzzling conservative nature near the end of the first halves, to sit on his timeouts and take a slim lead or deficit into the half compounds the confusion. He either keeps his timeouts when it is not needed in the first half or confusingly accepts the risk of losing them in the second half when the object is to conserve them.

Ron Rivera should be applauded for having his guys ready to battle over the past month and a half. They went toe-to-toe with a 6-1 Minnesota Vikings team. However, at some point, his in-game management needs to be called out. He is putting his teams in losing situations by continually managing the clock and his timeouts poorly.

3. The defense is nearing elite status

This one needs no qualifying statements as well, this defense is simply a really good unit. Following Lions’ game, they have consistently given the team a chance to win. Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne may be the best interior defensive line duo in the entire NFL. They are stout against the run, and they consistently produce wins as pass rushers.

Montez Sweat may never be a consistent number-one presence as an edge rusher but as a number-two option, he fills in really well. He is dominant against the run and can win on stunts and with a bull rush as a pass rusher. The Commanders had 13 tackles for loss and 11 QB hits on the day, the defensive front was simply dominant today.

Benjamin St-Juste was tasked with covering Justin Jefferson for most of the day. Jefferson won a fair share of his reps but St-Juste battled. He had two pass deflections, one of which led to an interception, could’ve potentially had a game-winning pick-6 if not for a questionable DPI call, and had a sack on a CB blitz today. Against his toughest challenge yet, St-Juste brought his best. Bright days are ahead for the former Golden Gopher.

The rest of the secondary is filling out their roles well. Kam Curl remains one of the team’s most important players, as his sure tackling in space stopped drives, and saved points on his shoe-string tackle of Adam Thielen in the fourth quarter. Bobby McCain had a tackle for loss and a pass deflection on the day, and he continues to settle into the free safety role.

Kendall Fuller and Jamin Davis, two players who have struggled at points, are also coming into their own. Fuller is a nice complement to St-Juste, as he had a pass deflection and a tackle for loss on the day. Davis’ run fits have significantly improved and he isn’t as much of a liability in coverage as he was before.

The Commanders held Dalvin Cook to just 2.8 yards per carry on the day, as they continue to be dominant against the run. This defense is good. And it will keep them competitive in most games. How good they end up being is dependent on the offense beginning to perform at a league-average level. If not, the Commanders could be staring down the barrel of another 7-10 seasons.

But hey despite the disappointing loss, I’ll leave you with one last cool nugget for Commanders fans. Jay Glazer confirmed on FOX’s pregame show that Dan Snyder is seeking to sell 100% of the franchise after he announced they had hired Bank of America to explore selling options. An even better statement was this is expected to move quickly and could be done by the new league year.

So the Commanders may have lost the battle today but they may have won the war. The loss still stings, though.