4 Commanders who blew it in disappointing tie vs NY Giants
By Jerry Trotta
1. Scott Turner, OC
Like a head coach getting fired for an organizational failure, blaming the offensive coordinator after a disappointing result is usually a cop-out move. After Sunday’s draw vs the Giants, however, any and all Scott Turner criticism is justified.
Heinicke didn’t do Turner any favors and his wonky accuracy likely contributed to the coordinator’s maddening play-calling in overtime, but enough excuses. You simply cannot punt after entering an opponent’s territory in overtime.
After Heinicke found Curtis Samuel for a 21-yard gain — which led every Washington fan to believe a win was imminent — Turner dialed up two straight running plays for Brian Robinson, which went for 3 and -3 yards, respectively, before calling a bubble screen to Samuel on 3rd and 10 that netted one yard.
Essentially, the Commanders didn’t gain a yard after crossing midfield at the Giants’ 44-yard line. Inexcusable. You can argue whether Robinson should’ve bounced the first down carry outside instead of cutting back inside, but Washington’s receivers were beating man coverage all afternoon.
How are Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Samuel not given a chance to win the game? Did Turner not trust Heinicke that much? Even after the QB orchestrated an eight-play, 90-yard drive to tie the game late in the fourth quarter?
Doesn’t get much worse than this from an offensive coordinator. And to think an esteemed NFL insider thinks he has head coach potential.
