Commanders Week 17 Key Numbers: Carson Wentz wets the bed vs Browns

If it wasn’t abundantly clear over the last three-plus weeks, Ron Rivera and company ended all doubt in Week 17. The Washington Commanders are not a well-coached football team.

After a 24-10 loss to the Browns, the only person in Washington left with a grin on his face was new mascot, Major Tuddy. Well, his face is stuck that way, so he doesn’t really have a choice, and he also doesn’t yet know the disappointment this fan base has had to endure for years.

It was like déjà vu with the Commanders once again coming up short in a must-win game. We’ve seen this story play out before, against the Giants (2x), the 49ers, and on Sunday against the Browns.

Except, this time, the team was out of chances. Out of luck. There was no life raft piloted by Kirk Cousins to keep the Commanders in the playoff race.

And the worst part was, Ron Rivera seemed clueless to the fact that his team could be eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday.

Welp, a few hours later, with a Packers win, Washington was officially eliminated from the playoffs. And, based on the way this team has played the last few weeks, it didn’t deserve the No. 7 seed. Juxtapose Washington’s situation with what is happening in New York with the Giants.

The Giants started hot, going 6-1, fell apart and then regrouped, winning an important game against the Commanders before clinching a playoff spot with a big win against the Colts on Sunday.

Washington, on the other hand, started the season with a whimper at 1-4, won six of its next seven, primarily with Taylor Heinicke at the helm, before ending with a whimper.

With the season on the line, Ron Rivera chose to put the ball in Carson Wentz’s hands. The same quarterback that went 12-for-22 for 99 yards in his last full start. The same quarterback that lost to the worst team in the NFL last season in a playoff-clinching game, finishing 17-for-29 for 185 yards, with an interception and a fumble lost.

Instead of admitting to his $28 million mistake, Ron Rivera doubled down and tried to prove he was the smartest man in the room.

And, Wentz once again wet the bed.

It may have been even worse than last year’s collapse against the Jaguars. Wentz finished 16-for-27 with 143 passing yards and 3 interceptions. After Wentz started 0-for-2 with an interception on Washington’s first drive, the calls for Heinicke came ringing in from the crowd. Maybe, Rivera should have listened.

Let’s get into the Week 17 numbers from the Commanders’ frustrating loss to the Browns.

The Good: Defense Kept Commanders in the Game in the First Half

Arguably, there was not much that went well for the Commanders in the game, so coming up with positives was a stretch. The biggest victory, if you could call it that, was introducing Major Tuddy.

3: Despite three interceptions from Wentz, the Commanders defense limited the damage by only allowing three points off turnovers in the game. On the three drives after Washington turnovers, the Browns only ran 11 plays for 18 total yards.

100%: Finishing drives in the red zone was one of the reasons that Washington switched from Heinicke to Wentz. The Commanders scored touchdowns on 100% of their trips to the red zone. The problem, the team only got into the red zone once in the game.

21: The Commanders took 11:27 of game-time off the clock during their 21-play 96-yard touchdown drive, capped off by Wentz’s quarterback sneak on 4th-and-goal. The 21-play drive tied for the longest drive of the season and was only the fifth time in the last 10 seasons that a drive has lasted that many plays. Wentz finished the drive 4-for-4 for 49 yards, including a big 3rd-and-17 conversion.

The Bad: Defense Collapses in Second Half and Offense Falls Flat

2-7-1: Over the past two seasons, Ron Rivera has gone 2-7-1 in games played in December and January. That is not the way to end a season and explains why Washington has missed the playoffs both years.

3: The Browns had only three offensive touchdowns in four games with DeShaun Watson starting, but managed to score three touchdowns on back-to-back-to-back drives against the Commanders. The Browns went 6 plays for 63 yards, 12 plays for 84 yards, and 9 plays for 75 yards to put the game out of hand. The defense held the Browns to 81 net yards in the first half before collapsing in the second half.

Carson Wentz on the other hand finished with three interceptions for the Commanders while throwing no touchdowns. Heinicke had three interceptions over his last six games to go along with seven passing touchdowns. So much for that quarterback switch.

118: Washington had 118 yards of total offense in the second half with the drives ending in a punt, punt, field goal, interception, turnover on downs, and end of game. Not what you expect from winning football teams.

7.4: Nick Chubb had a field day against Washington, finishing with 104 yards rushing and 7.4 yards per attempt.

93.6: In his last eight games against the Commanders (7 with the Cowboys, 1 with the Browns), Amari Cooper has balled out. He has averaged 93.6 receiving yards per game and an average of 1 receiving touchdown per game. He had 3 receptions for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns on Sunday.

With one game left and nothing meaningful to play for, will the Commanders give Sam Howell a chance to spoil the Cowboys’ chances of winning the division? We’ll have to wait and see, but I think the entire fanbase agrees that we’ve seen enough of Wentz to know his time in Washington is done.

How will the Commanders address QB conundrum in 2023?

The Commanders have faced challenges at the quarterback position for years, but these circumstances could change very soon. Will they pursue Derek Carr?