3 winners (and 4 losers) from Commanders' defeat vs. Steelers in Week 10

Winner No. 3

Tress Way - Commanders P

Tress Way hasn't been called upon too much this season. The Washington Commanders' offense has come on significantly following the appointment of coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and drafting Jayden Daniels at No. 2 overall. This left the Pro Bowl punter as an innocent bystander for large periods earlier in the campaign.

Sunday's game against the Pittsburgh Steelers was a different story. The Commanders found life more difficult versus a vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers defense. That meant Way had to play his part. He did so with his customary consistency and exemplary ball positioning.

Way punted six times in Week 10. He amassed a whopping 330 yards at 55 yards per punt. Two of his attempts landed inside the 20-yard line, but this can be attributed to the Commanders being backed up on a few occasions with nowhere to go but slightly beyond midfield.

Washington's offense isn't going to face many bigger challenges than this. But the coaching staff can relax safe in the knowledge Way will be on hand to produce the goods if they stutter at any stage.

Loser No. 4

Zach Ertz - Commanders TE

Zach Ertz picked a bad time to have his worst showing since joining the Commanders in free agency. The veteran tight end was not at his best in this one. He'll be the first to acknowledge that, but he's also got enough know-how to brush it off in readiness for Thursday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Ertz was not the typically dependable presence in the passing game that Jayden Daniels needed. He brought in four receptions from eight targets for 31 receiving yards. This also included a crucial drop in the second half when a first down was there for the taking and failing to get a fourth-down conversion on what turned out to be Washington's final drive.

The replay clearly shows that Ertz was over the marker upon catching the football. He moved back in an attempt to go forward and was hit immediately. This signified a lack of awareness and eventually became the team's undoing with the contest at stake.

Hopefully, this will be nothing more than a blip rather than the start of an ongoing trend for Ertz. Bouncing back versus the team he was drafted by and won a Super Bowl with would be a great place to start.

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