4 fatal flaws the Commanders must rectify during their 2024 bye week

An 8-5 record at the bye week is better than anybody honest enough to admit it could have hoped for from the Washington Commanders. The necessary rebuild is ahead of schedule for first-year general manager and head coach duo, Adam Peters and Dan Quinn, along with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.

This trio has the Commanders viewing the playoffs as a realistic possibility, but there are still dangers lurking. Notably, four underlying and fatal flaws that can still derail this surprising season.

Those problems are headlined by a core weakness on defense. It's an issue compounded by injury and under-performance up front. The result has been a unit too easily exploited by smart teams with true balance on offense.

The Commanders' offense is back on track after running riot against the Tennessee Titans in Week 13. Yet more than a few teams have found the formula for upsetting Kliff Kingsbury's unit. It's a strategy based upon attacking pass protection in a specific way and punishing Daniels' over-reliance on one particular target.

Fixing those frailties has to be the priority for Kingsbury. However, special teams coordinator Larry Izzo should also have a busy week ironing out some of the mistakes that have plagued Washington in football's third phase.

Let's take a closer look at what the Commanders still need to get right during their brief break.

4 fatal flaws for the Commanders to fix during the bye week

Reduce special teams errors

Special teams' frailties had to make this list after kicking game mishaps and a return coverage faux pas allowed the Dallas Cowboys to escape Northwest Stadium with a win in Week 12. A look at the bingo card should bring tears to Larry Izzo's eyes.

He saw kicker Austin Seibert miss two extra points. Izzo also had to stand by helplessly as KaVontae Turpin returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, even after initially muffing his catch.

The Washington Commanders couldn't even attempt an onside kick without gifting the Cowboys another six points. This time courtesy of defensive back Juanyeh Thomas.

There are bad days at the office, but this was a special team apocalypse. Any more outings like this could ring the death knell for the Commanders' playoff hopes.

Fortunately, Izzo's unit made partial amends against the Tennessee Titans by recovering a fumbled kickoff to set up a touchdown. However, replacement kicker Zane Gonzalez did miss a pair of field goals.

The special teams feasted on a Titans team quickly taken out of its comfort zone by the Commanders racing into an early lead. That won't happen every week, so the special teams must prove it can stay error-free and create some splash plays when games remain close.