The Washington Commanders' momentum from beating the New York Giants was short-lived after dropping their 11th game of the season to the Philadelphia Eagles. Late in the fourth quarter, this one got ugly.
After the Eagles scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion to go ahead 29-10, a massive brawl broke out in which two Commanders were ejected. One of them was safety Quan Martin, whose struggles have been a talking point all season.
The other was defensive lineman Javon Kinlaw, who has now been involved in two fights this year. That's two more than the number of sacks he has.
Commanders aren't paying Javon Kinlaw $15 million per year for this
Kinlaw was Washington's headline free agency signing this past offseason. Immediately, general manager Adam Peters was ridiculed for the heavy bag of cash he rewarded the defensive tackle with. The Commanders gave $15 million per year to a player with single-digit career sacks in five seasons, which was undoubtedly a choice.
The No. 14 overall pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2020 has done nothing but validate those concerns. Kinlaw hasn't recorded a single sack, and he's compiled only four tackles for loss and three quarterback hits. He's made the occasional impressive run-stopping play, but his standout moments are few and far between.
He sure does know how to lose his cool, though.
In Week 10 against the Detroit Lions, he and fellow defensive tackle Daron Payne were both involved in an altercation with wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, which resulted in the latter being ejected and suspended for Washington's next contest. Kinlaw, who made contact with a referee during the skirmish, somehow got off easy.
This time, he had no such luck. Kinlaw threw several punches at Eagles offensive lineman Tyler Steen, then flipped off the crowd as he was escorted from the field. Now, we wait to see if there will be additional punishment.
For all the heat head coach Dan Quinn has taken this year, it's actions like Kinlaw's that prove Washington's problem is on the field. Building a strong culture is as much about having winning players as it is about having a coach who can set the tone. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink.
Kinlaw is not a winning player. He's a prima donna whose production doesn't match his ego, and certainly doesn't match the money Washington threw at him.
There's still time to turn the narrative around. But so far, signing Kinlaw is looking like every bit the mistake the rest of the league thought it would be.