If it’s true that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, then Washington Commanders offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. is going to be the fiercest player in the NFL pretty soon.
The rookie right tackle looked utterly helpless for much of the game against the Green Bay Packers' dominant defensive front seven. But to his credit, he stayed in the game and fought until the end.
Commanders’ fans can take some solace in the fact that their first-round draft pick was playing in just his second game, on a short week and against an extremely formidable opponent. There were plays where he looked pretty good. But there were far too many others, often on crucial downs, where he was simply overwhelmed.
Commanders have a big decision to make with Josh Conerly Jr. after latest rude awakening
Whether it was Micah Parsons or Rashan Gary standing opposite, the rookie really had no answers when the game mattered most. The biggest question for Dan Quinn, Kliff Kingsbury, and offensive line coach Bobby Johnson is whether Conerly has the resilience to bounce back from a very tough start.
Let’s make one thing clear. Washington’s entire offense was wretched on Thursday Night Football. Conerly was not good, but he was far from alone. The rest of the offensive line, including veteran star Laremy Tunsil, struggled quite a bit with Green Bay’s defense.
Austin Ekeler had a few brave runs before suffering an Achilles injury late. Zach Ertz found the end zone. So did Deebo Samuel Sr. No one else did much of note. Jayden Daniels never looked comfortable.
But most of Daniels’ struggles can be directly tied to how much pressure he was under. With no running game to speak of, Washington was reliant on his passing. With Parsons, Gary, and the rest of the Packers' defensive line constantly pushing the pocket, the quarterback had to throw fast.
The Packers' secondary recognized there would be little time for Washington to look deep, so they crowded the short throws. It left very little room for the dynamic signal-caller.
The most disappointing thing about Conerly’s performance was the fact that he seemed equally overmatched by Gary’s bull rush and by Parsons’ speed moves. The Commanders tried to help him with chips from tight ends and running backs, but it didn’t seem to help. The fact that Washington’s best blocking tight end, John Bates, went out due to injury didn’t help either.
It became bad enough in the third quarter that Washington had to at least consider pulling the rookie. Andrew Wylie has started 29 games at right tackle for the Commanders over the last two seasons and has been on the bench. But Quinn and his staff appear to believe that trial by fire is the best path forward.
Conerly is still very young. He is playing a new position. He will gain experience and will get physically stronger. His first two games came against some of the best defensive linemen on the planet. If he can weather this storm, he should come out of it a better player.
The question for Quinn at this point is, how long can the Commanders afford to wait for their rookie to stop playing like one?