Commanders key numbers, Week 15: Washington's win loaded with costly mistakes

It wasn't pretty, but Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders walked away with a dramatic victory at the New Orleans Saints in Week 15.

Coincidentally enough, it came down to the last play of the game, similar to what happened last time Daniels played at the Superdome as an LSU Tiger. However, his team came out on top this time.

In 2022, the Florida State Seminoles blocked an extra point on the last play of the game to avoid a collapse, after letting Daniels and the Tigers go 99 yards on an 11-play drive with a chance to tie.

It was the Commanders who had to avoid the collapse in this one. After recently signed kicker Greg Joseph missed from 54 yards with under two minutes left, it was Spencer Rattler and the Saints who went on an 11-play 56-yard scoring drive to pull within one.

This time, however, there was no extra point. The Saints went for the KO, ultimately falling short.

Washington eeked out a win. They struggled with missed opportunities and mistakes throughout the game. They weren't the only ones making mistakes, as the officials mistakenly stopped the clock for 3-4 seconds after the Saints got a seven-yard completion to get to the one-yard-line.

This allowed Rattler and the Saints time to spike the ball and get off another play. If New Orleans ended up coming back to win, controversy and calls for jobs would have occurred. Washington's defense not only saved the game but the NFL a whole lot of drama.

Let's get into the key numbers from Washington's ugly win in Week 15.

Commanders key numbers from Week 15 win at the Saints

8,106: For all those complaining about how Washington won, I have a stat for you. The last time the team won on the road after a bye week was in Week 5 of the 2002 season, which was 8,106 days ago.

Yes, it was ugly, but the team accomplished something they hadn't done in quite some time. Additionally, this was the first time that Washington won consecutive games in December since the 2020 season.

-38: Last season, the Commanders had the worst point differential in the NFL at -189. This year, the team has improved on that metric with a top-10 point differential in the league at +81.

However, one area where the Commanders have struggled is late in games. The team currently has a -38 point differential in fourth quarters this year, which is the worst in the league among teams with a winning record. The team has been outscored in the fourth quarter of every game since Week 7 outside of the Tennessee Titans win.

84: Although the season's numbers show the Commanders are one of the most disciplined teams with the eighth fewest penalty yards per game, recent weeks point to a different story. Washington committed eight infringements for 78 yards against the Dallas Cowboys, seven penalties for 65 yards against the Titans, before having nine penalties for 84 yards on Sunday.

On their first drive, Washington had two penalties with a fumble in between when they got to the red zone. The team also saw a 23-yard completion to Dyami Brown with just over two minutes left wiped out by a holding call. That completion could have allowed the Commanders to either score or run off the clock and prevented the near-loss.

8: After the first half, it didn't look like the big play counter would need to make an appearance, but once Spencer Rattler entered the game, the offense looked completely different for the Saints. Washington's defense finished with 8 big plays given up (passes over 15 yards and runs over 10 yards). The defense allowed runs of 12 (2), and 17 yards and passes of 19, 21, 25, 29, and 39 yards.

11: The Jayden Daniels to Terry McLaurin connection continues to get stronger every week. The rookie quarterback got the wideout involved early and often.

McLaurin finished with seven receptions for 73 receiving yards and two touchdowns. They had to chance to do more, but Daniels missed on two long passes that could have added to his total.

The former third-round pick secured multiple touchdown games in back-to-back weeks for the first time in his career and has 11 receiving scores on the year, the most for a Washington receiver since Gary Clark in 1991, the same year they won the Super Bowl. On the duo's first touchdown connection, the completion probability was only 16.1% with McLaurin having just 0.7 yards of separation.

8: After highlighting Tyler Biadasz as one of the unsung heroes of the season for Washington, this game made it clear just how valuable he is. With the starting center missing the game with an illness, Daniels was sacked 8 times, the most allowed by Washington all season and the most for the Saints since 2020.

Former Commanders' defensive end Chase Young got in on the action, sacking Daniels two times. Brian Robinson Jr. and the run game also failed to get into a consistent rhythm despite facing off against one of the league's worst rushing defenses.

52.9: After being in the bottom 10 of the league in third-down conversion percentage last season, the Commanders are in the top 10 this year, coming into the game converting 44.10 percent of the time. Against the Saints, Washington was able to convert on 9-of-17 attempts (52.9%). Daniels went 7-for-7 on third downs for 64 yards and converted four third-downs with his legs, including a 24-yard scamper on 3rd-and-14.

Although the display on the field was sloppy, especially coming out of a bye week, it was nice seeing the Daniels to McLaurin connection continue to thrive and nobody throwing in Marshon Lattimore's direction. The only number that really matters is with the win.

The Commanders have a 91 percent chance of making the playoffs. Who would have predicted that at the beginning of the season?

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