Another prime-time embarrassment against the Seattle Seahawks was masked by yet more injury problems for the Washington Commanders. But that should not detract from the real issue at hand.
Luke McCaffrey broke his collarbone on the opening kickoff. Marshon Lattimore cut a dejected figure on the sidelines after tearing his ACL. Superstar quarterback Jayden Daniels, who had no business being in the game midway through the fourth quarter, suffered a dislocated left elbow that could rule him out for the entire campaign.
These issues, particularly those involving Daniels, will take the headlines. However, this game once again exposed what's really behind Washington's demise this season. That, of course, is their woefully incompetent defense.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold carved up the Commanders like a Thanksgiving turkey, with more than 250 passing yards, four touchdowns, and a 100 percent completion success in the first half. Seattle took pity on Washington after that, but Mike Macdonald's squad could have scored whenever they felt like it.
Dan Orlovsky blasts Commanders for fatal defensive flaw that won't go away
If defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. isn't on the hot seat, he should be. This unit lacks ideas, inspiration, and motivation. It looked like the players legitimately downed tools on their coach in Week 9, which typically only ends one way.
Quarterback turned ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky hit the nail on the head. He pointed to Whitt's insistence on playing so much man coverage when it's painfully apparent that Washington doesn't have the talent to do so effectively as a massive flaw that must be urgently rectified.
"Have said it all season long. I truly don’t understand Washington running all this man coverage when they clearly do not have the people to play man coverage. They make it easy on QBs."Dan Orlovsky
In fairness to Whitt, he's tried more zone coverage. That hasn't worked either, so it's a case of finding the lesser of two evils. Either way, an ongoing capitulation feels almost inevitable.
Confidence has been sapped from this squad. Influential figures are sidelined, and the ripple effects are too much for this threadbare roster to counteract. Although Lattimore hasn't exactly covered himself in glory this season, losing the four-time Pro Bowler only stretches this failing group even more.
Just what Whitt or anyone else can do at this point is anyone's guess. The Commanders don't have the personnel to make effective adjustments. The veterans are slow. The young players expected to make strides have regressed. They are not generating pressure and have a soft underbelly against the run. It is a woeful concoction of ineptitude, and fans aren't expecting much to change.
That's the most depressing part of all.