Mike Sainristil has become a liability the Commanders cannot afford

There was no shortage of contributors to the Washington Commanders' defeat against the Philadelphia Eagles. Nobody did more sustained damage than cornerback Mike Sainristil.

The latter's decline from seeming rising star to outright liability should be studied. Sainristil hit a new low against the Eagles, with one blown coverage assignment after another.

It didn't matter if Sainristil lined up in the slot or on the perimeter. He often surrendered gains that kept an otherwise erratic Philadelphia offense in business.

Mike Sainristil problem isn't going away for Commanders

Sainristil's growing problems handling even basic responsibilities form an issue the Commanders can no longer ignore. Particularly when the new-look, Daronte Jones-coached defense showed some promising signs in Week 1.

Jones could hardly have failed to notice his Commanders' unit had a problem at cornerback entering the season. Top cover man Trey Amos still can't get healthy, and there's simply a lack of elite talent on the depth chart.

Sainristil was supposed to be playing his way toward that lofty status off the back of a late surge as a rookie in 2024. Instead, he's become a big-play dispenser for the other team.

The Eagles went after the Commanders' zero on the outside early and often. It says everything about how much Sainristil is struggling that he managed to make Dontayvion Wicks look like prime A.J. Brown.

Wicks, in turn, helped Jalen Hurts resemble peak Randall Cunningham.

Hurts' first connection with Wicks showed what kind of night Sainristil would endure. He looked lost trying to track the deep ball to Wicks that yielded 64 yards for the Eagles.

Mike Sainristil's hesitancy cost the Commanders big-time against the Eagles

Sainristil made his name at Michigan as a handsy corner, so he shouldn't allow any receiver to get behind him this easily. Unfortunately, a growing passive streak and confusion about how he covers at the pro level are showing.

Both frailties showed up when Wicks turned Sainristil inside out and back again for a nine-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.

The brutal end-zone view only underscored Sainristil's moment of madness. It looked as though he was torn between man-to-man coverage and zone. By the time he figured it out, it was too late.

Perennial Super Bowl winning quarterback turned FOX Sports analyst Tom Brady's assessment of the play as "very bad execution there by the third year corner" is an early contender for commentary understatement of the season.

Some confusion and growing pains were inevitable after Jones took over the defense. Especially since he calls a complex scheme based on sophisticated pressure in front of elaborately disguised coverages.

Those things sound great and look even better, but they only work if everybody on the back end knows what they're doing. Sainristil already looking out of his depth is more bad news at a position already at risk of fatally undermining the Commanders' defensive revival.

Jones will need to give Sainristil plenty of help, both in the film room and on the field, before pitting him against Dallas Cowboys' star wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens in Week 2.

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