4 huge disappointments from Commanders loss vs. NY Giants in Week 11

Commanders let another opponent get healthy

New York Giants cornerback Nick McCloud picked off Sam Howell’s first pass. He has played in 25 NFL games. Do you know how many interceptions he had beforehand? Zero.

The Giants scored a touchdown in the first quarter. Do you know how many times that has happened this season? Zero.

And if you want to talk about disappointments, try this one on for size. Entering today’s game, undrafted free agent Tommy DeVito had played the equivalent of two full games. He had completed 57 percent of his passes. Against the Washington Commanders, he completed 69%.

His yards per attempt was an atrocious 4.8. Against Washington, it was an exceptional 9.5.

Before Sunday, DeVito had thrown three touchdown passes and three interceptions. Against the Commanders - three touchdowns and zero interceptions. His passer rating improved from 65.4 to 137.7.

In short, the Washington defense - despite nine sacks and stuffing the run for three quarters - had enough breakdowns to allow DeVito to look like an All-Pro quarterback.

There were a bunch of other recurring disappointments - linebackers’ failure in pass coverage, a Joey Slye miss, a Dyami Brown drop, and a lack of effective creativity in the red zone. But I’ve come to expect those things. This week offered a host of new miseries.

And it’s a short week before the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.