5 huge disappointments from the Commanders loss at LA Rams in Week 15

Commanders OL's physicality

This is a strange thing to write considering that any one of these men could break me in half with a fingernail. But the interior of the Washington Commanders offensive line is physically weak. You understand that weak is a relative term here.

I mean weak by NFL standards. By regular human standards, these men are all Hafthor Julius Bjornssons. Check out Game of Thrones if that means nothing to you.

I have been writing about this all season. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Nick Gates or Tyler Larsen. Saahdiq Charles or Chris Paul. The interior of Washington’s line rarely gets a push on running plays and is often pushed back into the quarterback on passing plays. They are simply overwhelmed time and time again.

Never was this more apparent than on the Commanders' goal-line plays in the fourth quarter when they were desperately trying to get back into the game. They ran two straight plays right up the middle from the one-yard line and went nowhere. Then, when a penalty put the ball back on the one a few plays later, and they tried again, the same result.

Sam Cosmi is the Commanders' best offensive lineman. He is also a strong man. But he is 6-foot-6 and not used to playing guard. He does not drive people off the line. I have been saying for months now that he needs to move back to right tackle.

There was a time not too long ago when Washington had physically dominant players on the interior of both lines. Players like Wes Schweitzer and Brandon Scherff. They had Tim Settle and Matt Ioannidis on the defensive side of things.

You can debate whether they were great players or not, but they rarely got blown off the ball. None of them are here anymore, and the players with whom Washington replaced them are routinely physically overmatched.

That is disappointing. But you know what may be even worse, at least as far as the Los Angeles Rams game goes?

The Dallas Cowboys were manhandled by the Buffalo Bills in a nationally televised late game on Sunday. They just ran all over the vaunted Dallas defense. And I didn’t get to see it happen live. Because I was watching the Commanders.

Talk about your disappointments.