The Washington Commanders experienced a little bit of everything during this past Sunday’s home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at FedEx Field.
After starting the game with a 14-3 lead at the half with only one turnover, the Commanders would find themselves in an adverse situation late in the game. Washington would turn the ball over two more times and relinquish the lead in the fourth quarter.
The Commanders would show resiliency, however, and for the second time in Head Coach Ron Rivera’s tenure, start the season 1-0 after a hard-fought 28-22 win against Jacksonville.
This Weekend the Commanders go on the road to face a formidable opponent in the Detroit Lions. The Commanders will need to continue to trend upward if the team wants to extend its winning streak to two games.
To follow are three players to watch in Sunday’s contest at Ford Field:
1) CB Kendall Fuller
Fuller is a player that is aggressive in coverage and puts pressure on the opposing teams’ wideouts. However, last Sunday Fuller was often found in the trail position but was saved many times by the inaccurate ball placement from Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. The seven year pro also accounted for two pass interference calls that enabled Jacksonville’s offense to have more positive down and distance for scoring.
The Virginia Tech product who had four tackles (three solo, one assisted) will need to be crisp in his play against the Lions. Detroit has receivers that are big and physical. It will be interesting to see how well Fuller bounces back in Week 2.
2) TE Logan Thomas
After suffering a torn ACL last season, Thomas was back in the lineup in Week 1. The third-year tight end was able to ease back into the offense as the Commanders wide receiver unit carried the load along with running back Antonio Gibson.
Thomas finished last week’s game catching three of six targets for 45 yards for two of Washington’s first downs.
Last week the Lions allowed Dallas Goedert three of four targets for 60 yards. The Commanders have plenty of options to target in their offense. It will be interesting to see if offensive coordinator Scott Turner attempts to get his tight end more involved in the offense in Week 2.
3) LB Jamin Davis
Davis found himself matched on a running back or a wide receiver often in Week 1 and things didn’t go so well for the second-year pro. The Kentucky product often found himself out of position allowing the Jaguars to convert on a big play. The great thing about all of this is it’s simple to correct. For Davis, it comes down to knowing where you should be concerning your offensive opponent.
Now that it has been seen on tape, Davis will need to make the corrections immediately.
Davis possesses very good coverage speed. It will be intriguing to see if he can make the necessary adjustments in Week 2 to turn those negative plays into positive ones for the defense.