The Washington Commanders knew Sunday’s game against Buffalo would be a test to see how far they had come since last season. They found out they still have a long way to go.
“Missed opportunities. That’s the bottom line,” head coach Ron Rivera said in his post-game press conference. “First of all, you can’t turn the ball over, which we did. And if you lose the turnover battle like that, you’re going to get beat. That’s the truth of the matter.”
The Bills defense pressured quarterback Sam Howell relentlessly, intercepted him four times and Josh Allen put on a clinic going 20 for 32 for 218 yards. He also threw one touchdown and one interception as Buffalo beat Washington 37-3 before a sell-out crowd at Fed Ex Field. Howell was under constant pressure, getting sacked nine times and being pressured on 80% of his drop-back attempts. Still, the biggest problem was turnovers.
Trailing 3-0 in the first quarter, Howell led the Burgundy and Gold on an eight-play drive to the Buffalo 34-yard line. On third and 19, Howell dropped back looking for Dyami Brown but was intercepted by Bills linebacker Terrell Bernard.
“I gave up some situations where I was trying to get the ball out of my hands and trying to avoid a negative play and I just kind of forced something,” the quarterback said. “It wasn’t a good decision. Just all those bad plays. I’ll definitely learn from it, and I’ll be better from it.”
With the score 10-0 in the second quarter, Howell drove the offense to the Buffalo two-yard line but could not complete a 4th and goal pass to tight end Cole Turner, turning the ball over on downs. The Bills would kick a field goal to increase its lead to 13-0.
Micha Hyde would make interception number two, grabbing a pass intended for Antonio Gibson with 1:15 left in the second quarter. It led to Buffalo’s third field goal of the half, giving the Bills a 16-0 halftime lead.
“It was a miscommunication with the protection. We had a free guy, and I wasn’t expecting him to be free,” Howell said. “Obviously, that’s my fault and I was trying to avoid the sack and just try to get it to the check down. But [S Micah Hyde] did a good job covering the check down and made a good play. But yeah, I’ve got to either throw it in the dirt or throw it over his head,” he said.
The game was decided, for all intents and purposes early in the third quarter as the Commanders squandered yet another chance in the red zone. After taking the opening kickoff to the Buffalo 15-yard line, Howell was intercepted in the end zone by Tre’Davious White. Although it didn’t result in a score, it would be the closest the Commander’s offense would get to the endzone the rest of the afternoon.
Buffalo would score three fourth-quarter touchdowns including an interception returned for a score by A.J. Espenesa.
The Commanders have little time to regroup as they will travel to Philadelphia on October 1st to play the Eagles.