Welcome to the second half of the 2023 NFL season where, once again, the Washington Commanders find themselves at an inflection point.
By the time they kick off in Seattle this afternoon, it’s possible they could sit just ½ a game behind the Minnesota Vikings for the final NFC playoff spot.
It’s still not good enough after almost four years of roster building by head coach Ron Rivera, but it’s better than angling for a draft position with yet another rebuild on the horizon (even if it might be).
Washington has had success in Seattle, but to pull off an upset this week, these things probably have to happen.
1. Emmanuel Forbes Jr must prove he’s back
The rookie cornerback from Mississippi State was given a couple of weeks off to watch and learn and responded with his best game of the year against New England.
Forbes wasn’t just good, according to PFF, he was the best cornerback on the field last week, in any game.
Forbes earned a grade of 91.3 overall. That’s elite in PFF’s book. This week, though, he’s not guarding Demario Douglass and JuJu Smith-Schuster, he’s facing D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.
Granted, last week was an aberration for Seattle, a 37-3 blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens. A week before, Metcalf earned a grade of 75.3 as QB Geno Smith’s favorite target with 14 balls thrown his way. Lockett earned a grade of 84.5 and caught a touchdown.
Forbes steps back up in weight class on Sunday, he will have to respond.
2. Sam Howell needs to make it three in a row
Against the New York Giants three weeks ago, Sam Howell was awful. He completed only 52% of his passes, he was sacked four times and intercepted once.
Since then, he’s gotten the ball out faster and has had two of his best games of the season. Against New England, he earned his highest grade of the season as Washington won on the road 20-17.
Seattle’s defense will present a different look that the Patriots and Howell will have to adjust, Seattle’s defensive backs are in the top ten in the league, as a unit. If he does, he will check another box on the way to becoming the long-term solution at quarterback.
3. The defensive line needs to continue to evolve
The Washington pass rush was almost non-existent last week without Chase Young and Montez Sweat. Granted, New England ran a lot of quick game passing but that will change Sunday.
Seattle quarterback Geno Smith likes to go deep and the receivers as mentioned earlier are fast enough to accommodate him. Washington’s front four needs to get home and make life difficult for him.