Make no mistake, Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons was neither a gimme, nor a move up in class too big to expect a win. The Commanders, with a depleted offense, had an even-money chance to win on the road with a backup quarterback and without their two best receivers.
Even without Jayden Daniels, Terry McLaurin, and Noah Brown, the Commanders scored 27 points and were within one score in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the tape shows several areas that need improvement if the Burgundy and Gold hopes to win in Los Angeles this weekend.
Bobby Wagner in coverage is a problem:
There was a time when the 35 year old could do it all for a Dan Quinn defense, but Father Time is undefeated.
A second quarter throw from Michael Penix Jr. to Kyle Pitts was a perfect example of Wagner’s limitations. What should have been a short, five yard completion turned into a 12 yard catch and run for a first down as Pitts made the catch and ran right past the All Pro despite Wagner having a 5 yard cushion when the play began.
Wagner is still a great tackler and a run stopping force, he led the team again with 10 tackles, but teams with elite tight ends are going to exploit him in coverage until he or defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. figure out a way to stop it.
Marshon Lattimore had another shaky game:
Lattimore was hardly the only defensive back to have trouble, the entire unit struggled, often looking confused about who to cover and when. Atlanta receivers routinely got open thanks to coverage mistakes.
Lattimore’s biggest mistake? A 43-yard catch by Drake London in the second quarter that set up a Falcons touchdown. London blew by Lattimore on a double move that left Washington’s number one cornerback chasing London to the 19-yard line.
Josh Conerly Jr had a better week:
The rookie right tackle got beat up pretty good in week two going up against Micha Parsons but rebounded last week against the Raiders Max Crosby. Sunday he turned in a second straight solid performance.
Granted, the competition wasn’t as elite and but offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury gave him plenty of help. Conerly had tight end Ben Sinnott and occasionally tackle Trent Scott lining up to help him and it made a difference.
Conerly did miss a block on a Marcus Mariota roll out that led to an incompletion and got beat on a twist but was otherwise solid. The highlight of his day was probably the huge hole he and linemate Andrew Wiley opened up on Chris Rodriquez’s 36 yard run in the first quarter to set up Washington’s first touchdown.
In all, there is plenty to clean up this week. The Commanders travel to Los Angeles to face the Chargers Sunday at 4:25.
Bob Matthews is a 33 year veteran broadcast journalist, spending the last 29 years of his career in Virginia. Bob has covered both news and sports stories and for the last three seasons, the Washington Commanders. He looks forward to continuing to provide coverage to Sportsjourney.com both on the website and through his podcast, The Bob Matthews Show.
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