The Washington Commanders went to Atlanta with hope.
Hope they could get away with resting Jayden Daniels another week, hope they could get a win on the road against a team that got embarrassed the week before, hope they could cobble together enough offense without their top two receivers.
The Falcons gave them a harsh reality check.
Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix completed 20 of 25 passes for 313 yards, two touchdowns and one interception just one week after getting benched as the Falcons beat Washington 34-27.
The loss drops the Commanders record to 2-2 on the season with a trip to Los Angeles next week to face the Chargers.
Starting for the second straight week, backup quarterback Marcus Mariota was efficient (16 of 27 for 156 yards, 2 touchdowns, one interception) but could not generate big plays with the regularity Daniels has been able to in order to keep drives alive and separate the Commanders from their opponents.
The Atlanta offense didn’t look like the unit that was shut out by Carolina in week 3. After taking a 3-0 lead on their first possession, the Falcons stretched it to 10-0 when Penix found Drake London in the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown. London led all receivers with 108 yards on 8 receptions.
Washington responded with an 8-play, 70-yard drive capped by a Mariota throw to Luke McCaffrey in the end zone to make the score 10-7. It was the second straight week McCaffrey has caught a touchdown pass.
McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel did their best to make up for receivers Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown missing the game with injuries. Still, Washington could never get closer than a field goal.
Time and again, the Falcons turned to both Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, both of which responded with stellar days on the ground. The two picked up 126 yards on the ground, helping Atlanta pound out a 9-minute advantage in time of possession.
In addition to 75 yards rushing, Robinson made the biggest play of the game through the air.
Leading 17-13 in the 3rd quarter, Robinson took a swing pass from Penix 69 yards for a touchdown to stretch the lead to 24-13.
Two Matt Gay field goals cut the lead to 24-16 when the Falcons running game struck again, this time it was Crumpler who ended a seven-play drive with a 15-yard touchdown run to make the score 31-16.
The Commanders came back as Mariota hit Deebo Samuel on a 24-yard touchdown pass on 4th down midway through the fourth quarter, but the Commanders defense couldn’t get off the field in time for anything more than a late field goal to make the final score 34-27.
Post Game Notes:
Frankie Luvu’s sack of Penix was his first this season. He totaled 8 tackles, 5 of them solo, one for a loss.
Bobby Wagner led the defense with 10 total tackles.
Daron Payne passed former linebacker Lavar Arrington for 13th on the club’s all-time tackle list.
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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