Film Study: The Commanders Have a Lot of Work to Do

There’s no way to sugar coat it, the Washington Commanders got beat in every phase of the game in their 44-22 loss to Dallas. It was the team’s second straight loss, it drops their record to 3-4, and now Washington faces Kansas City, Seattle, and Detroit in the next three weeks.

Head coach Dan Quinn and the coaching staff won’t have to look far for issues to fix, and a look at the All-22 tape shows there is plenty to choose from.

Marshon Lattimore got left high and dry on a key play:

It’s a popular topic on talk radio. The former all-pro is washed, dried, and folded in the fat clothes drawer (figuratively speaking). But is defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. doing everything he can to maximize what Lattimore does well and minimize his weaknesses?

Case in point, the long pass to Dallas receiver George Pickens late in the second quarter.

Washington had just cut the Cowboys lead to 20-15. The offense was back in synch and was looking at just a five-point deficit at the break despite playing without its top three receivers.

Pickens got past Lattimore on a simple go route, not surprising as he is one of the best receivers in the league and with CeeDee Lamb on the other side, a lethal threat on every play. But a closer look at the play shows safety Quan Martin, who lined up on Lattimore’s side does not make a move towards the two until much too late.

Cowboys slot receiver Kavonte Turpiun lined up in the slot and went in motion leaving only Pickens on the left side, split wide.

Lamb ran a route to the middle of the field and had both a linebacker in front of him and a safety in back, yet Martin didn’t break towards Pickens until the ball was in the air.

As always, we had no idea what the call was pre-snap (was it quarters?), but there was no one within 10 yards of Martin and it looked like he didn’t react in time to even think about helping over the top.

Lattimore seemed to have Pickens covered as well as possible and the throw from Dak Prescott was outstanding, but more help is always better.

Lattimore was picked on plenty by the Cowboys; he was targeted eight times and gave up six receptions. His coverage grade is, statistically, the worst of his career to date. He was brought in to help shore up the defensive backfield but can’t make up for other players blown assignments.

One important note, however, the 74-yard touchdown pass to CeeDee Lamb did not appear to be his fault. There has been a lot made of him and Quan Martin running into each other enabling Lamb to break free.

It appears Lattimore should never have been forced to try and make that play.

Lamb lined up on the right side of the line and ran a deep seam route. Lattimore was matched up on Pickens on the left. It looked like Lamb was Mike Sainristil’s responsibility, but Sainristil was looking at the running back, then dropped into the flat.

Lamb ran free down the middle, signaling to Prescott he was wide open, both Martin and Lattimore rushed over to try and break up the pass as disaster occurred. While it was still a poor decision by both Martin and Lattimore, it looked like neither should have been put in that position.

Jayden Daniels wasn’t accurate; but his receivers aren’t helping:

While the second-year quarterback hasn’t been playing at an MVP level, he’s still one of the best in the league, the problem has been two-fold this season and continued last week. First, his accuracy wasn’t what it was last year and second, his receivers are dropping a lot more balls.

Zack Ertz was once again less than sure handed. In the first quarter, Ertz dropped a short pass on second down that would have moved the chains. Instead, Washington punted one play later. One play after that, Dak Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb on a 77-yard touchdown pass to turn a 10-8 lead into 17-8.

Jaylin Lane was also guilty of an early game drop. Daniels hit lane square in the numbers on a route to the middle of the field and the rookie couldn’t hang on to the ball. While the drop didn’t kill the drive, it was another example of a receiver dropping a throw.

Despite the miscues, Daniels still accounted for 191 of the teams 341 yards of total offense, not to mention two of its three touchdowns.

The good news? Sam Cosmi played well in his return:

In his first game back since tearing an ACL against Detroit in the divisional playoffs last season, Cosmi played the entire game and played well.

As a pass blocker, he was elite, earning a PFF grade of 85.9. Cosmi frequently lined up over tackle Kenny Clark and seemed to have no trouble moving him out of the way.

Aside from that, the bright spots were few and the immediate future is a meat grinder. The Commanders have a road game against Kansas City (4-3), winners of two straight and

home games against Seattle (5-2) and Detroit (5-2). There is a very real possibility Washington could be staring at a 3-7 record before heading to Madrid to play the 1-6 Miami Dolphins.

It’s getting late early in the season for the Commanders.