Deebo Samuel set the tone for the Washington Commanders on the first play of the game.
The wide receiver, whom the Commanders (2-1) traded a fifth-round pick for in the offseason, returned the opening kickoff 69 yards to the Las Vegas Raiders 27-yard line. Five plays later Marcus Mariota, starting in place of Jayden Daniels, scored on a 2-yard touchdown run. The Commanders took a 7-0 lead and would never look back, beating Vegas 41-24.
“Special teams was right at the start of it again… Having [WR] Jaylin [Lane] there on the punt return side, seeing [WR] Deebo [Samuel Sr.] on the kick return side,” Head coach Dan Quinn said after the game. “When you can capitalize and win on field position, a long return, keeping them pinned back, those are winning football moments. And when you do it, the results, the story almost writes itself. And when you don’t do it, you just keep putting yourself behind and you make it more difficult. So, it was cool to see all guys leaning in on one another today.”
The game wasn’t perfect. On Washington’s next possession, Mariota broke free on a 22-yard run to the Vegas 27-yard line, only to have Thomas Booker IV knock the ball loose, and Kyu Blu Kelly recovered it to end the drive.
Kicker Matt Gay missed a field goal and would have missed a second one right before halftime had the Raiders not called a timeout in an attempt to ice him. He made it on his second try.
“There is a difference between hitting it well and making it,” Quinn said. “And so, making it, that was a big deal. Provided energy to go. We knew we were starting the other way to the half and so for the defense to get the stop to go, that’s the back and forth. I was pleased to see us take the shot, Marcus got out of bounds, gave us a chance at it.”
After Las Vegas tied the game at 10 in the second quarter, Washington took control. Jeremy McNichols broke several tackles en route to a 60-yard touchdown run to make the score 17-10. Gay’s last-second field goal gave the Commanders a 20-10 halftime lead.
The Commanders scored on another big special teams play in the third quarter when rookie Jaylen Lane fielded a punt on his own 10 yard-line and returned it 90 yards for a touchdown to stretch the Washington lead to 27-10.
“It’s really just my teammates. They work their tails off blocking for me, speaking life into me,” Lane said. “They give me all the confidence in the world back there. All I told them was that I just need one lane and I’ll make the rest happen, and that’s what they did.”
Washington’s defense made life miserable for the Raiders’ quarterback Geno Smith all afternoon. Smith completed 19 passes for 289 yards and three touchdowns; however, he was sacked five times and pressured on almost half the time he dropped back to pass. Most of his yardage came in the second half when the outcome was decided.
“I think we just wanted to be aggressive,” said linebacker Bobby Wagner, who finished the game with 11 tackles and two sacks. “We understood that we have really good talented players and [Defensive Coordinator] Coach Whitt [Joe Whitt Jr.] did a really good job of sending us and mixing up the coverages and it was just a great game plan.”
Mariota showed no ill effects from not being able to practice during the preseason because of Achilles tendonitis. He completed 15 of 21 throws for 207 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for 40 yards and one score as the offense had its best performance of the young season.
“We just didn’t blink,” Mariota said. “We understand that there’s gonna be ebbs and flows in the game. Regardless of how those go, we never want to ride the roller coaster. Our team does a great job just kind of staying on that same level all game. I knew that if we just executed it a little more cleanly, we could score some points, get some stops, and do some good things on special teams.”
Post Game Notes:
Several Commanders left the game with injuries. Terry McLaurin (quad), Marshawn Lattimore (concussion), Will Harris (ankle), Percy Butler (hip), and Trey Amo (calf). The severity of each injury is unknown.
Mariota ran into Dan Quinn on the sidelines, knocking him to the ground and giving him a bloody nose right before halftime. Quinn said after the game he was fine as the team’s medical staff checked him out at the break.
Quinn also said guard Brandon Coleman was inactive this week because he was outplayed in practice by Chris Paul who started in his place.
The Commanders 174 yards rushing in the first half were the most in a half since 2010.
Von Miller, signed as a free agent right before training camp, recorded his first sack of the season.
Washington travels to Atlanta to play the Falcons next Sunday at 1 pm.
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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