There was a lot to like about the Washington Commanders 21-6 win over the New York Giants in week one of the 1015 NFL regular season.
New York was able to hang around primarily due to offensive miscues by the Commanders, something players and coaches acknowledged after the game, but are confident it will be solved in short order.
The good news is that several off-season additions had big days and were crucial in securing the week one victory before a sellout crowd at Northwest Stadium.
Deeb Samuel was the most visible of those additions. He caught 7 balls for 77 yards and scored a touchdown in the 4th quarter to put the game out of reach.
But a look at the All-22 tape shows several others, including three rookies made key contributions.
Josh Conerly Jr.
The first-round pick from Oregon had a big job in his regular season debut; the Giants defensive front is one of the better ones in the league and Connerly was routinely going up against Brian Burns, fellow rookie Abdul Carter, and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
He was beaten badly by Burns in the second quarter that led to a sack of Jayden Daniels, but we don’t know whether tight end Zack Ertz should have helped with a chip block or not as he was getting off the line of scrimmage.
Conerly was also beaten by Thibodeaux in the same quarter that would have resulted in another sack but left tackle Laremy Tunsil was called for holding.
But Conerly seemed to find his footing in the second half. His final total showed him giving up just two pressures. For a rookie, it was a good outing to build upon.
Trey Amos
Like Conerly, the second-round pick from Ole Miss had a baptism by fire, covering Malik Nabors and Darius Slayton, two Giants receivers who have had big days against the Washington secondary in the past.
Defensive Coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. trusted Amos in man coverage most of the game and he responded, helping limit the Giants passing game to just 168 total yards.
His best play of the game came in the 3rd quarter when Nabors tried to run past him on a stop and go route. Amos didn’t bite on the fake, ran stride for stride with Nabors and eventually broke up the pass.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt
Has there ever been more pregame hype for a seventh-round draft pick? Bill’s training camp performance convinced GM Adam Peters to trade starter Brian Robinson Jr. to San Francisco before the start of the season.
Merritt hit the holes quickly and decisively. His total of 82 yards on 10 carries is a little deceptive, he gained 42 on his last run in the fourth quarter, but that last run also sealed the victory for Washington.
Without the big gain, he averaged 4.4 yards per carry and was given an elite grade of 83.9 run grade by PFF.com.
The talent level of the opponent increases substantially Thursday night in Green Bay against the Packers but there was a lot to like about week one. Let’s hope week two continues the upward trend.
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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