A mistake-filled performance drops Washington from the division lead
The last week has been kind of strange. Despite the team hitting on a QB and performing far better than anyone could have expected in the first year of a rebuild, there was more negativity in the in-game comment threads during a 1-point loss to a strong team than there had been at many times during the past four seasons, as a motley crew of replacement level QBs inspired the hopes of a desperate fanbase.
The results of the weekly fan opinion polls have been showing over 95% confidence in the direction the team is heading. So it’s clear that the negativity is coming from a small number of disaffected commenters.
Perhaps it would help those who still haven’t embraced the miracle that is unfolding in Washington to put the Week 10 loss to the Steelers into perspective. After the Week 1 loss to the Buccaneers, I published an article examining the timelines of teams that had successfully rebuilt as championship contenders following total franchise resets in the last decade. I identified five teams that won playoff games following similar “recalibrations” to the Commanders’ 2024 offseason: new front office, new coaching staff, roster overhaul.
The normative time to the first playoff win was 3 years, achieved by the 2023 Texans, 2023 Lions, 2020 Browns and 2019 49ers. The 2020 Bills were the only team to record a winning record in the first year of their rebuild, finishing 9-7, with a Wild Card playoff loss. Let’s see how the Commanders’ record compares to the other teams at Week 10 of rebuild year 1:
Only one team had a better record at this point in their rebuild. The Commanders are well ahead of the pace of all the others. And unlike the 2017 Bills, they have already got their QB.
Sunday’s game was a tough loss to a strong opponent. The Commanders and the Steelers each failed to capitalize on opportunities to make the score far more one-sided than it was. Both teams committed errors to keep it close, and the refs did their part as well. That’s football.
While the Commanders have only beat one team that currently has a winning record, fans who suffered through any part of the last 23 years should take heart at how close their team is playing teams like the Steelers and the Ravens so soon after the franchise reset. One game when the team was not playing its best football shouldn’t take the shine off of the incredible progress that has been made.
Now, let’s see who got playing time at what positions, who made the most mistakes, and who played well despite their teammates dropping balls, missing tackles and committing stupid penalties.
Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
OFFENSE
The seven-time Pesi Zero NFL Rookie of the Week winner probably won’t make it to eight this week. Daniels had his worst game since the opening day loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That is not to say it was a particularly bad day for a rookie QB. Usually that entails interceptions or other turnovers. Daniels did a good job of protecting the ball and getting rid of it to avoid pressure. He took 3 sacks for 20 yards, but it could have been a lot worse.
On the afternoon, Daniels completed just 17/34 passes (50% – season low) for 202 yds, with 0 TDs and 0 INTs.
Daniels was sacked 3 times for 20 yds. While that is not great, it was only a little over the 2.4 sack average of the Steelers’ other opposing QBs this season. His sack rate of 8.1% of dropbacks was nowhere close to the high mark set by the Chargers’ Taylor Heinicke, who took 3 sacks on 5 dropbacks (60%) against the Steelers in Week 3.
Daniels faced pressure on 29.7% of dropbacks, which is significantly below the 34.0% average of Steelers’ other opposing QBs this season. In fact, only Adrian O’Connell (17.1%), Aaron Rodgers (20.0%) and Joe Flacco/Anthony Richardson (27.3%) have faced lower rates of pressure against the Steelers. According to Pro Football Focus, Daniels faced just the sixth most pressures (11 total, 3 sacks) he has faced this season. According to Pro Football Reference, it was the fourth-most pressures (8 total).
One aspect of Daniels game that was noticeably different from recent outings is that he converted pressures to sacks at a higher rate than normal. His season average Pressure to Sack Ratio is 17.5%. Against the Steelers, 27.3% of his pressures were sacks, second only to his 38.5% Pressure to Sack Ratio in the first Giants game. This is probably a result of the Steelers’ rush lane discipline containing Daniels in the pocket. Daniels only scrambled once for 1 yd, well down from his season average of 4.2 scrambles per game.
Another unsual aspect of Daniels’ game was his accuracy under pressure. For the season, Daniels has completed 76.5% of passes from clean pockets and 43.5% of passes when pressured. Against the Steelers, he completed 16/26 (61.5%) passes from clean pockets, but only 1/8 (12.5%) passes under pressure.
According to Pro Football Reference, Daniels made 5 bad throws. His bad throw rate of 15.6% was only the fourth highest of the season (High: 26.5% vs CHI; Low: 0% vs CAR).
Another factor that heavily impacted Daniels’ performance were the 4 drops by his receivers. His receivers’ drop rate of 12.5% was far and away the highest to date (previous high: 8% vs CLE). Had Washington’s receivers caught all their targets, as they have done 5 times this season, Daniels’ completion rate would have risen to a more respectable 61.8%.
The Commanders attempted just 22 running plays against the Steelers, their second-lowest of the season. The lowest was 18 attempts in the loss to the Steelers’ division rival Ravens. The Commanders have won every game this season in which they had more than 30 rushing attempts.
Austin Ekeler led the rushing attack, in Brian Robinson’s absence, with 44 yds, 7 first downs (season high), and 2 TDs on 13 rushing attempts. His 3.4 yd rushing average was his second lowest of the season, after the 2.3 YPA performance against the Ravens. Ekeler also caught 1 of 2 targets for 7 yds.
Jeremy McNichols ran 4 times for 7 yds and 1 TD. Chris Rodgriguez had 2 carries for 4 yds.
Terry McLaurin recorded his fourth 100+ yd receiving total of the season, hauling in 5 of 6 targets for 113 yds (18.8 yd/tgt) and 4 first downs. McLaurin posted an impressive receiving success rate of 83.3%. He was the 6th most productive WR in Week 10 at 3.32 Yards/Route Run, just ahead of Pittsburgh’s George Pickens in 7th place at 3.14 Y/RR.
The Commanders’ other WRs combined for 51 yds on 16 targets (3.2 yd/tgt). That total includes an awesome 3 tgt, 2 rec, -13 yd performance by Dyami Brown, with 1 dropped pass in the end zone.
Noah Brown was second on the team in receiving yds, catching 3 of 7 tgts for 33 yds. He led the team with 2 dropped passes. Pro Football Focus credits Luke McCaffrey with a drop, but Pro Football Reference does not.
Zach Ertz caught 4 of 8 targets for 31 yds, with 1 dropped pass. John Bates and Ben Sinnott were mainly used as blockers. John Bates was flagged for a 2 yd holding penalty and got away with a personal foul that was offset by a penalty on Steelers’ LB Patrick Queen.
Brandon Coleman again played full time at LT, while Cornelius Lucas was out with an ankle injury. Trent Scott filled in at RT for an injured Andrew Wylie. Tyler Biadasz got banged up and left the game for 5 plays, allowing Michael Deiter to sub in at center.
Pass Protection
Despite some bad local press on Hogs Haven, the OL held up well against the Steelers’ pass rush. Jayden Daniels faced pressure on 29.7% of dropbacks. Five of the Steelers’ 8 other opponents have faced higher rates of QB pressures this season. PFF only attributes 4 of the 11 pressures on Jayden Daniels to offensive linemen, but that total does include 2 sacks on C Tyler Biadasz and LG Nick Allegretti. LT Brandon Coleman did get away with allowing a sack on a play that was called back due to a penalty.
The pressure rates allowed in pass protection are as follows:
- C Tyler Biasdasz: 1 sack, pressure rate 2.6%
- LG Nick Allegretti: 1 sack, pressure rate 2.4%
- LT Brandon Coleman: 1 hurry, pressure rate 2.4%
- RT Trent Scott: 1 QB hit, pressure rate 2.4%
- RG Sam Cosmi: no pressures allowed
Run Blocking
The OL’s run blocking was somewhat less spectacular this week than the pass protection, according to PFF. Here are the PFF run blocking grades:
- C Tyler Biadasz 69.2
- LG Nick Allegretti 64.6
- LT Brandon Coleman 61.1
- RG Sam Cosmi 58.4
- RT Trent Scott 55.9
Penalties
Tyler Biadasz was flagged for holding, but the penalty was offset by a defensive holding call on Donte Jackson.
Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
DEFENSE
Dante Fowler had another impactful performance, racking up 3 tackles and 2 assists, 2 sacks, 2 TFL, and 4 total defensive stops. Fowler pressured Russell Wilson on 26.3% of dropbacks, continuing his run of elite level productivity in the pass rush. The only blemish on his outstanding performance was a 5 yard offsides penalty.
Dorance Armstong had 1 assisted tackle, 1 QB hit and 1 hurry. He generated pressure on 9.1% of dropbacks.
Clelin Ferrell made 1 tackle for a stop and 2 assists. He generated 1 QB hurry in 11 pass rush snaps (9.1% pressure rate). Ferrell committed an offside infraction which was declined.
Jalyn Holmes made 2 tackles and 1 defensive stop. Efe Obada made 1 tackle for a stop.
Daron Payne made 4 tackles for 4 defensive stops but missed 1 tackle. He generated 1 QB hurry in the pass rush.
Sheldon Day got 56% of Payne’s playing time and registered 4 tackles, 4 assists, 1 TFL and 3 total defensive stops. He generated 1 QB hurry in 12 pass rush snaps.
Johnny Newton made 1 tackle and 2 assists, with 2 total stops. He had 1 QB hit in 20 pass rush snaps. Newton also committed the biggest gaffe of his rookie campaign, by jumping offsides on fourth down with 1:02 remaining to allow the Steelers to run out the clock for the win.
Phidarian Mathis made 2 tackles, 1 assist and 1 defensive stop.
Frankie Luvu made 3 tackles and 4 assists with 1 TFL. In the pass rush, he recorded 1 sack, 1 QB hit and 1 hurry. He blitzed 13 times, generating pressure on 23.1% of pass rush attempts. He had 1 target for no reception in coverage. The one blemish on his otherwise stellar performance is that he missed 2 tackles.
Bobby Wagner also made 3 tackles and 4 assists with 2 missed tackles. Uncharacteristically, he made no defensive stops this week. He blitzed twice, generating 1 QB hurry. He was not targeted in coverage.
Mykal Walker made 1 tackle for a stop and 2 assists. He was targeted once in coverage, allowing a 3 yd completion.
Benjamin St-Juste made 3 tackles and 2 assists, with 2 defensive stops. In coverage, he faced matchups against George Pickens (2), Mike Williams (1) and Calvin Austin (2). He allowed receptions on 2 of 5 targets for 56 yds and 1 TD to Williams. Receivers in his coverge had productivity of 1.56 yds/coverage snap. St-Juste also picked up his fifth pass interference penalty this season for 14 yds.
Mike Sainristil made 3 tackles and 2 assists with 1 defensive stop. Sainristil also had the dubious distinction of leading the team with 3 missed tackles (PFF), in a week where the Commanders were particularly bad at tackling. PFR credits him with 2 missed tackles.
In coverage, Sainristil matched up against George Pickens (4), Van Jefferson (1) and Calvin Austin (1). He allowed receptions by Pickens on 3 out of 6 targets for 51 yds. This was a rare instance where his receivers were more productive than St-Juste’s at 1.76 yds/coverage snap.
Noah Igbinoghene made 3 assisted tackles with 1 stop, while missing 2 tackles. In coverage, he matched up on 6 different receivers, allowing receptions on 3 of 7 targets for 29 yds and 1 TD on an acrobatic catch by George Pickens. He was the most effective of the Commanders’ CBs in coverage, as usual, holding his receivers to 1.07 yds/coverage snap.
Emmanuel Forbes saw the field for 2 snaps and was not targeted, fortunately.
For the second week in a row, Jeremy Chinn was the Commanders’ leading tackler, with 6 tackles and 7 assists. He also tied for the most defensive stops (4) with Daron Payne and Dante Fowler. Chinn was also one of the few Commanders’ defenders with no missed tackles.
In addition to the tackles, Chinn registered 1 INT, 1 pass breakup, and 1 fumble recovery after Quan Martin’s goal line strip. In coverage, Chinn matched up against TE Pat Freiermuth and was targeted 3 times, allowing 3 receptions for 17 yds and 1 TD.
Chinn also collected his first yellow flag as a Commander on a 15 yard roughing the passer penalty.
Quan Martin made 2 tackles and 4 assists, but also missed 2 tackles. He produced one of the biggest plays of the game for Washington by forcing a fumble near the goal line with 7:12 remaining in the fourth quarter and Washington defending a 6 point lead (EPA 4.32). In coverage, Martin was targeted twice, allowing 1 reception by RB Jaylen Warren for 26 yds.
Percy Butler made 2 tackles and 1 TFL, but also missed 2 tackles. He was not targeted in coverage.
Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
SPECIAL TEAMS
Midweek signee Zane Gonzalez filled in admirably for an injured Austin Seibert, booting 2/2 field goals from 48 and 41 yards, and kicking 3/3 extra points. Even with the week off, Austin Seibert retained his title as the NFL’s leading scorer.
Tress Way punted 6 times for 330 total yds, with a long of 74 yds and a net average of 48.3 yds per punt. He landed 2/6 punts inside the Steelers’ 20 yd line. The total number of punts, yardage total and long punt were all season highs. The net average punting yards was the second highest of the season, after last week’s game against the Giants (48.5 net yds).
Austin Ekeler returned 4 kicks for 118 yds (29.5 YPA) with a long return of 39 yds.
I guess we have to talk about Olamide Zaccheaus’ punt returns. After establishing himself as the best punt returner in Washington in over a decade, Zaccheaus saw it all slip away against the Steelers with 2 fumbled catches on 2 return attempts. He managed to recover the first drop after the Steelers’ first offensive drive. The other one, on the first drive of the second quarter, was recovered by Pittsburgh WR Ben Skowronek at the Commanders’ 14 to set up a Steelers’ TD five plays later.
Tyler Owens and Jeremy Reaves led the special teams coverage units with 2 tackles apiece.
Mike Sainristil, Percy Butler, Jeremy Chinn and Nick Bellore each contributed single tackles.
Mykal Walker and Jeremy McNichols had single tackle assists.
Ben Sinnott, Quan Martin, Tyler Ott, and Nick Bellore all had single missed tackles.
For the fifth week in a row, the Commanders had no penalties on special teams.
Week 9 Poll Quiz Answer
Last week’s poll asked which of a select group of Commanders would have the biggest game against the Steelers. RB Chris Rodriguez ran away with 29% of the vote, after a strong performance against the Giants and lead back Brian Robinson out with an injury. Rookie DT Johnny Newton finished second with 15% of the vote, followed by TE Ben Sinnott at 13% and LT Brandon Coleman at 10%.
With established stars Terry McLaurin, Dante Fowler, Frankie Luvu and Jeremy Chinn not available as options, I am afraid there were no good options for readers to choose from. The best answer from the available options was probably CB Noah Igbinoghene, despite the TD. Igbinoghene has quietly had a very good season shutting down the slot.
This week I will tweak it a little.