The Washington Commanders are 3-5 after Sunday’s 38-31 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Washington had its chances to win the game, but multiple second-half mistakes, from players to coaches to officials, doomed the Commanders.
Quarterback Sam Howell was excellent for much of the day, completing 39 of 52 passes for 397 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Howell was also sacked a career-low one time. Unfortunately, that sack came at a critical juncture in the game. Facing a fourth down with around two minutes remaining, Eagles LB Haason Reddick beat right tackle Andrew Wylie around the edge to force the turnover.
Before the Commanders turn the page to New England, there is this week’s NFL trade deadline. Will Washington sell by Tuesday’s deadline?
Here are five takeaways from Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia.
Sam Howell is not the story
It feels like every game is a referendum on Sam Howell’s future with the Washington Commanders. This was Howell’s ninth career start and second start vs. the Eagles. It so happens that two of Howell’s three best performances came against Philadelphia. Unfortunately, both were losses.
The miss on fourth down in the first half sticks out. It was a bad throw by Howell. It was a bad call by OC Eric Bieniemy to go empty on fourth-and-1 and throw. At least show the threat of a run with Brian Robinson Jr. There was also the interception in the fourth quarter. It was a bad throw from Howell. Some debated Howell’s responsibility in Terry McLaurin’s consecutive drops. Look, the throws weren’t perfect, but both hit McLaurin. He needs to catch them, which he will tell you every time.
But Howell threw the ball 52 times. You are going to miss a few. He did, but he made several outstanding throws.
The Commanders didn’t lose Sunday because of Howell or McLaurin. It was another encouraging performance from Howell, who needs to stack these types of games together if he wants to show ownership that they should build around him in 2024 and not draft his replacement.
Coaching malpractice
Why did Ron Rivera not challenge the DeVonta Smith catch in the third quarter? If he had challenged — his players were jumping up and down wanting to challenge — the play would’ve been overturned. Even this version of NFL officiating couldn’t have justified keeping that play as a completion. The Eagles tied the game three plays later. Had he challenged, it would’ve been Commanders’ ball.
The coaches benched rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes a few weeks ago. It was the first time Forbes faced A.J. Brown and the Eagles, where his downfall began. After barely playing the past two weeks, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio put Forbes in the game against the Eagles — matched up with Brown. Brown is the NFL’s best wide receiver right now. The Eagles quickly exploited the matchup.
Please explain this. Forbes again played only a handful of plays, but matched up with Brown. I’ll give some slack to Forbes. His coaches are not doing him any favors.
Why can't they perform like this vs. everyone else?
Howell has been phenomenal against the Eagles. Since the Week 4 game, Howell had some up-and-down performances in losses to the Bears and Giants and even in the win over the Falcons. But it’s not just Howell. Why can Bieniemy scheme together such a good plan for the Eagles but struggle against the Giants and Bears?
Why does the offensive line perform better against the Eagles? Washington did make some changes on the offensive line, which seemed to help, but the plan was clear: Call quick passes and for Howell not to hold the ball under any circumstance.
Imagine if Washington played this well in those losses to Chicago and New York. You are 5-3, even with the losses to the Eagles. That’s another strike against this entire coaching staff. The only thing consistent about the Washington Commanders under Ron Rivera is they are inconsistent every year in all phases.
Commanders got almost nothing from the defensive line
With trade rumors swirling around defensive ends Chase Young and Montez Sweat, the pair combined for one sack. The Eagles have the NFL’s best offensive line, but Washington has four former first-round picks along the defensive line. While sometimes, the individuals have dominant moments, the group never takes over a game.
Sweat had one sack and multiple pressures. The one sack was a play where Sweat cleaned up after Daron Payne made the initial play.
Far too often, Jalen Hurts sat in the pocket for several seconds, scanning the field before throwing to open receivers. Not to defend Washington’s beleaguered secondary, but when a quarterback has that much time to throw, it never ends well for the defensive backs.
While we can question a lot about Rivera and his staff, not picking up Young’s fifth-year option was the right move. Make him earn it. It’s easy to dominate players signed off the street, but Young needs to do it against top competition. If he can’t, then paying him elite money should not be on the table.
The trade deadline
Washington has some big decisions to make by tomorrow’s trade deadline. Will the Commanders trade one or more of their defensive linemen? Sweat appears the most likely to go. Washington allegedly has one offer on the table for Sweat. Other teams have also inquired about defensive tackle Jonathan Allen. The Commanders said they weren’t trading him.
Washington is set to begin a new era in January. Changes are coming. Right now, everything should be on the table for the Commanders.
