The Washington Commanders lost another heartbreaker on Sunday, falling 29-26 to the Seattle Seahawks on a 43-yard field goal as time expired.
Washington quarterback Sam Howell was excellent again, completing 29 of 44 passes for 312 yards with three touchdowns. Unfortunately for Washington, its offense struggled in the second and third quarters before finishing strong. By that time, the Commanders defense, which was playing a bend-but-don’t-break style through the game, broke in the fourth quarter.
Which Commanders, outside of Howell, stood out vs. the Seahawks? Which players had a bad day?
The grades are in, per Pro Football Focus. Let’s examine the best and worst performers from Week 10.
Top 5 offense
- WR Dyami Brown: 86.8
- RB Brian Robinson Jr: 84.2
- TE John Bates: 73.7
- QB Sam Howell: 68.4
- RB Antonio Gibson: 67.5
Brown played 11 snaps but made them count. He caught the game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter and raced through the Seattle secondary.
Robinson was outstanding, finishing with 14 total touches for 157 yards and a touchdown. Gibson was also terrific, particularly in the passing game.
Bates had three receptions and did some good work after the catch.
Howell’s PFF grade doesn’t tell the entire story of how excellent he was on Sunday.
Top 5 defense
- S Percy Butler: 80.7
- CB Quan Martin: 70.5
- DE Andre Jones Jr: 70.2
- CB Kendall Fuller: 67.3
- LB Jamin Davis: 63.5
Percy Butler had the highest grade of his career. Butler was everywhere and is getting more comfortable each week. He had a phenomenal tackle for loss on third down. However, Seattle went for it, and the Commanders were called for a defensive penalty on fourth down.
Rookies (Martin and Jones) took advantage of their limited snaps. Fuller was Washington’s best corner again. His tackling grade stood out.
Davis played a solid game.
Bottom 5 offense
- WR Jahan Dotson: 49.5
- C Tyler Larsen: 49.1
- WR Curtis Samuel: 48.8
- LG Chris Paul: 42.1
- WR Jamison Crowder: 31.7
Dotson played the most snaps of any wide receiver and had zero catches. He wasn’t really targeted in the game.
Larsen really struggled in pass protection (23.7), as did Paul (36.8). Crowder only played six offensive snaps and had a key drop.
Bottom 5 defense
- DE James Smith-Williams: 48.0
- DT John Ridgeway: 45.1
- DE Efe Obada: 42.8
- CB Danny Johnson: 42.0
- LB David Mayo: 40.7
Smith-Williams left with an injury. He struggled as a pass rusher, while Obada had a poor grade in run defense. Ridgeway also graded poorly against the run.
Johnson had issues in coverage, while Mayo had issues everywhere. Washington’s linebackers, other than Davis, often end up in the position. Mayo has been an excellent special-teams player but should not be starting at linebacker. It says more about Ron Rivera than it does David Mayo.
Other notable grades
- WR Terry McLaurin: 67.0
- RG Sam Cosmi: 52.1
- RT Andrew Wylie: 57.1
- TE Logan Thomas: 61.2
- DT Jonathan Allen: 62.5
- DT Daron Payne: 62.2
- CB Benjamin St-Juste: 54.3
- DE Casey Toohill: 61.3
- S Kam Curl: 54.6
McLaurin had a quiet day, catching four passes for 33 yards. It wasn’t as if he struggled; the game plan was the quick passing game to the backs and tight ends, which worked perfectly. McLaurin did have two critical receptions late.
Cosmi had a terrible pass-blocking grade (27.2), while Wylie struggled run-blocking (41.9).
Defensively, Allen graded better rushing the passer, while Payne had a higher run-stuffing grade. Curl’s low grade came as a run defender (33.3), which is unusual for him.
