The Washington Commanders defeated the Atlanta Falcons 24-16 Sunday to end their three-game losing streak. Washington improves to 3-3 on the season.
The Commanders started fast, ending their first drive with a field goal. The Falcons answered, and after the two teams traded punts, wide receiver Jamison Crowder returned a punt 61 yards to set up Washington’s first touchdown.
The Commanders forced a turnover on downs near midfield, and quarterback Sam Howell led another scoring drive, finding Curtis Samuel to take a 17-7 lead. Atlanta kicked a field goal, and the lead was 17-10 entering halftime.
Falcons QB Desmond Ridder was intercepted on the first possession of the second half by Kendall Fuller, and two plays later, Howell found Brian Robinson Jr. for his third touchdown pass.
That would be it for Washington’s scoring. While it looked like the Commanders could run away with the game, they got nothing from their offense, and the defense forced three second-half turnovers to help seal the win.
Who played well for the Commanders? Who struggled?
Here are the studs and duds from Week 6.
Stud: Pass protection
Everyone beats up on Washington’s offensive line for the 29 sacks that Howel had taken coming into the game. Sometimes, the criticism is warranted. However, some advanced stats show that the Commanders have been better in pass protection than most realize.
On Sunday, Howell took five more sacks. Wait, how can you praise the offensive line after allowing five sacks? Let’s look at each sack individually and realize they weren’t on the offensive line. On almost all of the sacks, Howell must do a better job of getting rid of the football. He took back-to-back sacks with over a minute remaining in the first half, ruining any chance of another Washington score.
The Commanders protected Howell well on Sunday. That’s an encouraging sign moving forward, but the Falcons weren’t exactly a great pass-rushing team.
Dud: QB Sam Howell
Wait, Howell threw three touchdowns and did not turn the ball over. How can he be on this list? See the reasons above. The sacks he took were costly. On Washington’s first drive, the Commanders had a first-and-10 from the Atlanta 30-yard line. Howell took a sack for a seven-yard loss on the next play. Washington couldn’t recover and kicked a field goal.
On the drive before halftime, the Commanders had over a minute remaining and multiple timeouts. A chance to take control of the game. Howell took two sacks, and on third down, when he saw nothing was open, he just spiked the ball. That was a smart play under most circumstances, but it stopped the clock with around one minute left in the half. Howell has now taken 34 sacks on the season. Howell wasn’t horrible on Sunday, but he wasn’t great, either. It was a career-low 151 passing yards from Howell, who got by with a couple of questionable decisions in the second half.
On the bright side, when your “dud” performance comes in a game with three touchdown passes and a win, you’ll take it every time. But a lot to work on from Howell, which he understands.
Stud: S Kamren Curl
We know how much Washington’s defense struggles without safety Kamren Curl. In the win over the Falcons, Curl was second on the team with 11 tackles and also defended three passes. Curl was everywhere, making multiple key plays in the win.
Dud: WR Jahan Dotson
Everyone, including us, believed this was wide receiver Jahan Dotson’s breakout season. In six games, Dotson now has 17 receptions for 140 yards and a touchdown. He had only one target on Sunday — and he dropped it. Check it out:
Y’all wonder why Dotson isn’t getting more targets – THIS is why… pic.twitter.com/G9NkGi8JSu
— Mark Tyler(Hogs Haven) (@Tiller56) October 15, 2023
He had a critical drop last week, too. Dotson was known for having outstanding hands. This was a potential big play here, and the opportunity was lost due to Dotson’s drop. Fortunately, the Commanders would score, but Dotson needs to make these plays.
Stud: DE Casey Toohill
Casey Toohill took advantage of his extra reps with Montez Sweat out injured. Sweat later returned, but Toohill continued to make an impact. He sacked Ridder twice and hit him three times and his sacks came at critical times for the Commanders. What a day for Toohill, one of Washington’s unsung heroes.
Dud: Officiating
This game was not officiated well. You can appreciate the “let them play” sentiment,” but how many times was Chase Young held and it was not called?
Stud: LB Jamin Davis
Jamin Davis got beat in coverage a few times Sunday, but he also made some big-time plays. Davis had eight tackles, a sack and the game-clinching interception. Davis was matched up against Falcons rookie RB Bijan Robinson and jumped the route for the interception. It was a stellar play.
Was this the coming-out party for Davis? He continues to play well.
Dud: Second-half offense
Let’s take out Brian Robinson’s 24-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter, and the Commanders finished the entire second half with 34 total yards. Their six possessions were as follows: touchdown, punt, punt, punt, punt and end of game.
That’s pathetic. The Commanders had multiple chances to come away with a comfortable win, and the offense failed them. This team has yet to play a complete game in all three phases from start to finish. Special teams and defense won Sunday’s game.
