The Tampa Bay Buccaneers targeted Washington Commanders cornerback Marshon Lattimore early and often in Sunday’s NFC wild-card matchup. Lattimore, who’d missed six of eight games with a hamstring injury since his trade to Washington, struggled in the first half.
The matchup with his longtime archrival Mike Evans was hyped throughout the week. Evans had five catches against Lattimore with a touchdown in the first half. Lattimore was also called for pass interference.
After the half, the Commanders contained Evans, who had only two catches in the second half.
With such a shaky performance in prime time, it was fair to wonder how healthy Lattimore was coming out of that game. Hamstring injuries are notoriously tricky and can take time to heal. Head coach Dan Quinn said on Monday that Lattimore was fine.
“It sure looks like it in terms of the competitiveness, the strength, we’re still honestly working back all the way into it,’ Quinn said when asked if Lattimore was fully healthy. “So, there’s an element of that just from doing the right thing to make sure we don’t overload it into that spot. So, it’s a fine line to do that, but certainly all he brings to us is a competitor.”
That’s good news. The Lions are on the schedule next and feature the dynamic receiver duo of Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams.
Quinn then discussed Lattimore’s usage against the Bucs, coming off the hamstring injury.
“I just wanted make sure we weren’t overloading into the amount of reps, so that was by design going into the game,” Quinn said. “So, we kind of had a, I’d say a sort of a pitch count in mind. Not all reps are created equal for a cornerback. Think of a downfield throw compared to a run that comes to you. It’s not the same stressors.”
That’s where this regime is different. Washington will not rush a player back, regardless of who it is. Even if they badly need Lattimore, he must be 100% before he plays. And that goes for anyone else, too.
So, what did Quinn think of Lattimore’s performance?
“Yeah, I would say for us, it’s about winning, and that’s the name of the game,” Quinn said. “And so, we love what Marshon brings to us. We don’t look at the game as one box score or one player; we look at it as a collective. And like I said, there were other plays that wouldn’t show up to make a tackle to hold them to a field goal at the end. Those are important moments for us as well. And give Tampa and Mike [Evans] their credit too; they’ve been excellent this entire season, so I don’t want to shortchange that as well.”
Quinn is right. Yes, Evans beat Lattimore throughout the first half, but let’s not pretend Evans is a scrub. He’s a future Pro Football Hall of Famer.
Sunday is now in the rearview mirror as Quinn and the Commanders are focused only on the top-seeded Lions in the NFC divisional round.
