The Washington Commanders are a mess on offense. While young quarterback Sam Howell has shown flashes of brilliance through seven games, he’s also been frustratingly inconsistent. Most concerning is Howell has been sacked 40 times.
Howell is currently on pace to shatter Derek Carr’s single-season NFL record of being sacked 76 times in a season. There is plenty of blame to go around for Howell’s sack issues. He holds the ball too long, the offensive line hasn’t been good enough and the coaching staff has also been a problem.
What about the wide receivers? Wait, what? Remember the hype Washington receivers had before the season? The Commanders have yet to have a 100-yard receiver this season, and second-year wideout Jahan Dotson is struggling.
Terry McLaurin is outstanding, as usual, but even his numbers are off.
Earlier this season, when discussing some offensive struggles, McLaurin mentioned he and his fellow receivers could also help Howell by creating more space. That’s McLaurin’s way of saying the receivers weren’t creating enough separation.
Watching the TV copy of a game doesn’t do it justice. If you have access to the All-22, you’ll see Washington’s wide receivers running routes in the same area, and all are covered. It’s one of many problems for this offense. The concern is that the Commanders receivers have never had this issue before.
Is it the offensive scheme?
A new tracking metric from ESPN ranks all NFL wide receivers. It does an overall ranking and also breaks it down into three categories, one of which is an “open” ranking. Here are Washington’s receivers, including tight end Logan Thomas:
- No. 64: TE Logan Thomas
- No. 80: WR Terry McLaurin
- No. 81: WR Jahan Dotson
- No. 87: WR Curtis Samuel
Remember, these rankings are out of 109 players ranked. Everyone knows McLaurin is a top-10 NFL wide receiver — or close. But if you watch the film, the receivers are often covered, leading to more problems for Howell.
Dotson has taken a major step back this season after many projected a breakout campaign for him.
Things do not get any easier for the Commanders who host the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in a rematch from Week 4.
