This time last week, fan confidence was rebounding after a hard fought overtime loss to division-leading Denver Broncos. Expectations were heightened by the return of star QB Jayden Daniels to the starting lineup, and strong performances by several Commanders.
That all went over a cliff in the shock 0-31 blowout at the hands of a previously spiralling Minnesota Vikings squad, led by a historically bad second-year QB. The loss marked Dan Quinn’s first shutout as head coach in Washington. The Commanders looked listless and inept in most areas of the game. Not surprisingly, fan confidence is back to cratering.
Even in a disappointing loss, there were a few bright spots, including the running backs, offensive line and special teams coverage units, and a small handful of strong individual performances. But overall, it was hard to recognize the team that pressed the Broncos to final play in overtime just a week earlier.
For those diehards who just have to know what went wrong and what went right, here are the stats and snaps from last week’s curb stomp in Minnesota.
By most metrics, Jayden Daniels’ performance in his much anticipated return from injury was the worst game of his professional career to date.
Daniels completed just 9/20 passes (45%, ADOT 2.9 yds) for 78 yds, 0 TD, and 1 INT, while taking 1 sack for -1 yd. He also lost a fumble on a sack at 12:05 in the third quarter, but the play was nullified by a penalty on Minnesota for having too many men on the field. According to PFF, he was blitzed on 48% of dropbacks and felt pressure on 44% of dropbacks. He ran 4 times for 16 yds and 1 first down.
That performance earned him a career low 11.1 QBR, which ranked 27th out of 28 starting QBs in Week 14.
Playing in relief, when Daniels re-injured his elbow, Marcus Mariota completed 2/4 passing attempts for 30 yds, 0 TD and 1 INT, while taking 1 sack for 8 yds. He committed a second turnover on a lost fumble in the 4th quarter. He also ran twice for 7 yds.
Fans looking for a bright spot in an otherwise dreadful game can take heart in the running backs’ strong performance.
Chris Rodriguez led the team with 10 rushing attempts for 52 yds (5.2 Y/A) and 2 first downs (80% Success Rate). Rodriguez averaged 1.1 Yards Before Contact/Attempt per PFF (PFR 1.9 YBC/Att) and forced 2 missed tackles (PFR: 1 broken tackle).
Jacory Croskey-Merritt contributed 7 rushing attempts for 32 yds (4.6 Y/A) and 1 first down (51.7% Success Rate). According to PFF, he averaged 1.57 YBC/Att (PFR 3.1 YBC/Att) and forced 2 missed tackles (PFR: 1 broken tackle).
Jeremy McNichols was targeted once as a receiver and made a 2 yd reception. He was mainly used as a pass blocker, and received a solid 56.0 PFF pass blocking grade, which was actually the lowest on the team.
Terry McLaurin led all Commanders with 41 receiving yards. He caught 3/6 targets at an ADOT of 8.2 yds and had a 50% Success Rate. He was the most productive of Washington’s receivers with more than one target at a decent 1.78 Y/RR.
Deebo Samuel was second to Terry with 4 rec/6 tgt for 27 yds (ADOT -0.2 yds; Success Rate 33.3%). He was moderately productive at 1.17 Y/RR. PFF charges him with 1 dropped pass, while PFR counted 2 (33% drop rate). He averaged 6.3 YAC/Rec, which ranked third on the team.
In his first game back from injury, Noah Brown caught 1/2 targets for 19 yds.
Treylon Burks had 1 target and no reception.
Prior to exiting the game with an ACL injury, Zach Ertz caught 1/2 targets for 11 yds. Ertz earned the highest PFF run blocking grade on the team (86.2).
Ben Sinnott played just 13 offensive snaps, and was used as a run blocker on 10 of them. In 3 receiving routes, he was targeted once and made an 8 yard reception, with all of the yards gained after the catch. He earned a middling 52.6 run blocking grade.
Colson Yankoff ran routes on 6/12 offensive snaps. He had 1 target and 0 receptions. PFF rated him as the worst run blocker on the team, at a dismal 35.3.
John Bates ran routes on 10/32 offensive snaps without any targets. PFF gave him a 43.1 run block grade. Bates drew a 10 yard holding penalty on the Commanders’ first drive. It was Washington’s only penalty on offense.
Brandon Coleman played 1 snap at inline TE and a ran a route but, sadly, was not targeted.
The offensive line continued their run of quality play in pass protection.
LT Laremy Tunsil pitched another shutout, with 0 pressures allowed in 34 dropbacks. He graded well in run blocking at 64.6 per PFF.
LG Chris Paul allowed 1 QB hit in pass protection, but was otherwise solid (2.9% Pressure Rate). PFF rated his run blocking in the average range at 53.8.
C Tyler Biadasz allowed 2 QB hurries. His 5.9% Pressure Rate was once again about twice what you would like to see at iOL. His 73.6 run blocking grade was the highest on the OL.
RG Sam Cosmi allowed 1 QB pressure (2.9% Pressure Rate) and earned a 59.0 run block grade.
RT Josh Conerly Jr allowed 2 QB hurries (5.9% Pressure Rate) and earned a 59.7 run block grade.
OLB Von Miller only played 11 pass rush snaps, but he made his presence felt with 1 sack, 1 QB hit, and 1 hurry. He led the DL with an impressive 27.3% Pressure Rate. He also contributed 2 tackles, 2 assists, with 1 TFL/run stop. PFR charges him with a missed tackle, but PFF does not.
DE Jacob Martin made 1 tackle and 3 assists, with 2 run stops (Run Stop Rate 11.1%) and 2 missed tackles. In the pass rush, he generated 1 QB hit and 2 hurries (Pressure Rate 15%). Martin drew a 9 yard roughing the passer penalty with the Vikings at the Washington 18 yard line early in the fourth quarter.
DE Preston Smith made 1 tackle and 2 assists, with 1 run stop. He generated 1 QB hit in the pass rush (Pressure Rate 11.1%).
In his Commanders debut, DeMarcus Walker missed 1 tackle per PFF or 2 per PFR.
LDT Daron Payne made 1 tackle and 1 assist, 1 sack, and 1 QB hit. His 9.5% Pressure Rate is actually good for an iDL.
NT Eddie Goldman made 1 tackle and 1 assist, including 1 run stop (Run Stop Rate 5.9%). In the pass rush, he contributed 1 QB hit and 1 hurry for a 16.7% Pressure Rate, which is very good for a heavy interior defender. PFR charges him with 1 missed tackle, but not PFF.
RDT Javon Kinlaw contributed 1 tackle assist and 1 QB hurry (5.3% Pressure Rate). Kinlaw was flagged for holding in the third quarter, but the penalty was offset by a holding call on the Vikings’ Christian Darrisaw.
DT Johnny Newton has not put up big totals this season, but it is important to remember that he gets much less playing time than the starters. In just 11 pass rush snaps, he generated 2 QB hurries for a very good 18.2% Pressure Rate. This season, he has generated pressure on 11.5% of pass rush snaps, which is very good for a predominantly interior defender. He has been very productive in limited playing time.
DT Sheldon Day did not record a defensive stat. But he was penalized 5 yards for holding in the fourth quarter.
Bobby Wagner led all Commanders in tackles (6 tkl, 10 asst) and defensive stops (7), and Run Stop Rate (15.6%), while making 1 missed tackle. He blitzed twice and generated 1 sack and 1 hurry (100% Pressure Rate). In 29 coverage snaps, he was targeted just once and conceded a 9 yd reception. It was one of his best games as a Commander.
Frankie Luvu made 2 tackles and 1 assist, with 1 PBU. In 22 coverage snaps, he had 4 targets and allowed 4 receptions for 25 yds and 1 TD.
After a very strong game against the Broncos, Jordan Magee was more subdued in Minnesota. He made 1 tackle and 2 assists, with 1 miss. He was not targeted in 11 coverage snaps.
A week after an impressive lockdown performance against Denver, Mike Sainristil was back to being picked on at right boundary corner. Regardless of who was counting, Sainristil led the Commanders in targets in coverage (PFR 7, PFF 5), receptions allowed (PFR 5, PFF 4) and receiving yards (PFR 60, PFF 62). He was also one of three Commanders who allowed receiving TDs. The stats services were very close in Y/Cov Snp (PFR 1.93, PFF 2.0), which was about twice the acceptable rate of yardage allowed by a starting CB.
Sainristil made 3 tackles and 2 assists, with 1 TFL and 1 PBU.
Jonathan Jones might have benefitted from all the attention on Sainristil, but he made some quality plays of his own. He had a very good coverage stat line with 3 targets in 26 coverage snaps, 2 PBU and no receptions (0 Y/Cov Snp). He also contributed 1 tackle and 2 assists. PFR counted 1 missed tackle, but not PFF.
Noah Igbinoghene played about half as much as the other starters, predominantly in the slot. He was targeted 3 times in 17 coverage snps and allowed 2 receptions for 23 yds with 1 PBU (1.35 Y/Cov Snp). He made 2 tackles and 1 assist.
Antonio Hamilton only played 13 defensive snaps. Nevertheless, he made 3 tackles. In just 5 coverage snaps, he was targeted twice in coverage, allowing 2 receptions for 19 yds. That might not seem like much, but considering how few snaps he took in coverage, it represents a very high rate of yardage allowed (3.8 Y/Cov Snp).
Quan Martin was the Commanders’ second-leading tackler, with 4 tackles, 3 assists and 2 run stops. PFR counted 1 missed tackle, but not PFF. In 30 coverage snaps, he allowed 1 target for a 21 yd completion.
Will Harris made 1 tackle, 1 assist and 1 TFL. PFR counted 2 missed tackles and PFF counted 3. He registered 1 sack for 3 yds, despite neither stat service recording a blitz. In 31 coverage snaps, he was targeted 3 times and allowed 2 receptions for 4 yds and 1 TD.
Jeremy Reaves was barely on the field and registered 1 tackle assist.
Fans looking for one thing that the Commanders are best in the NFL at have come to the right place. Washington has far and away the best punt/punt coverage unit. Tress Way continued his streak of punting with minimal return yardage, booting 3 punts for 140 yards (46.7 Y/A), of which 2 were returned for a total of 8 yards (44.0 Net Y/A).
Entering Week 15, Way is averaging 3.8 Yards Per Return on his punts. He leads all NFL punters with more than 1 attempt. The next closest punter is Arizona’s Pat O’Donnell at 5.0 YPR. The guy in 3rd place is averaging 6.0 YPR and only has 4 attempts. This season, Way is the Bob Beamon of NFL punters. I would have said Donald Bradman, but no one would know who I was talking about.
Tyler Ott snapped 4 times on target and without incident.
Deebo Samuel returned 4 kicks for 87 yards (21.8 Y/A) with a long of 25.
Jaylin Lane made 1 fair catch on the Vikings only punt.
Jake Moody had a quiet afternoon.
Kain Medrano and Mike Sainristil each made 1 tackle in special teams coverage.
Tyler Owens made 1 tackle and had 1 miss.
Jordan Magee and Percy Butler both missed tackles. Butler was penalized 10 yards for holding on Minnesota’s first kick.
Nick Bellore drew an unnecessary roughness penalty after a Tress Way punt near the end of the third quarter. But it was offset by an equivalent penalty on the Vikings.
