The Washington Commanders began the preseason with a 48-18 loss to the New England Patriots last week. Although the score appears unfavorable, Washington sat over 30 players, including nearly all its starters, after they got work in the joint practice two days before the game.

Still, head coach Dan Quinn was extremely unhappy with his team’s performance. The Commanders committed 15 penalties, 13 of which were accepted. Washington later brought in several players for workouts, signing a few of them. Most of it was due to injuries, but a former draft pick was also waived.

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This week, the Commanders held an intrasquad scrimmage ahead of their second preseason game, which isn’t until following Monday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Before we look ahead to the Bengals, let’s take one look back at Washington’s first preseason game. Garrett Podell of CBS Sports recently reviewed the “Good, Bad, Ugly” from every NFL team’s preseason opener. Here’s what he said about the Commanders:

The good: Rookie second-round pick cornerback Trey Amos. He played a total of just 13 snaps, but he had a strong all-around effort as one of the lone bright spots for Washington on Friday. He didn’t allow a catch on his lone target while adding a couple of tackles.

The bad: Both backups to 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels, Josh Johnson and Sam Hartman, threw an interception. The offense struggled to move the ball all night as the Commanders went down 20-0 early in the second quarter, 27-3 at halftime and 41-11 early in the fourth quarter. Washington’s offense and defense combined to accomplish almost nothing.

The ugly: Surrendering a 100-yard kickoff return to a rookie on the opening kickoff of the preseason. C’mon man! It’s the first play of actual football in months. Lock in and don’t get embarrassed right from the jump like that. Pitiful effort to begin the preseason, and it’s an effort that carried over to all three phases for the Commanders for the rest of the night.

Amos was excellent, which lines up with how he’s performed during training camp. While Amos forced an incompletion, his run stop inside the 10-yard line for a loss was even more impressive. Amos is trending to start Wek 1 at cornerback, alongside Mike Sainristil and Marshon Lattimore.

The offensive performance wasn’t entirely on the quarterbacks. The reserve offensive line had some issues, and so did the receivers. There were multiple dropped passes. Hartman’s interception didn’t help. Johnson and Hartman are competing to be Washington’s No. 3 quarterback.

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Washington’s special teams were horrendous. They surrendered another long return, too, and missed a field goal.

Amos wasn’t the only bright spot. Second-year defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton and rookie running back Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt also flashed.

It remains to be seen how much starting quarterback Jayden Daniels will play next week against the Bengals.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Washington Commanders: Good, bad, ugly from Week 1 preseason loss