NFL offensive line rankings ahead of Week 411. Washington Commanders (Up 1)
Projected Week 4 starters:
Washington’s offensive line surrendered just two pressures, including no sacks or quarterback hits, on 22 pass plays against the Raiders. The unit’s 95.5 PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating led the NFL in Week 3.
The Commanders added guards Chris Paul and Andrew Wylie to the lineup for Week 3, a positive change overall. Paul earned an 85.4 PFF overall grade in the win, which ranked sixth among guards this week.
Best player: Laremy Tunsil
Tunsil stayed clean in pass protection in Week 3, and his 88.0 PFF pass-blocking grade led all offensive tackles.
Washington Post (paywall)
Jeremy Reaves made his name on special teams. He’s needed on defense now.
With Will Harris on injured reserve, the former all-pro seems likely to start at safety against the Falcons on Sunday.
Reaves’s story is, by this point, almost something of local lore. An undrafted free agent out of South Alabama, he first joined the franchise in 2018 but spent the better part of four seasons shuttling back and forth between the active roster and the practice squad. He was cut by the team on four occasions. It wasn’t until 2022 that he locked down his spot on the roster, largely because of his performance on special teams.
With Will Harris on injured reserve because of a fractured fibula, the 29-year-old Reaves will step into a significant role on defense Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, probably as the second starting safety alongside Quan Martin.
For a veteran player who drew rave defensive reviews in training camp, it’s a welcome opportunity — though it also raises questions about whether and how Reaves can balance his elevated defensive playing time with remaining a force on kickoff and punt coverage.
Reaves, for his part, wants to do both.
“We’ve been humming on teams, right? I kind of want to keep that going with the guys,” he said. “As much as I can, I want to do everything. And I told [the coaches] that, too.”
Terry McLaurin misses practice with quad injury; Jayden Daniels participates
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels practiced on a limited basis on Wednesday as he continued to recover from a knee sprain, but he did so without his top receiver.
Terry McLaurin did not practice Wednesday and his status for Sunday’s game in Atlanta is uncertain after he suffered what the team deemed a quad injury in its 41-24 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. He has sought additional medical opinions on his injury, according to multiple league sources, which is a typical course for players before deciding on treatment.
Should McLaurin be ruled out against the Falcons, it would be his first missed game since Week 16 of the 2020 season, when he was dealing with an ankle injury. He’s one of only seven active NFL players to start all 72 games in that span (Commanders DT Daron Payne is one, too).
As for Daniels, Wednesday was the first day he was on the field during the media-viewing portion of practice, which includes warmups and early individual work. Daniels jogged around the field and threw into a net during that part of the session. He also wore a brace on the injured left knee underneath pants, which he admitted is “something to get used to” since he’s never played with one before.
“I feel good,” he said, when asked how his knee injury impacts him on the field. “I don’t think it affects me.”
The decision as to whether he plays, Daniels said repeatedly, is up to the team’s doctors.
Terry McLaurin reportedly doesn’t need surgery, which is great news for the Commanders
Mike Garafolo from the NFL Network revealed that McLaurin will not require surgery at this time, which is a significant boost. That doesn’t mean he’ll be involved this weekend, but the insider stated this could be a short-term absence rather than anything more detrimental to the team’s chances.
”My understanding is that there will be no surgery, at least not right now. That is the little bit of good news on Terry McLaurin, because any kind of core muscle surgery, you’re looking at six to eight weeks. That’s not in the cards as of right now, sources tell me. That being said, he hasn’t practiced the last couple of days. Doesn’t sound like he’s going to be playing. We’ll find out about his status once Dan Quinn speaks to the media, but at least the good news is it seems to be on the shorter end with the recovery on that injury that’s all over the place.“Mike Garafolo
Fans are realizing that McLaurin won’t be in the lineup in Week 4. But the fact that no surgery is needed makes it a week-to-week deal. That is much better than a trip to injured reserve.
What will Jaylin Lane’s role be in Week 4 vs. Falcons?
With Brown [and McLaurin] questionable, this allows rookie receiver Jaylin Lane to take more reps in practice and potentially start the first game of his career on Sunday.
The rookie wide receiver is quickly turning heads just three games into the season. An undersized, speedy, and high-IQ player, Lane made a name for himself at Virginia Tech, where he served as the Hokies’ starting wide receiver and punt returner.
During his two years at Tech after transferring from Middle Tennessee State in 2023, Lane recorded 1,004 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns. He picked up another two scores on the ground thanks to the Hokies running him through jet sweeps.
Through three games as a pro, Lane has recorded a catch in each of the first three weeks, with his best performance as a receiver coming in Week 1 vs. the New York Giants, where he hauled in an 11-yard first down.
If Brown is unable to go on Sunday, Lane will see an increase in snaps vs. the Falcons. If McLaurin joins Brown on the sidelines, Washington will be forced to start not only their rookie receiver in Lane, but also their sophomore wideout, Luke McCaffery.
Practice notes | Darnell Savage eager to be part of Commanders family
Though Darnell Savage had never played for the Washington Commanders, it feels a bit like a homecoming for the former University of Maryland safety.
“It’s definitely exciting,” Savage said in the locker room following Wednesday’s practice. “We live our life on the road a little bit. You go to college, you go to the pros. So just to be back home, be near my family, they can come see me play, come kick it, come and enjoy my company. I can enjoy theirs. [It’s] a special experience.”
Savage is excited for the opportunity to join the team he rooted for growing up, and the Commanders hope the 2019 first-round pick can make a difference and get up to speed in a secondary that lost starter Will Harris for the foreseeable future. It’s unclear when he will get implemented into the lineup, but Savage is eager to prove the Commanders made the right decision to bring him in.
“I gotta gain their trust, earn their trust, and I just wanna be a part of the family,” Savage said. “We’re gonna go out there, we’re gonna make plays, we’re gonna take the ball away.”
The Commanders are sticking with Matt Gay
Gay has been off to a rocky start, and the signs were there in the preseason when he missed multiple kicks in the preseason. Through the first three games, Gay has gone three for six, and Sunday’s game was a roller coaster for his future. He had his shortest miss of the season after going wide right on a 37-yard field goal attempt. Before halftime, he made his longest kick of the season from 56 yards out, which he actually missed before the Las Vegas Raiders called a timeout to ice him.
Quinn was asked about bringing in competition for Gay after another back-and-forth performance, but he reassured that they believe in the veteran kicker.
“Yeah, we have a lot of confidence in Matt [Gay],” Quinn said. “I was pleased to see the one at the end of the half. So, as we’re going through it, we’re still digging in to find our spaces to go, but no, we have full belief in Matt.”
Trey Amos : Logs full practice Thursday
Amos (calf) was a full participant in Thursday’s practice. Amos was forced to leave Sunday’s 41-24 loss to the Raiders this past Sunday due to a calf injury. The rookie second-rounder was limited in Wednesday’s practice, but his ability to fully participate in Thursday’s session indicates that he should be cleared to play against the Falcons on Sunday, barring a setback. Amos has five tackles (four solo) and four pass defenses through the first three games of the regular season.
Adam Peters’s current NFL team is thriving. His alma mater, however, is struggling.
And so the Commanders G.M. will serve on UCLA’s football coach search committee.
Via Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times, Peters will serve with Martin Jarmond, Casey Wasserman, Bob Myers, Eric Kendricks, and Erin Adkins.
Peters played for UCLA from 1999 through 2001. He worked for the Bruins as a football operations assistant in 2002.
Earlier this month, UCLA fired head coach (and former Bruin) DeShaun Foster after a disastrous 0-3 start to his second season on the job.
Commanders vs Falcons FULL Preview + Predictions
(This is the source of the headline; the relevant comments about Bobby Wagner begin at 09:32)
Rich Eisen Breaks Down the Good, the Bad & the VERY Ugly of NFL Week 3’s Backup QB Performances
(Eisen’s Marcus Mariota take begins at 06:46)
Cowboys analytics roundup: Dallas defense is even worse than imagined
[W]e’ll get into more specifics on that later on, but this is a very bad defense. They’re the worst in the NFL, according to DVOA, and it’s hard to argue otherwise.
[O]ut of the six teams at the bottom of the league in EPA/play allowed, only the Cowboys have won a game. The lone win came, of course, against the Giants.
While it’s absolutely true that the Cowboys’ miserable pass rush is making things harder on the secondary, this bunch is doing a perfectly fine job of making things harder on themselves already. Blown coverage assignments have become commonplace this year, evidenced by the Bears averaging 5.2 yards of separation at the catch this week.
It’s time for the Eagles to exorcise their Buccaneers demons
The Eagles are 1-4, including the postseason, against Tampa Bay in the Nick Sirianni-Jalen Hurts era. The two playoff losses included in that, both in Tampa, saw the Eagles lose by a combined 39 points.
It obviously goes deeper than that.
There was Ryan Fitzpatrick tossing four touchdowns against the defending champion Eagles back in 2018. Matt Bryant knocked through a 62-yarder in Tampa to give the Bucs a 23-21 win as time expired in 2006 as well. That all sucked, but we must dig a little further…
The 2002 NFC Championship Game. Ronde Barber. Joe Jurevicius. Shutting down Veterans Stadium with a loss. It scarred Eagles fans young and old, a loss that I didn’t recover from until the night of Feb. 4, 2018. It still stands as the formative moment I feel as if I became a deranged Eagles fan even in my youth. It all dated back to that.
That’s from a fan perspective, but I’d imagine the Eagles organization, from the execs down to the coaches and players, have strong feelings about the Buccaneers as well. This team has eliminated them twice from the postseason. The Eagles stood at 2-2 last September after the Bucs crushed them with the whole city wanting to fire Sirianni and clean house. They, of course, went on an all-time tear and won it all, but that game was really the lone mark on an otherwise wire-to-wire dominant season. It felt like rock bottom after the disastrous finish to the 2023 campaign, which ended in humiliating fashion against these Buccaneers, too!
5 things we learned from Sunday’s disappointment vs. Carolina
Welcome to the NFL, Michael Penix
Up until Sunday, there had been moments where Michael Penix, Jr. had looked like he had less than a full season under his belt, but he had a knack for avoiding negative plays and keeping the offense moving like it needed to be. In fact, through the first two weeks, Penix, Jr. had the eighth-best success rate of any QB in the NFL, stuck between reigning MVP Josh Allen and San Francisco QB Mac Jones, who led the 49ers to a victory over the New Orleans Saints while throwing for over 275 yards and three touchdowns.
But Sunday, Penix got his true ‘Welcome to the NFL’ moment. Ejiro Evero dared Penix to attack the middle of the field, but the young gunslinger continued to work outside the numbers, leading to both of his interceptions on the day.
Teams have also forced Penix to keep his attempts closer to the line of scrimmage. Penix’s 5.1% Deep Pass Percentage is fourth-lowest, in front of only Drake Maye, Cam Ward, and Mac Jones. Two quarterbacks without vertical threats in the passing game, and a backup quarterback brought in to settle the tide until Brock Purdy returns.
Maybe against an aggressive scheme like Dan Quinn’s, Penix may have a chance to get back on track, but Penix has to prove that he can make a team pay for being too aggressive. He has to let it be known that every blade of grass is open for business. Missing open receivers over the middle of the field (yes, there were some of them) is something that has to be developed if this offense is to take the necessary steps it needs to be competitive.
NFL Week 4 picks, predictions, schedule, odds, fantasy tipsEagles (3-0) at Buccaneers (3-0)
1 p.m. ET | Fox | Matchup rating: 73.9/100
ESPN BET: PHI -3.5 (43.5 O/U)
What we’re hearing on the Eagles: The Eagles are 1-3 in Tampa Bay under coach Nick Sirianni and have not been their best in the Florida heat. They flew out Friday, a day early, to get acclimated to the weather (it’s supposed to be 90 degrees with 68% humidity on Sunday). But not everyone is convinced the approach will pay dividends. “You don’t practice in heat one day and say you’re acclimated or take a pill and say you’re acclimated,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “The key will be, I mean, it’s a mindset, No. 1. No. 2, we need to not let them have eight-, 10-, 12-play drives on us.” — Tim McManus
Stat to know: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts is 1-4 in his career against Buccaneers (including the playoffs), his most losses versus any team. — ESPN Research
Chargers (3-0) at Giants (0-3)
1 p.m. ET | CBS | Matchup rating: 51.6/100
ESPN BET: LAC -6.5 (43.5 O/U)
What we’re hearing on the Chargers: Chargers LB Daiyan Henley said the defense is taking Sunday’s matchup against rookie QB Jaxson Dart as a “challenge.” “This is going to be a guy that’s trying to prove something. And so, for us, we have to also prove how tough of a defense we are to face,” Henley said. “So, for us, he’s going to get our best, and I’m sure we’re going to get his.” The Chargers are currently allowing the ninth-lowest passing yards per game on defense (182.0). — Kris Rhim
What we’re hearing on the Giants: The Giants made the QB switch from Russell Wilson to Dart this week, even though they’re set to face a tough Chargers defense. But the hope is that the rookie adds some new elements to the offense and finally gets the team in the win column. “I think the biggest thing for me is I want to do my best to be a spark,” Dart said. “I want to create excitement on the field. I want to be explosive when opportunities are there. Try to just bring a little bit of swagger.” — Jordan Raanan
Stat to know: Quarterbacks making their first career start against the Chargers are 3-17 in the Super Bowl era (since 1967), but 2-2 in such games since 2019. — ESPN Research
Fantasy nugget: Chargers RB Omarion Hampton is set up for significant touches in the backfield with Najee Harris out for the season after suffering an Achilles injury in Week 3. Hampton finished with 25 touches and 24.9 fantasy points last week and could replicate that production against a Giants defense that has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points per game to running backs. See Week 4 rankings. — Moody
Commanders (2-1) at Falcons (1-2)
1 p.m. ET | CBS | Matchup rating: 49.6/100
ESPN BET: WSH -1.5 (44.5 O/U)
What we’re hearing on the Commanders: With a banged-up offense missing multiple starters — perhaps as many as five on Sunday — Washington’s defense needs to take the lead. And that means stopping Falcons RB Bijan Robinson at all costs. Washington ranks 12th in rushing yards allowed per game (100.7) and eighth in yards per carry (3.7) after investing in bigger linemen and more depth up front. But stopping Robinson will prove challenging. “I see no weaknesses for the guy,” defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. said. “He can do it all — run inside, outside, can catch. He does it all very, very well.” — John Keim
What we’re hearing on the Falcons: Is this a must-win game for the Falcons? Maybe not since it’s only Week 4, but it is a must-look-competent game for them. Specifically, their offense needs to step up after last week’s 30-0 drubbing at the hands of the Panthers. Coach Raheem Morris is not too worried about Atlanta showing up this week. He said that due to “human nature,” there’s more urgency after any loss and “particularly a loss like that.” — Marc Raimondi
Stat to know: Commanders QB Marcus Mariota made 13 starts for the Falcons in 2022, going 5-8 with 15 passing touchdowns and nine interceptions. He was replaced by then-rookie Desmond Ridder for the final four games of the season. — ESPN Research
Betting nugget: The Commanders have covered all four meetings with the Falcons since 2021. Read more. — ESPN Research
Maldonado’s pick: Falcons 29, Commanders 27
Moody’s pick: Commanders 23, Falcons 17
Walder’s pick: Commanders 20, Falcons 17
FPI prediction: WSH, 58.6% (by an average of 3.9 points)
Packers (2-1) at Cowboys (1-2)
8:20 p.m. ET | NBC | Matchup rating: 64.3/100
ESPN BET: GB -6.5 (47.5 O/U)
What we’re hearing on the Cowboys: Maybe you’ve heard that edge Micah Parsons is returning to AT&T Stadium with the Packers this week. But inside the Cowboys’ locker room, it’s not a topic the players discuss unless asked about it by the media. “We love Micah,” DT Solomon Thomas said. “He was a brother here of ours. And we wish him the best, and so happy for him that he got record-breaking money, and he deserves all that money. But as a team, we’re not even thinking about that. We’re thinking about Green Bay, getting better from Chicago, fixing those mistakes. And on Sunday, it’s another championship opportunity to be our best. That all we’re focused on.” — Todd Archer
Stat to know: Parsons makes his return to Dallas as a league co-leader with 14 QB pressures this season (tied with the Bills’ Joey Bosa and the Broncos’ Nik Bonitto), and as the sole leader in pass rush wins with 17. — ESPN Research