The Washington Commanders fell to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, 34-27, with several injured starters, including quarterback Jayden Daniels and wide receiver Terry McLaurin, out. The story of the game wasn’t Washington’s offense, though. It was the defense.
The numbers were ugly. Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had thrown one touchdown coming into Sunday’s game, which was a short screen pass that Bijan Robinson took to the house. One week ago, Penix didn’t look like he belonged in the NFL in a 30-0 loss to the Carolina Panthers. On Sunday, Penix had only six incompletions, passed for 313 yards and two touchdowns.
Tight end Kyle Pitts, annually one of the NFL’s most disappointing players, enjoyed his best game of the season, catching five passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. Three of Pitts’ 11 career touchdowns have come against the Commanders in his five seasons.
Then, there was the tackling. OK, enough about that. Let’s talk about the offense.
When your backup quarterback leads you to 27 points, you should win the game, more often than not. Marcus Mariota wasn’t perfect on Sunday, but he played well enough to win. He had help, too. The Commanders again had a strong day on the ground, rushing for 147 yards on only 22 carries. Washington averaged 6.7 yards per attempt. Which leads us to ask why the Commanders didn’t run the ball more?
In fairness to offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, Washington ran only 49 offensive plays, as Atlanta dominated time of possession. But there is one area where he could critique Kingsbury. When you have a back who rips off a long run, why not stick with him for a bit? This is supposedly a running back by committee. On Sunday, Chris Rodriguez Jr. ripped off a 48-yard run and had only six more carries. Last week, Jeremy McNichols had the 60-yard run, but he carried the ball only three other times.
Rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt had another solid day, too, carrying the ball seven times for 47 yards, averaging almost seven yards per attempt.
The run game is working, but the Commanders need to stick with the hot hand. On Sunday, the Commanders came out of the gate with a handoff to Deebo Samuel, followed by two pass plays and a punt, rather than establishing the run on their first possession.
Jayden Daniels returns next week. Will he be 100%? The Commanders must lean on the run game when Daniels returns, especially if they are without McLaurin. A dominant running game serves multiple purposes. For one, it keeps your struggling defense off the field. It can also break the defense’s will while setting up potential big plays in the passing game later.
Washington likes its backfield depth. It’s a good group and all deserve a shot. But when things are going good, stick with the hot hand. The Commanders will face a good Chargers’ defense next week, coming off their first loss of the season to the winless New York Giants and rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.