Commanders after 4 games: The good, the bad and everything in between
In any other season, including this at the top would be a stretch. But special teams units have been true game-changers across the league through Week 4, and Washington’s teams have been exceptional — save for place-kicking. The Commanders’ punt and kickoff coverage units, along with their returners, have been some of the more consistent and impactful groups on the team.
Thanks to Samuel and Luke McCaffrey, the Commanders lead the league in yards per kickoff return (33.7) and average starting field position after kick returns (their own 35.6-yard line). Washington’s opponents, meanwhile, have averaged only 24.0 yards per kickoff return (sixth-fewest in the NFL) and a starting field position of their own 30.3-yard line after kickoff returns (17th-worst).
On punt returns, Washington is tied for eighth with an average of 14.8 yards per return and fifth in opponent yards per punt return (3.9). It helps having a speedy rookie like Jaylin Lane, who has been a returner for as long as he’s been playing football. He ripped a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown against the Raiders, the second-longest punt return in the NFL so far this season.
Tress Way has netted 43.1 yards per punt to rank 10th in the NFL, and is tied for the league lead with four punts dropped inside the 10-yard line. Way has placed 50 percent of punts inside the 20, tied for the fifth-highest rate in the league.
The outlier is Washington’s place-kicking. Matt Gay has made only 70.0 percent of his field-goal attempts, the second-worst percentage in the league. His misses: 58, 52 and 37 yards.
Jayden Daniels didn’t throw a pick until Week 4 last season, and the team finished the year with only 16 turnovers, a far cry from the 32 they had a year prior. So far this season, Washington has maintained its tight grip, turning the ball over only twice — Marcus Mariota’s [fumble] in Week 3 and [interception in Week] 4 — and not allowing any points off turnovers.
Poor performances on the road
Washington’s defense has been dominant, and the offense has been fairly efficient at home (better in Week 3 than Week 1). On the road, both phases have come unglued. The offense scored only 18 points in Green Bay and converted only one of eight third-down attempts in Atlanta. The defense was worse in both games, allowing more than 400 yards.
Too many big plays allowed
The Commanders have given up 32 explosive plays (completions of at least 16 yards and rushes of at least 12 yards), tied for the fifth-most in the league through Week 4. Amazingly, that’s an improvement over this time last year; the team gave up 34 explosive plays in Weeks 1-4 last season.
The chunk plays have been costly for Washington, often caused by inattention to basic details: missed tackles, poor eye discipline, failing to read keys, a breakdown in communication, coverage busts and so on.
Tackling was especially problematic in Green Bay and Atlanta, where the Commanders missed a combined 21 tackles, according to PFF.
Jay Gruden not impressed with Commanders’ safety play in loss to Falcons
While everyone has been trying to diagnose why Washington’s defense played so poorly, former head coach Jay Gruden joined “Grant and Danny” of 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C., on Monday for his weekly spot and noticed one thing that stood out.
“A lot, a lot of missed tackles,” Gruden said. “A lot of not getting off blocks and taking bad angles in the running game. The last touchdown, you know, Von Miller was unblocked, but you know, the safety’s right there, all he has to do is shut a receiver and make the tackle for a five-yard gain, or four-yard gain, some bad angles.”
Grading all 32 first-round rookies after Week 4Pick No. 29: Washington Commanders: T Josh Conerly Jr.Overall Rookie Grade: 46.9 (Rank: 7/8)Principal Opponent: Brandon DorlusWeek 4 Snaps: 57Week 4 Grade: 63.0
While Conerly’s 63.0 PFF overall grade in Week 4 is a relatively modest result, it represents a season high. He allowed two pressures but did not forfeit a sack for the second consecutive week. His 68.3 PFF pass-blocking grade against the Falcons could be a sign that he is growing more comfortable after dealing with some brutal matchups to start the season.
NFL Week 4: Rookie Team of the Week
The Commanders had a disappointing showing against a Falcons team that was coming off a 30-0 drubbing at the hands of the Panthers, but the rookie fourth rounder out of Virginia Tech was a bright spot. Lane caught three of his four targets for 50 yards. Additionally, Lane’s average depth of target was 21 yards downfield, solidifying himself as a go-to deep threat for this offense.
Trey Amos : Collects four tackles Sunday
Amos tallied four tackles (two solo) in Sunday’s Week 4 loss to Atlanta. Amos suffered a calf injury in Week 3 against the Raiders but was able to take the field one week later. He logged season highs with a 91 percent defensive snap share and four tackles. Amos has posted nine tackles and four defensed passes through his first four NFL games.
Chargers could be in trouble for Week 5: Can the Commanders take advantage?
In training camp, the Los Angeles Chargers lost Pro Bowl left tackle Rashawn Slater for the season when he suffered a torn patellar tendon. The Chargers then lost their top pass rusher in Week 2, when Khalil Mack dislocated his elbow. While Mack will return this season, it won’t be in time for Sunday’s game against the Chargers.
Los Angeles was 3-0 on Sunday, facing the winless New York Giants, starting a rookie quarterback for the first time. During that game, the Chargers suffered another major injury when left tackle Joe Alt sprained his ankle. Alt, a top-five pick in the 2024 NFL draft, moved from right tackle to the left side when Slater was lost for the season and was playing at a high level.
On Monday, the results came in for Alt, and per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, it’s the dreaded high ankle sprain. A high ankle sprain is a multi-week injury, meaning Alt will also miss Sunday’s game against the Commanders.
Without Slater and Alt, the Chargers are in trouble. The Giants, who have four first-round picks on their defensive line, exploited L.A.‘s pass protection issues on Sunday. Even before Alt’s injury, the Chargers were already in trouble.
LOVERRO: Atlanta collapse shows how much the Commanders need their missing stars
Before the season began, if anyone told you Washington (2-2) would be relying on their backup quarterback, a fourth-round draft pick at receiver and a seventh-round draft choice at running back for their offense traveling to Atlanta, it would have been marked down as a defeat.
I know, no one in football actually plays that game. But reasonable people can have reasonable expectations, and a reasonable expectation for a starting offense against the Falcons without Daniels, McLaurin or Brown would have been a loss. A fulfilled expectation.
Mariota completed 16 of 27 passes for 156 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, plus two carries for 20 yards. Lane had two catches for 18 yards, McCaffrey two catches for 21 yards against an angry Atlanta defense smarting from a 30-0 loss to Carolina the week before. Reasonable expectations.
The most important phase Washington needs to get aligned on both sides of the ball is a healthy Daniels.
Mariota was excellent in the 41-24 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, and he certainly wasn’t the reason they lost Sunday to the Falcons, but to lift his team to victory? That’s the burden carried by Daniels.
Commanders determined to fix defensive issues allowing explosive plays
There wasn’t one specific culprit for why the Washington Commanders allowed so many explosive plays against the Atlanta Falcons, but head coach Dan Quinn made it clear that the issues must be resolved quickly.
The Commanders sense the urgency of the issue as they get ready for a stretch that features two of the league’s top 10 offenses, starting with the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday.
Quinn highlighted communication as one of the main reasons the Commanders’ defense struggled against the Falcons. It led to mismatches in coverage, like Bobby Wagner having to follow Robinson on what ended up being a 69-yard play, and allowing the Falcons to get out of longer second downs. The Falcons faced second downs of at least 10 yards seven times and converted all of them with some of their biggest plays, like the 43-yard catch from Drake London, coming in such scenarios.
Quinn said after the game to give the Falcons some credit for knowing when to dial up their best plays, but the Commanders carry the blame for not executing in those moments.
Hail Mail | Adjustments on defense and a more dominant ground game
@TADtwade: The interior part of line was pretty bad last week. Do we see Coleman get another shot at guard? In that same vein does Cosmi open his window this week with practicing?
I’m going to push back a little on the Commanders’ interior line being “pretty bad” last week. The team rushed for 147 yards, largely because of how the offensive line opened lanes for Washington’s backs (Commanders analyst Logan Paulsen has an excellent clip of Chris Paul working with Laremy Tunsil on a double team). To your point, there were some things they could clean up. Tyler Biadasz’s snaps were a little too low at times, which disrupted the timing of plays. They could have done better in sticking to their assignment in the passing game, which contributed to two sacks.
As for whether Brandon Coleman could get another shot at guard, I could see that happening because the coaching staff is always preaching competition. It’ll depend on whether Coleman earns that right in practice this week. For now, Paul has the edge because of his strength in the running game, but if Coleman can get healthy and shore up some of his own shortcomings, then he could get placed back into the lineup.
I could see Sam Cosmi returning to practice this week with all the praise that he’s gotten from head coach Dan Quinn. That doesn’t mean he’s going to play against the Chargers since he’ll need time to get back in game shape.
@AmatorLudis: Do you think Kingsbury will lean more on RBs/running the ball & winning time of possession (went away vs Pack & ATL)? D is better compared to last season but top 3 investments were all offense-Tunsil, Samuel & Conerly Jr.; we need O to shoulder more so D is on field less time.)
I think there is a possibility the Commanders could lean more on running the ball to get more out of their offense. After all, it’s what the unit does best; they rank second in rushing yards per game with the best average in yards per rush in the NFC, all while tying for 17th in rushing attempts. And with all the injuries at receiver, the best way to mitigate that loss is by trusting the ground game more often.
One thing I will point out is that game flow and staying on the field matters when it comes to getting more from the run game. It’s obviously not ideal for either Marcus Mariota or Jayden Daniels to have 30-plus drop backs, but the Commanders were also down 14 points for most of the night against the Packers, which doesn’t lend itself to running the ball more often. That was true to a lesser extent against the Falcons, although the penalties they suffered at critical times put them in must-pass situations and disrupted the flow.
I still think the Commanders would like to be a run-first team. However, they must avoid the self-inflicted errors and find ways to stay on the field to allow that part of their offense to blossom. Case in point: they’re currently 23rd in offensive plays per game so far this season, which is 10 spots lower than they were at this time last year and a stark contrast from where they were at by the end of the 2024 season (first in the NFL with an average of 66 plays per game)
Robbie Chosen Gives Commanders Vertical Threat
McLaurin may be trending in the right direction, but his current absence with a quad problem has robbed the Commanders of the only true vertical threat in their passing game. This makes sense of signing Chosen.
At this best, the former 1,000-yard receiver with the Carolina Panthers could take the top off any pro defense. Chosen, formerly Robby Anderson, then Robbie Anderson, tallied an impressive career average of 13.4 yards per reception after entering the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the New York Jets back in 2016.
The problem has been a steep and rapid decline in his production during recent seasons. He “has 380 career receptions in 122 regular-season games, but only 25 over the last three seasons with the Panthers, Cardinals and Dolphins,” according to The Team 980’s Ben Standig.
Perhaps he doesn’t make a dent in the rotation, but Chosen is a 6-foot-3 target with a streamlined skill-set. One the Commanders can use if their wait for credible supporting acts for McLaurin goes unrewarded.
Atlanta Falcons Debrief, Paulsen Previews Chargers & Hit the Panic Button? | Get Loud | Commanders
How To Fix the Commanders D
Check out the top photos of the Washington Commanders during their game against the Atlanta Falcons.
Are the Eagles the most frustrating 4-0 team? Or are we just spoiled at this point? It seems insane that I can point out so many weaknesses with this offense when Jalen Hurts is 18-0 in his last 18 starts. 18-0! It’s insane. [BiB: Alert readers will also realize that it is not true. Hurts, of course, started against the Commanders in Week 16 last year — a game the Eagles lost. They have, to be sure, won 10 straight since that time — all started by Hurts. The BGN writer is trying to refer to Philly fans’ current favorite stat, which is ‘games started and finished by Jalen Hurts’.]
However, when you zoom out, the same themes keep cropping up: a broken run game and a coaching staff that seems more concerned with hiding flaws than maximising strengths. There’s a lot to get into. Let’s go.
Let’s be real, the second half was a complete disaster. Zero completions. Zero! Hurts went from 15-of-16 before halftime to 0-for-8 after it. You can’t expect to win a lot of football games without completing a single pass in the second half. The offense had seven drives, five of which ended in three-and-outs. It was pathetic at times. Some of that was Hurts. Absolutely. He missed a couple of deep shots he usually hits, and after hitting his head on the turf in the first half, I do wonder if he wasn’t feeling right. He didn’t play well in the second half. Blame the coaches all you want (as you should), but we have to be fair and admit that the quarterback didn’t have a great second half.
The scheme let him down, too. The easy buttons were gone. There was nothing creative in the pass game.
The body language of the Eagles’ receivers (mainly AJ Brown, but even DeVonta Smith at times) is not great. Too often, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith jogged routes when they weren’t the first read. It feels like they are not happy with the design of the offense. There are quite a few lazy reps this week, and it’s something the coaching staff needs to call out.
Let’s talk Eagles’ run game, shall we? It’s not just underperforming right now. It feels broken at times. And it’s not one player’s fault. We already know this, but the tight ends are liabilities. They consistently lose blocks and are pushed into the backfield. The heavier personnel sets are a disaster.
The offensive line isn’t blameless. Jordan Mailata had a flat-out whiff on one snap, and Tyler Steen isn’t moving defenders. Cam Jurgens got stood up too often. Landon Dickerson is clearly not healthy. Occasionally, Barkley makes a bad read, but I don’t think the run game is on him.
Then there is the design. Too often, the Eagles ran into loaded boxes or called runs where pre-snap motion dragged a linebacker right into the gap. There are too many zone run concepts and barely any gap scheme. QB Counter Bash has gone. They don’t counter aggressive fronts by running Wham or Trap. It’s so basic. The numbers tell the story. Last year, Saquon Barkley averaged 2.64 yards before contact per carry — best in the league. This year, it’s 0.95, 28th out of 42 qualifying backs. His average has dropped from 5.8 to 3.1 yards per carry. Barkley hasn’t changed on film. The blocking and design have.
Film study: How the Giants’ pass rush disrupted the Chargers
It wasn’t a truly dominant performance for the Giants’ defense — their run defense remains a glaring problem. However the Giants’ pass rush was incredibly disruptive and went a long way toward making sure that the Giants didn’t have to try and win a shootout.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert was the target of a relentless assault Sunday afternoon. It was clear from the opening drive that the Giants’ pass rush was going to be a deciding factor, and that remained true for the entirety of the game. Perhaps it was due to the absence of guard Mekhi Becton, but the Chargers came into the game with a plan to throw the ball. Herbert dropped back to pass 41 times and the Giants recorded 27 total pressures, per PFF.
It didn’t take long before we saw the Chargers change the overall structure of their offense to deal with the pressure. Rather than continuing to attack the intermediate area of the field, they switched to quick timing passes and screens to get the ball out of Herbert’s hand as safely as possible.
The Giants’ edge rushers have gotten all the credit, and attention, for the pressure on Herber. They weren’t, however, alone. The Giants’ defensive front as a whole contributed to their success disrupting Herbert and the Chargers’ passing offense.
Much of the Chargers’ passing game after the first quarter revolved around trying to use the Giants’ speed and aggression against them. The Giants, however, did an excellent job of staying disciplined in their rushes and rarely over-pursued.
Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen had his playbook wide open for this game, clearly trying to make full use of all of his versatile pieces to disrupt one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
Right from the start of the game, the Giants used both actual pressure and simulated pressure to impact the Chargers’ blocking schemes as well as muddy Herbert’s reads.
Best and worst PFF grades from Chargers-Giants: Look away if you’re an offensive lineman
OT Austin Deculus – 37.5
C Bradley Bozeman – 38.3
OG Zion Johnson – 41.4
WR Ladd McConkey – 44.1
TE Oronde Gadsden II – 56.0
It was not a good day for the Chargers offensive line as a whole, but the trio of Deculus, Johnson, and Bozeman were at the center of it. Deculus finished with a a team-high six pressures allowed which coincided with a 22.4 pass block grade. Bozeman allowed four pressures and finished with a 24.6 pass block grade.
McConkey dropped his first pass of the game and things never got all that much better. He later dropped a second pass (granted it was a difficult one over his shoulder) and eventually ended up with just one reception on the day, his first career game with such a stat line
NFL Secret Superstars 2025: Tuli Tuipulotu continues to fly in rare air
Chargers EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu has been expanding his status as one of the NFL’s best young pass-rushers. After his four-sack game against the Giants, it’s time to put more respect on Tuipulotu’s name.
Though the Chargers lost their first game of the season in a 21-18 nailbiter, Tuipulotu’s splash plays did come, and repeatedly so. Against Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart in Dart’s first NFL start, Tuipulotu gave the rook several “Welcome to the NFL” moments with four sacks (three of Dart and one of Russell Wilson) and seven total pressures. This was more of what was expected from the 2023 second-round pick out of USC, who had a career-high nine sacks last season, and notched eight sacks and 51 total pressures as a rookie.
Tuipulotu has always been an overlooked player, but he came across my radar last season when he want on an all-time tear in Weeks 8-11. In that stretch, he led the league by far with eight sacks (Jared Verse of the Los Angeles Rams and Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals tied for second with five), and his 22 total pressures tied with Verse for the league lead.
No update on QB Jackson, but Ravens lose Madubuike for season
It’s unknown whether the banged-up Baltimore Ravens will have quarterback Lamar Jackson for Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans because of a hamstring injury, but they announced that Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike will be out for the rest of the season with a neck injury.
Madubuike, 27, experienced symptoms after the Ravens’ 41-17 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 14 and was placed on injured reserve with a neck injury on Saturday. This is a significant blow for a Ravens defense that has allowed an NFL-worst 33.3 points per game this season.
There is uncertainty whether the neck injury could be a career-threatening one for Madubuike, who had been off to one of the best starts of his six-year career.
No. 1 in Dane Brugler’s summer positional rankings | No. 1 overall in Dane Brugler’s 2026 NFL mock draft
The skepticism started in Week 1 when the Next Manning struggled (expectedly so) at Ohio State behind a rebuilt offensive line. A few weeks later, against a much weaker opponent and while playing on friendly turf in Austin, Manning was booed by fans after going 11 for 25 for 114 yards against UTEP. Manning did look better the following week against Sam Houston, and within the program, there still seems to be a lot of optimism about Archie’s grandson than outside it.
One NFL scouting director told The Athletic that Manning’s film from the Ohio State game was “ugly,” adding that he doesn’t know if the former five-star recruit has the “yips,” but that there is real concern about him within the scouting world.
No. 6 in Brugler’s summer positional rankings
Klubnik is off to the most disappointing start of any of the quarterbacks. He’s No. 16 in ACC passer rating. Clemson’s 1-3, and he’s thrown almost as many interceptions (three) against Power 4 competition as touchdowns (four).
“He looks really uncomfortable out there,” said a rival defensive coordinator. “He’s late so often. He looks like a first-time starter, not a guy with as much experience as he has.”
No. 3 in Brugler’s summer positional rankings | No. 16 overall in Brugler’s 2026 mock
Nussmeier got off to a nice start when he led the Tigers to a good road win over Klubnik at Clemson, completing 74 percent of his passes against a talented defense in a hostile environment. But the senior and his offense have really sputtered since.
“He doesn’t look right,” said another NFL scout, who was high on Nussmeier coming into this season, and says that he still is. “Something’s off with him. He’s just not firing the ball the way he used to.”
Whatever it is, something is clearly not right with the Tigers’ offense, which is second-to-last in the SEC in rushing and No. 12 in plays of 20-plus yards.
No. 5 in Brugler’s summer positional rankings | No. 5 overall in Brugler’s 2026 mock
Allar continues to puzzle both Nittany Lion fans and opposing coaches. The 6-5, 235-pound Allar has a big arm and decent mobility. PSU staffers have raved about how bright he is and how he often gets them out of bad plays. Even in Penn State’s double-overtime loss to Oregon Saturday night, there were impressive moments, including a perfect deep ball for a touchdown.
But mostly, there are too many plays where he seems to be overthinking. “Does he get stuck over-analyzing?” one rival coach wondered.
As a first-year starter, Allar had a sterling TD-to-INT ratio of 25-to-2. In 20 games since, it’s still an impressive 30-to-10, but this year’s yards per attempt is a red flag to some: just 6.4, and Penn State faced three weak opponents in its first three games.
LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
No. 2 in Brugler’s summer positional rankings | No. 2 overall in Brugler’s 2026 mock
Sellers was one of the breakout stars of the 2024 season and came into the year as a projected top-5 pick, according to some NFL draft analysts, but he has had a challenging first month. The 6-3, 240-pound dual-threat quarterback suffered a concussion in a Week 3 31-7 loss to Vanderbilt. Sellers returned a week later and played well, but couldn’t help the Gamecocks from falling again, 29-20 to Missouri.
Moore has been even better than anyone outside of the Ducks’ facilities could’ve imagined. He’s completing 75 percent of his passes and has a 14-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio. In the most hostile setting a young QB could face in college, against a talented Penn State defense in a White Out setting, Moore went 29 of 39 for 248 yards, three TDs and no picks. He also scrambled for 35 more yards, which was eye-opening for folks who have heard he wasn’t much of a runner.
Simpson has proven to be a terrific fit in new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb’s creative pass-heavy attack. Simpson, a coach’s kid, has 11 TD passes and zero picks. He and the Tide came out Saturday, taking big shots against Georgia on the road, and got the Bulldogs on their heels early.
Mateer is another who has exceeded expectations of what people were thinking coming into the season. The 6-1, 218-pound dual-threat, who transferred from Washington State following his OC Ben Arbuckle, has reminded Sooner fans of another transfer who once carried the offense: Baker Mayfield.
Sayin, another former five-star, still has three more years of eligibility after this season. He outshone Manning in the opener. Sayin does get to throw to the best group of receivers in the country, led by Jeremiah Smith, but still, his quick release and accuracy have been impressive. Texas has a talented defense, and he shook off three dropped passes early to help Ohio State win that game.