Will Commanders grow from Packers' loss?

One former NFL player-turned-analyst doesn’t think all is bad for the Washington Commanders after Thursday’s 27-18 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

The Commanders looked terrible on offense and defense in Thursday’s loss. Quarterback Jayden Daniels looked ordinary for an entire game for the first time in his short NFL career. Green Bay’s offense carved up a Washington defense that looked potentially excellent only four days earlier.

The sky is falling, right?

Not so fast, says Merril Hoge.

Hoge joined Friday’s edition of “The Chris Russell Show” on Team 980 in Washington, D.C., and broke down where he thinks the Commanders are after Thursday’s loss.

“I think it speaks more to where the Packers are and how good they are,” Hoge told Russell. “They’re a seasoned team. A lot of like the real critical components of the team, you know they add Micah (Parsons), and that’s obviously been instrumental in their defense, the impact he has made.”

Then Hoge turns his attention to the Commanders.

“But you got to remember that your team is new. And what people forget is what happens in the offseason. You know, these coaches from say, the Giants and in the division, and the Packers, they don’t go the beach. The coaching staff doesn’t go to the beach and sip on margaritas until the season starts……….They are breaking down the Washington Commanders and how they play. Because, see, in a way, the Commanders caught everybody off guard. Did they know how Jayden Daniels was going to play? Did they know how the new system would be put together? How they would look? Well, you only have like 48 hours to get ready for an opponent during the season, whereas in the offseason, you have months to look at an opponent.”

What’s next for Washington?

“They have to go from that, too,” Hoge said in how opponents spent the offseason looking for ways to slow down Daniels and the Commanders’ offense. “Now that doesn’t mean the Commanders can’t grow from that. They’re gonna grow, too. But that’s what makes it a little different from last year to this year, is they’re seeing things now they probably didn’t see last year, and they’re going to have to adjust to that and grow from that. But I wouldn’t be completely down. You’re 1-1. If you’re playing great football now, to maintain that is not an easy thing to do because you want to be playing great football come the end of November, early December. So, they still have chances to do that. They didn’t look terrible, and they were on the road and on a short week. And the Packers are one of the most elite teams in football right now.”

Good perspective from Hoge. This is where coaching comes into play. How will Washington coaches adjust to teams adjusting to them? The offense was slugging against the Giants in Week 1, despite finishing with over 400 yards. The Commanders left several points on the field. On Thursday, Green Bay thoroughly outcoached and outplayed Washington.

Still, Washington only lost by nine points. Looking at the stats or asking fans, you’d think the Packers would’ve won by 40. It was ugly. And the game was not as close as the final score. Yet, 15 games are remaining. Some of what we saw on Thursday is concerning. But it’s always good to remember that road teams often struggle on Thursday Night Football.

For the Commanders, this is a different feeling. They were the toast of the NFL last year, especially head coach Dan Quinn, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and Jayden Daniels. Now, it’s about how they’ll adjust to everyone else adjusting to them.

You can listen to Russell’s entire interview with Hoge here.

This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Commanders can grow from Packers’ loss

Will Commanders grow from Packers’ loss?

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