The Washington Commanders fell to the Detroit Lions in Week 10, putting them on a five-game losing streak.
There’s really not much to say about the Commanders right now. The offense doesn’t look terrible, even without Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin. Marcus Mariota and Treylon Burks have stepped in as their replacements, and while they may not be as talented, they played well.
The defense, though, that’s where the major problems are. It doesn’t matter why a player isn’t on the field, whether it’s an injury or some other reason; whoever replaces him has to perform at their best. This is true in any sport, but with the Commanders this season, we’re either seeing a major disparity in defensive talent, or Joe Whitt isn’t the right fit for this team.
Let’s take a look at the best (and worst) performers on both sides of the ball, as graded by Pro Football Focus.
Top 5 offenseLT Laremy Tunsil (83.6)QB Marcus Mariota (79.6)WR Treylon Burks (79.1)TE Zach Ertz (77.4)WR Jaylin Lane (76.9)Top 5 defenseLB Jacob Martin (70.7)CB Antonio Hamilton Sr. (66.4)S Percy Butler (65.4)S Jeremy Reaves (64.1)LB Preston Smith (63.3)Top 5 special teamsST Jer’Zhan Newton (93.1)ST Ale Kaho (91.0)ST Tyler Owens (70.8)ST Nick Bellore (67.6)ST Chris Moore (65.2)Bottom 5 offenseWR Chris Moore (46.5)LG Chris Paul (47.9)RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt (52.2)RB Chris Rodriguez Jr. (54.0)TE John Bates (54.8)Bottom 5 defenseDT Daron Payne (27.5)DT Javon Kinlaw (33.6)CB Trey Amos (40.7)DT Jer’Zhan Newton (41.9)DT Eddie Goldman (43.9)Bottom 5 special teamsST Quan Martin (29.6)ST Darnell Savage (32.6)ST Antonio Hamilton Sr. (37.1)ST Ben Sinnott (50.4)ST Percy Butler (52.4)Other notablesRB Jeremy McNichols (73.2)WR Deebo Samuel (70.4)C Tyler Biadasz (69.7)LB Von Miller (62.7)CB Mike Sainristil (57.7)DT Sheldon Day (55.5)LB Frankie Luvu (46.3)