Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Commanders’ fans. With the short week coinciding with the Christmas holiday, I have fallen one game behind with the Stats and Snaps. Hopefully this will still be of interest to the hard core readers who still pay attention this late in a losing season.

The Commanders started the Week 16 match against the Philadelphia Eagles with an unexpectedly strong performance for a team missing its star QB and key starters on both sides of the ball. On the opening kickoff return, Mike Sainristil forced a fumble to give the Commanders the ball deep in Eagles’ territory.

The Commanders kept the game close through the first half. When they took possession to start the second half, they were leading 10-7. Things took a turn on their first drive, when backup QB Marcus Mariota left the game with a few injuries. From that point on, the Eagles scored three touchdowns to the Commanders’ one, with an assist from some key penalties called on Washington. The offense, led by third-string backup Josh Johnson, was unable to keep pace with the Eagles. The defense, missing key starters, with more injuries on the way, was unable to help.

In the week following the game, Mariota had stitches on his throwing hand and was ruled out against the Cowboys. DT Daron Payne was also ruled out with a new back injury, and RG Sam Cosmi, DT Eddie Goldman, and WR/PR Jaylin Lane were placed on IR with injuries suffered against Philadelphia.

After the opening kickoff, there was not really much for Commanders’ fans to get excited about. But for those readers who are still paying attention, here is your weekly dose of who played where and who did what in the Commanders’ 18-29 home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Stats were sourced from the NFL, Pro Football Reference (PFR), Pro Football Focus (PFF), or ESPN. NFL official stats were used whenever available. When the source is not indicated, it means either than NFL official stats were used or that there was agreement between stats services. The source is not always indicated if a stat is only available from one source (eg. PFF: stops, run stops, Y/RR, QB hurries; ESPN: QBR).

BIGGEST PLAYS OF THE GAME

Expected Points Added (EPA) quantifies the contribution of individual plays to a team’s scoring potential on a drive. These are all the plays with EPA greater than 2.4 or less than -2.4.

Biggest Plays for Commanders

Q4, 1:20, 3rd and 20 at PHI 40: Josh Johnson pass incomplete deep right intended for Treylon Burks. Penalty on Kelee Ringo: Defensive Pass Interference, 37 yards (accepted). EPA 5.49

Q2, 5:14, 1st and 2 at PHI 2: Chris Rodriguez left guard for 1 yard. EPA 3.72

Q2, 9:06, 1st and 10 at WAS 33: Marcus Mariota pass complete deep left to Terry McLaurin for 40 yards. EPA 2.64

Q3, 2:31, 3rd and 9 at WAS 27: Josh Johnson pass complete short middle to Deebo Samuel for 20 yards. EPA 2.49

Q2, 9:10, 4th and 11 at WAS 25: Jake Elliott 43 yard field goal attempt – no good. EPA -2.94

Q1, 15:00, kickoff from WAS 35: Jake Moody kicks off 59 yards, returned by Will Shipley for 20 yards. Will Shipley fumbles (forced by Mike Sainristil), recovered by Kain Medrano at PHI-26. EPA -3.84

Q2, 0.09, 2nd and 10 at WAS 34: Jake Elliott 52 yd field goal attempt – no good. EPA -4.5

Q3, 3:33, 3rd and 15 at WAS 15: Jalen Hurts pass complete short right to Dallas Goedert for 15 yards, touchdown. EPA 4.07

Q3, 5:41, 3rd and 8 at WAS 20: Jalen Hurts pass incomplete deep right intended for DeVonta Smith. Penalty on Quan Martin: Defensive Holding, 5 yards (declined). Penalty on Noah Igbinoghene: Defensive Pass Interference, 19 yards (accepted). EPA 3.83

Q4, 5:56, 2nd and 4 at PHI 26: Saquon Barkley left tackle for 48 yards. EPA 3.3

Q4, 4:33, 2nd and 6 at WAS 22: Tank Bigsby left tackle for 22 yards, touchdown. EPA 3.16

Q1, 4:03, 2nd and 10 at WAS 18: Jalen Hurts pass complete short left to A.J. Brown for 16 yards. EPA 2.94

Q3, 8:56, 4th and 7 at WAS 38: Jalen Hurts pass incomplete deep left intended for A.J. Brown (defended by Quan Martin). Penalty on Will Harris: Illegal Contact, 5 yards (accepted). EPA 2.66

Q2, 0:18, 4th and 4 at WAS 39: Jake Elliott yard field goal no good. Penalty on Tyler Owens: Defensive Offside, 5 yards (accepted). EPA 2.65 ***Author’s note: Owens did not appear to be offside on replay***

Q3, 0:42, 3rd and 13 at WAS 44: Josh Johnson pass short right intended for Treylon Burks is intercepted by Cooper DeJean at WAS-48 and returned for 11 yards. EPA -3.55

Despite playing banged up and missing key starters, only two players on offense drew penalties in this game.

Before leaving the game after the opening drive of the second half, Marcus Mariota completed 7 of 14 passes (50%, ADOT 11.7 yds) for 95 yards. He took 1 sack for 2 yds, and was pressured on 5/15 dropbacks, per PFF (20% Pressure to Sack Ratio). Mariota ran once for a 1-yard loss. His total effort earned a 49.7 Total QBR, which ranked 18th among NFL starters in Week 16.

Josh Johnson took over for the injured starter and completed 5/9 attempts for 43 yds, with most targets near the line of scrimmage (55.6%, ADOT 3.3 yds). He took 1 sack for 6 yards, threw an interception, and fumbled once but recovered the ball. Johnson was pressured on 4/10 dropbacks (25% P2S%). He ran once for no gain. His effort received a 5.0 Total QBR, which was actually better than two starters in Week 16. But that’s not to say it was anything short of dreadful.

Chris Rodriguez reclaimed the starting role on his return from injury. He led the Commanders in rushing yards, with 15 carries for 63 yds (4.2 Y/A), 5 first downs and 1 TD (60% Success Rate). According to PFR, he broke 5 tackles. PFF counted 7 forced missed tackles, which is a slightly different stat.

PFF and PFR were in good agreement regarding his yardage before contact. PFF had him 0.07 YBC/Att; while PFR had him at 0.9 YBC/Att. Essentially, he gained the bulk of his rushing yards after being hit.

CRod was targeted once as a receiver for a 6-yard reception.

Bill Croskey-Merritt ran 8 times for 25 yds (3.1 Y/A), 1 first down and 1 TD (37.5% Success Rate), with 1 broken tackle and 2 forced missed tackles. He was not targeted as a receiver, and was not used as a blocker.

The stats services were further apart on his advanced stats. According to PFF, he averaged just 0.13 YBC/Att and gained most of his yardage after contact. According to PFR, he averaged 1.6 YBC/Att, and had a bit more room to run.

A week after perhaps his worst game as a Commander, Jeremy McNichols was closer to his usual form as a valuable role player. He only ran from scrimmage once for three yards. But he also ran in the two-point conversion following CRod’s TD. For some reason, two-point conversions are not tracked as official stats.

McNichols was also targeted 3 times as a receiver and made 2 receptions for 9 yds and 1 first down.

McNichols was called for a holding penalty near the start of the 3rd quarter, which was declined. He was also penalized 5 yards for a false start near the end of the quarter. Those two penalties brought McNichols’ season total to 5, exceeding his prior career total by 2 in his 8th year in the league.

Terry McLaurin led the Commanders in receiving yardage, as it should be, catching 3/4 targets for 53 yds, with a long of 40. He caught 2/3 contested targets. In addition to having the highest receiving total, he was also the most productive receiver on the team at a respectable 2.21 Y/RR, and had the highest ADOT at 14.3 yds. He was lowest in YAC/Rec at just 0.7 yds.

Deebo Samuel was second on the team with 35 yds out of 4 targets and 3 rec at an ADOT of 4.5 yds. Deebo caught 1/2 contested targets and was the second-most productive receiver at a modest 1.46 Y/RR. He led the team in yards after the catch at 9.7 YAC/Rec.

Treylon Burks was targeted 5 times, but only caught 2 passes for 30 yds at an ADOT of 12.4 yds. Two of the passes he did not catch were contested targets. His productivity was just a little behind Deebo’s at 1.36 Y/RR.

Chris Moore made a triumphant return after a two week absence, but was not targeted.

Jaylin Lane was injured on a punt return early in the game, and has since been placed on IR.

Ben Sinnott was used as a run blocker on 54% of offensive snaps. Nevertheless, he was targeted twice, catching 1 pass for 5 yds. PFF gave Sinnott a 62.5 run blocking grade.

John Bates was used as a blocker on 81% of snaps. He had 1 target and no reception. He received a 56.3 run block grade.

Andrew Wylie took 4 snaps at iTE to serve as an extra run blocker in short yardage situations.

Brandon Coleman filled in for injured starting LT Laremy Tunsil. According to PFF premium statistics, he allowed 0 pressures in pass protection, which looks like a perfect game, yet somehow they gave him a 38.7 pass blocking grade. He also achieved a 71.8 run blocking grade, which was the highest on the team.

Coleman was penalized 5 yards for a false start in the fourth quarter, on his first play back on the field after leaving the game for a play with an injury.

LG Chris Paul allowed 1 QB hurry in 27 pass block snaps (3.7% Pressure Rate). His 36.7 run blocking grade was the lowest on the team by a considerable margin. It was his lowest run blocking grade of the season. His average score across games this season is 51.6. PFF displays a season grade of 42.4, which might be snap-weighted(?).

C Tyler Biadasz allowed 1 sack and 1 hurry. His 7.4% Pressure Rate allowed is more than twice the acceptable limit for iOL. Ideally, a starting center should be under 3%. This has been a consistent theme in the last 6 games for Biadasz. For the season, he has allowed pressure on 3.6% of dropbacks, which is just a little above the acceptable limit. Biadasz graded better as a run blocker. His 70.5 run blocking grade was the second highest on the team.

RG Sam Cosmi, allowed 1 hurry in 26 pass block snaps (3.8% pressure rate). His 56.0 run blocking grade was not bad, but it was well below his 72.3 season average.

Trent Scott filled in at LT for Coleman who left the field briefly with an injury. He allowed 1 QB hurry in 2 dropbacks.

Nick Allegretti subbed in at RG for 4 snaps without incident when Cosmi was banged up.

Drake Jackson made a strong debut as a rotational edge defender with the Commanders. In just 22 defensive snaps, predominantly at OLB, he registered 1 tackle and 3 QB hurries. He led the pass rushers with a 42.9% Pressure Rate.

Jacob Martin recorded 2 tackles for defensive stops, 1 sack and 1 forced fumbled. He generated 2 total pressure in the pass rush for a modest 6.7% Pressure Rate.

OLB Von Miller recorded 1 tackle and 1 QB hurry (5.9% Pressure Rate).

Preston Smith recorded 1 tackle and 1 assist, which contributed to 2 run stops (20% Run Stop Rate).

Jalyn Holmes registered 1 tackle assist which contributed to a run stop.

Daron Payne recorded 2 tackles and 3 assists. His tackles contributed to 3 run stops, resulting in a team-leading 16.7% Run Stop Rate. He did not pressure the QB.

Javon Kinlaw recorded 2 tackles and 1 assist, with 1 run stop (5% Run Stop Rate). He generated 2 QB hurries in 23 pass rush snaps (8.7% Pressure Rate).

Kinlaw was disqualified for fighting in the brawl with 4:26 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Johnny Newton got his most playing time of the season through Week 16. He recorded 2 tackles and 1 hurry in the pass rush (5.9% Pressure Rate).

Sheldon Day recorded 1 tackle assist.

Bobby Wagner led the team with 10 combined tackles, including 5 leading efforts, 5 assists, 2 TFL and 6 stops, with 2 missed tackles. He made 4 run stops to finish second in run stop rate after Daron Payne at 13.8%.

In 7 pass rush attempts, he recorded 1 sack, 1 QB hit and 1 hurry for a team-leading 28.6% Pressure Rate.

In coverage, he allowed 2 receptions on 3 targets for 16 yds.

Frankie Luvu recorded 5 tackles and 3 assists, with 1 missed tackle. He generated 1 QB hurry in 10 pass rush attempts (10% Pressure Rate). He was targeted 3 times in coverage, allowing 2 receptions for 24 yds per PFF (17 yds per PFR).

Jordan Magee played 43% of defensive snaps, with the following split of assignments: 16 run defense, 13 coverage, 1 Pass Rush. He made 4 tackles, with 1 TFL and 2 total stops both on passing plays. He was targeted twice in coverage and conceded 2 receptions for 4 yds.

Mike Sainristil played outside corner on both sides in this game. He made 3 tackles with 1 PBU. He had an up and down performance, conceding 3 rec/5 tgt for 40 yds and 1 TD (0.93 Y/Cov Snp) per PFF, or 4/7 for 57 yds (1.33 Y/Cov Snp) per PFR.

Jonathan Jones played opposite of Mikey. He tied with Frankie Luvu for second on the team in combined tackles, with 7 tackles, 1 assist, 1 stop and 1 miss. He was a little more leaky in coverage than his teammate, conceding 4/4 for 40 yds (1.29 Y/Cov Snp) per PFF, or 5/5 for 56 yds (1.81 Y/Cov Snp) per PFR.

Noah Igbinoghene played the slot and recorded 2 tackles, with 1 TFL/stop and either 1 (PFF) or 2 (PFR missed tackles). He was targeted 5 times in coverage, allowing 4 receptions for 65 yds (1.48 Y/Cov Snp).

Noah was called for a 19 yd pass interference penalty on 3rd and 8 from the Washington 20 with 5:41 remaining in the third quarter. It was one of two penalties called on the Commanders on the play. The accepted penalty was the second-biggest play for the Eagles in the game (EPA 3.83), and the second major penalty on Washington to keep the drive alive for the Eagles.

Antonio Hamilton only played 14 snaps, and recorded 2 tackles and 1 assist. He was picked on heavily in coverage and, unlike last week, it paid off for the Eagles. According to PFF, he was targeted 6 times, conceding 5 receptions for 35 yards (3.89 Y/Cov Snp). PFR recorded 5 tgt, 4 rec and 26 yds (2.89 Y/Cov Snp). For reference, a starting boundary corner should be at or below 1.0 Y/Cov Snap across a full season.

Will Harris made 2 tackles, 1 assist and 1 PBU. He was targeted twice in coverage, allowing 1 reception for 7 yards.

Harris was penalized 5 yards for illegal contact on a 4th and 7 play from the Washington 38 on the Eagles’ first drive of the second half, with the Commanders leading by 3 points. It was one of two penalties on Washington which kept the drive alive, leading to the Eagles’ go-ahead score.

Quan Martin made 1 tackle and 1 assist, with 1 missed tackle. According to PFR, he was targeted once in coverage and a allowed a 15 yd TD. PFF attributed the TD reception to another defender.

Martin drew two penalties in this game. A defensive holding call on a third down in the red zone late in the third quarter was declined, in favor of the pass interference call on Igbinoghene. With 4:26 remaining, Martin was ejected from the game on a personal foul for brawling.

Jeremy Reaves played on 11 passing downs and 7 rushing downs. He made 1 tackle and 1 assist, with 2 missed tackles. He was not targeted in coverage.

The Commanders’ lone Pro Bowler, Tress Way, punted 5 times for 220 yds, with a long of 56 yds, landing 3 inside the Eagles’ 20 yard line. Three of his punts were fair caught and 1 was a touchback. Uncharacteristically, 1 of his punts was returned for 11 yards. His 11 Yards Per Return average was his highest of the season.

That long return brought his season average up to 4.1 YPR, from 3.8 the previous week. Nevertheless, he remained the NFL’s breakaway leader among punters with more than 10 attempts, even if his margin over Arizona’s Pat O’Donnell in second place narrowed.

Jake Moody was perfect on 1 extra point attempt and 1 field goal from 20 yards.

Chris Moore returned 5 kickoffs for 124 yds (24.8 YPA).

Jaylin Lane attempted 1 punt return for no gain and was injured on the play.

Mike Sainristil made the biggest positive play of the game for the Commanders, other than via penalty, when he stripped the ball from Will Shipley on the opening kickoff return. The fumble was recovered by Kain Medrano at the Eagles 26 yard line (EPA -3.84 for the Eagles).

Nick Bellore led the team with 2 tackles in special teams coverage.

Sainristil and Jeremy Reaves had one apiece. Reaves also missed a tackle.

Ale Kaho chipped in with an assist.

Kain Medrano and Jordan Magee each missed tackles.

Tyler Owens was penalized 5 yards for offsides on an unsuccessful Eagles’ field goal attempt near the end of the first half, to give the Eagles a first down. Owens was let off the hook when the Eagles failed to find the end zone and kicker Jake Elliott missed his second attempt in a row. I couldn’t see any evidence that Owens was offside on the replay. Readers are welcome to comment on that call and the officiating in the game in general.