The Commanders lose a tough one to the Titans
The Commanders lost 21-17 to the titans. The game ended with a last second interception by Carson Wentz on the goal line. The Commanders ran three similar plays and used the same personnel down on the goal line. They used tight formations out of shotgun. I would’ve liked to see either Turner or Rogers on the field to use their height. I would’ve spread them out and run a fade and let them go up a get the ball. Instead Scott Turner decided to call plays that made wentz make a read and throw, which ended up in Wentz throwing an interception. Next week the Commanders take on the Bears on Thursday night if they lose that game we might see some big changes in DC.
Coaching
The coaching and time management were terrible today. At the end of the 1st half Ron Rivera decided not to use his timeouts to get the ball back and get a field goal before halftime. Then on the last drive of the game Rivera challenged a play that was clearly not going to get overturned. This lost the Commanders a timeout that they needed on the last drive. Then down on the goal line to not try a fade or spread out the receivers is crazy to me. This entire staff should be on the hot seat the way this team is playing and how this roster was constructed, but with all the problems in ownership I don’t know if they will make any changes.
Offense
The offense looked better today, but still not great. The offense as a whole didn’t move the ball for most of the game unless they got a play of 20+ yards. The two biggest plays of the game were made by an unexpected player. Dyami Brown caught a 74 yards touchdown and a 30 yard touchdown. He only had two catches both for touchdowns and the 74 yarder was the first touchdown of his career. They only called 12 run plays the entire game, which can’t happen especially with how bad the o-line is in pass protection. The key to this offense is staying balanced and not being predictable. Wentz played okay today he did miss some throws throughout the game, but also made some big ones. His interception cost the Commanders the game, but the play calling didn’t help with most of the routes going across the middle into coverage. Ideally you would like to call a fade or a pick route at least one time they didn’t and it may have costed the Commanders a win.
For the Interior O-line they didn’t play great today. The center Nick Martin had a terrible game snapping the ball. He snapped it 3 or 4 times on the ground in shotgun to Wentz. Also Martin got beat a few times today and had a couple of penalties as well. Left guard Andrew Norwell got beat several times today and when he didn’t get beat he was holding or moving early. If this line is going to get any better they need these guys to step it up and stop making mistakes.
Defense
The D-line had another good game today. They sacked Tannehill 5 times today and hit him another 13 times. They also held Henry to 3.6 yards per carry and his longest carry was 15 yards. Now for the secondary William Jackson did not have a good game and was benched in the 2nd quarter. Then Bobby McCain gave up a big play of 61 yards, which would lead to a Titans touchdown. The defense would only give up one other play of 20+ yards and it was a screen to Henry. Other than those plays the defense played well enough for the Commanders to win the game. Unfortunately the offense and the play calling wasn’t good enough to get them the win.
Looking Ahead
The Commanders will travel to Chicago to take on the Bears on Thursday night. The Bears lost today to the Vikings 29-22. The good thing about facing the Bears is they don’t have a high flying offense. And if the Commanders can stop the bears run attack I like their chances to beat the Bears. The Commanders must win this game if they have any chance to have hope for this season. If not it looks like another top 5 pick for the Commanders and maybe a coaching change.
