The Washington Commanders dug themselves a deep hole in the NFC East with a 1-4 record entering this game. It is not what you wanted to see with the undefeated 5-0 Eagles and 4-1 Cowboys running away with the top two spots in the division.
Besides the record being an issue, there has been some tension between starting quarterback Carson Wentz and head coach Ron Rivera. While both said they are fine, we will see going forward as many in the media think Rivera is on the “hot seat” and could be fired at any time.
There is no telling what we will see today as the team is without several key players who are inactives due to injury. S Percy Butler (quadricep), T Sam Cosmi (finger), WR Jahan Dotson (hamstring), CB William Jackson (back), TE Logan Thomas (calf), and RB Jonathan Williams (knee) are all out and for most, that is two games in a row. They join Chase Young who is recovering from his ACL knee surgery, and rookie DT Phidarian Mathis (meniscus) on the sidelines today.
“I do, but you know, at the end of the day, I spoke to my team this morning. I basically told them that I said some things that were misconstrued. I didn’t present it properly, and that’s on me. So I took accountability, told the guys that I should know better. Shit, I had a bad day. I figured, you know, I’m feeling better today, let’s move forward. So, to me, as far as I’m concerned, it’s really now about the most important thing that’s getting ready for football.”
— head coach Ron Rivera
The defense has to show more improvement from the linebackers and secondary and stop these pass interference penalties that have plagued them. The Commanders are second-to-worst in the NFL in turnover differential at a -7. Wentz has thrown 6 interceptions but the defense has only capitalized on one interception. That is not good at all. The defense has to be more opportunistic.
The math for today is kind of simple for a win today as the Commanders are desperate for a win today.
ODDS: Washington is a -1.0 favorites with the Over/Under at 38 points
GAME TIME: Thursday, October 13, 2022 at 8:15 p.m. ET
LOCATION: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
TV: Amazon Prime, WTTG-5 (FOX) in the DC market with Al Michaels will be the play-by-play announcer with Kirk Herbstreit serving as an analyst and Kaylee Hartung as the sideline reporter. Amazon Prime subscribers can watch the game on their apps.
