Remember when the Washington Commanders were 6-2? That victory happened after the Jayden Daniels miraculous Hail Mary win against the Chicago Bears. The expectations got ratcheted up and up for the team. A win the following week against the Giants put Washington at 7-2. There were always going to be a few games against the Ravens, Steelers, and Eagles that were going to be tough on the schedule.
Now let’s go back to Week 7 in the Carolina game when Daniels was hit in the ribs. He continued to play every game since — and you have to wonder how healthy he was for the subsequent games against the Bears, Giants, Ravens, Steelers, Eagles and Cowboys. During that stretch, the team went 2-4. There was a lot of questioning as to the abilities of head coach Dan Quinn and especially offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. Maybe all of the recent angst could be explained in that Daniels was not near 100 percent healthy for several weeks. Yesterday’s win against Tennessee by a final score of 42-19 sent the Commanders into a special Victory Monday ahead of the bye week.
While the running game was exceptional against Tennessee, and the passing game had some new looks to it — Daniels showed a lot of what we saw when he was healthy with some pinpoint throws and some nice running plays. Kingsbury also had Terry McLaurin lined up on the right-side of the offense for the first time and that was extremely successful. McLaurin had two touchdown catches, and that seemed to open up the offense for some plays that Tennessee did not defend well. In total, Washington recorded 267 net rushing yards, and that was the most in a single game since Week 17 of the 2012 season.
With defensive captain Bobby Wagner giving a mid-week speech to his teammates, the team looked inspired and put an end to its three game losing streak. Washington established itself on both sides of the ball for a complete team win.
“I thought Bobby [Wagner] was the catalyst at the very beginning of the week and talking to his teammates, which he doesn’t do very often. So, for him, I knew there was something there that he wanted to share. And it’s so impactful when it can come from a teammate. I thought he was the one that set this week off and set it in motion.”
— Quinn said after the game
Only the opening week loss against Tampa Bay has been by more than one score. So while Washington had the other losses against the Ravens, Steelers, Eagles and Cowboys — a play or two could have turned each game. That is sports in a nutshell. What it shows is that Washington is close. But how different would those games have been if Daniels was healthy and Marshon Lattimore was available at cornerback? Yes, all teams are dealing with injuries. That is life in the NFL. Now the Commanders have a much-needed bye week to try to get everyone healthy for the stretch run.
Getting Lattimore on the field for the first time in a Commanders uniform would be a substantial upgrade for the defense. The All-Pro defensive back could change the secondary. Also consider that Austin Ekeler was placed on the IR this past week for a concussion, and that means he will able to return for the final game of the regular season.
Four games remain in the regular season, and Washington controls their own playoff destiny. At 8-5, the Commanders are currently in the final slot to get into the postseason. Finish the season at 4-0, and Washington is in. The remaining opponents are against the Saints, Eagles, Falcons, and Cowboys.
The Commanders dreams of winning the NFC East are now a long-shot, however the Wild Card hopes are real with the Falcons, Buccaneers, Cardinals and Rams all at 6-6 records. Washington holds the tiebreaker with the Cardinals, but the Buccaneers hold the tiebreaker over Washington. All of those other teams have five games remaining in their regular season. Washington has four games.
“It was great. It was great to win. Winning helps a lot — so it was great to go out there and just have fun and be able to get out there and score touchdowns.”
— Daniels said after the game
Keep in mind, the preseason rankings all had the Washington Commanders for last place in the NFC East in a tie with the NY Giants. Most had Washington to finish at around 5-12. This team could literally go the complete opposite at 12-5. ESPN had the Commanders ranked 28-of-the-32 teams in the NFL. The negative people are saying that Washington had an easy schedule, and in reality, no schedule is easy in the NFL — but this is a parity schedule that the NFL adheres to for each season. Based on Washington’s finish this year, that will determine next season’s schedule that would potentially be more difficult.
So yes, Washington and Quinn have already far exceeded the expectations. While we cannot predict the future, the remaining schedule has to be played to see the final results. Enjoy the fact that Washington is 8-5. This is a Victory Monday.
