Opposition News: Another frustrating loss to the Eagles puts the Commanders at a crossroads

[VaBeach_Eagle]

This is one of the articles that I've made into a video for the YouTube channel, you can read it below (in the spoiler) or let the video run and help the channel. 

 

 

Another frustrating loss to the Eagles puts the Commanders at a crossroads

Eagles 38, Commanders 31

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October 29, 2023 at 8:14 p.m. EDT

Montez Sweat, left, and Chase Young saw their Commanders fall to 3-5 with Sunday's loss to the Eagles. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)

Montez Sweat and Chase Young sat in the back, their chairs side by side, as a pall hung over the Washington Commanders’ locker room.

The two defensive ends knew this day could come. The NFL’s trade deadline is Tuesday, and their team can’t afford to keep both of them for the long haul. What they didn’t know was how they would leave FedEx Field on Sunday — as likely ex-teammates or as a duo who might stay together at least until season’s end.

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"That’s my brother, man,” Young said. "... We rocking for life. That’s not going to change if we’re not on the same team.”

Added Sweat: "Yeah, that thought does cross your mind. You hate to think like that. But, once again, it’s out of my control.”

On Sunday, the Commanders blew an 11-point first-half lead to the Philadelphia Eagles and lost, 38-31, behind a slew of mistakes and questionable decisions. The defeat, coupled with earlier ones to the lowly Chicago Bears and New York Giants, dropped the Commanders to 3-5 and put them at a crossroads that new ownership has been approaching for weeks.

The Commanders’ hope of qualifying for the playoffs, even with nine games left, is now faint, making the long-term future of the franchise a greater priority. In the past week, Washington took calls from other teams on Young and Sweat and received at least one trade offer for Sweat, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

The state of the team could prompt Washington’s front office to consider moving on from either pass rusher to add draft capital — if it doesn’t consider doing even more than that. But for a while Sunday, Washington could’ve fooled many into thinking it had turned the corner.

The Commanders nixed their habit of starting slow to score first and come up with critical stops early. Terry McLaurin leaped over cornerback James Bradberry in the back of the end zone to pull in a 26-yard touchdown pass from Sam Howell in the first quarter. Fellow wideout Jahan Dotson, who has had critical drops in multiple games, beat his defender from the slot to catch a 21-yard touchdown pass early in the second to put Washington up 14-3. And the defense followed, forcing a fumble at the Washington 5-yard line to keep the Eagles at bay and the momentum rolling.

But that’s when the head-scratching plays began.

On fourth and one at the Philadelphia 35-yard line with just under two minutes remaining in the half, Washington didn’t try to sneak it across the line or turn to Brian Robinson Jr. for a short run to move the chains. The team didn’t opt for a long field goal, either. Instead, Howell attempted a quick pass outside to McLaurin that Philadelphia easily broke up to end the drive.

Four takeaways from the Commanders' loss to the Eagles

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts responded with six short passes before finding A.J. Brown, whose stunning one-handed grab led to a 16-yard touchdown that cut Washington’s advantage to 14-10. That lead was 17-10 at halftime.

The Commanders maintained their defensive pace in the second half, recovering another red-zone fumble by the Eagles on their "Brotherly Shove” quarterback sneak, this time at the 1-yard line. But the offense slowed, and the sideline offered little help.

On the Eagles’ second drive of the half, wide receiver DeVonta Smith caught what was ruled to be a 17-yard completion on fourth and four deep in Commanders territory — but he didn’t appear to have possession. Multiple players and coaches on Washington’s sideline motioned to throw the challenge flag, but the Commanders held pat as the Eagles rushed to the line of scrimmage for the next play.

"I didn’t see it on the screen,” Coach Ron Rivera said when asked why the Commanders didn’t challenge. "I was looking up at the screen to see if there was something that could help me with it. Then I was waiting to hear somebody upstairs on if they had seen it or not. We hadn’t seen the replay, so we weren’t sure. [The Eagles] did their hurry-up, ran up to the line and snapped the ball. You almost think that in that amount of time somebody else could have looked at it and saw if it was complete.”

Three plays later, Brown caught another touchdown pass to tie the score at 17.

The teams traded scores — Howell threw a seven-yard dart to tight end Logan Thomas on a slant route, and Hurts hit Smith for a 38-yard touchdown on a busted coverage — before Washington’s mistakes led to its downfall.

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Deep in his own territory, Howell sailed a pass intended for McLaurin that landed in the arms of safety Reed Blankenship. Philadelphia needed just two plays to capitalize with an eight-yard touchdown catch by Julio Jones that made it 31-24 with 7:17 left.

The daggers came after that: back-to-back drops by McLaurin on third and fourth down in Philadelphia territory. Though low, the passes from Howell appeared catchable. But they bounced off McLaurin’s hands and all but ended Washington’s momentum before a third-down incompletion to Dotson on the subsequent drive essentially sealed the outcome.

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Howell targeted Dotson on a shallow crossing route that appeared to be initially ruled a completion. But with assistance from the NFL’s replay command center in New York, it was ruled incomplete and upheld upon review.

"They told me that New York decided it wasn’t a completion, and I struggle because it took them so long to get it correct that you’d think that they didn’t emphatically know that it was an incompletion,” Rivera said.

As trade deadline nears, Commanders have at least one offer for Montez Sweat

When asked for clarification, Walt Anderson, the NFL’s senior vice president of officiating, said in a pool report that Rivera’s challenge was accepted because "a coach can still review or challenge a play even if replay assistance has been provided.”

Howell was strip-sacked on fourth down, and the Eagles (7-1) were back in the end zone two plays later to make it 38-24.

"We gave ourselves opportunities and we missed some opportunities, and we just have to go back and take a look at it and see why,” said Rivera, who declined to answer trade deadline-related questions.

The frustration was palpable in the locker room afterward — even more so than in past weeks, when Washington fell to the winless Bears and the 1-5 Giants. Perhaps that was because the Commanders proved they had what it took to win. They just failed to sustain it.

They had sound protection up front thanks to a revamped offensive line, with Tyler Larsen at center and Chris Paul at left guard. They moved the ball with a mix of short passes and deep shots. And they kept their oft-hit quarterback upright for most of the game; he took just one sack after racking up 40 in the first seven games.

Joey Slye booted a 61-yard field goal, the longest in franchise history. The defense had those two red-zone takeaways. And Howell turned in a career-best stat line: 39 completions on 52 attempts for 397 yards, four touchdowns and a 114.0 passer rating.

For much of the game, the Commanders put on the kind of performance expected of a team with its back against the wall.

The Commanders say they're close. But they can't win when it counts.

"I just thought after last week’s game [against the Giants] it was a crucial point in our season,” said Howell, who addressed his teammates before a team meeting Wednesday. "It’s up to us to dictate where we’re going to go moving forward. I just tried to tell everybody that we’re right there and everything we want to accomplish is still in front of us.”

But Washington let another one slip away — and now faces a future more uncertain than ever.

As he sat at his locker, a distraught Young assured that he’s still happy as a Commander — "For sure, I love Washington,” he said — but he knows almost everything else is beyond him.

"Anything can happen, so I don’t worry about nothing,” he said. "That’s out of my control.”

 

 

 

[birdman#12]

Think the commies need to move on from Rivera, promote Bienemy to HC to keep continuity for Howell's development. 

They should make some trades to get more draft capital.....they have all 7 picks, but no comp picks.  They have a lot of cap room next year for free agents and signing some of their free agents.

The need to focus on the offensive line and the defensive backfield.  They have talent at the skill positions but their O-line needs help.