The Washington Commanders have been on a bit of a decline recently after a hot start to the season, losing two straight games in just five days to fall to 7-4 on the season.
Surprisingly, the Commanders offense struggled all night against a Philadelphia Eagles defense that is playing like one of the best units in the NFL as of late. The Eagles held Jayden Daniels and company to just 264 offensive yards and 18 points. The Commanders finished just 3 of 12 on third down and were unable to extend drives for most of the evening.
With the Commanders trailing 19-10 late in the fourth quarter, Daniels had another chance to make one last comeback. However, that hope was short-lived, as Daniels was intercepted by Eagles safety Reed Blankenship on the first play of the drive.
After the game, Daniels revealed what he and tight end Zach Ertz, the projected receiver, had which I spoke about after the play.
“We were just talking about what we need to improve on, what he’s seeing and things like that,” Daniels said. “Obviously, Zach is someone who’s been through this kind of thing in his career, so it’s like, ‘How do we bounce back?’ And he was kind of comforting me, as far as you know, “Hey, there’s no one else I’d rather play with.” No other person I would rather catch the ball from. It’s a long season, so keep your head up and keep moving forward.
Commanders collapse after surprising start
Thursday night’s 26-18 loss to the Eagles marked the second straight loss for the Commanders, who have now lost significant ground in the NFC East race. If you had told Commanders fans before the season that they would be 7-4 in 11 games, they surely would have accepted it, but the way they got there over the last few days has been frustrating.
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Dan Quinn and company followed up a close loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers with a discouraging performance on offense against the Eagles. Commanders struggled both on the ground and in the air Thursday night, and things were especially concerning in crucial situations such as third down.
Many fans harken back to Kliff Kingsbury’s days with the Arizona Cardinals, where their situation steadily deteriorated during the second half of the season. That’s a cause for concern for this Commanders offense, with Kingsbury calling the plays. If they experience a similar decline, this Commanders team could fall in the standings very quickly.
There is good news for commanders. The schedule gets considerably lighter for them as time goes on, as they play their next three games against the Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints. These three teams have already lost control of their season, so it’s very possible that they will be 10-4 in a month and it all seems like a distant memory. However, if they drop one of these games, it could cause them problems moving forward.
