CommandersAfter the Washington Commanders eeked out a win, head coach Dan Quinn took the high road about a mysterious clock stoppage. He also faced the bad news of a possible concussion for Zach Ertz. Also, here are three Commanders' reasons for concern after the tight victory versus the Saints.
However, that’s only how things stand right now. The Commanders’ position is much more precarious than meets the typical eye.
Commanders HC Dan Quinn will have to find more magic
There’s a possibility the Commanders won’t win any of their final three games. Such a collapse would likely usher them outside of the playoff room.
Washington plays the Eagles at home on Sunday, a game where the Commanders will be a serious underdog. Then they play host to the Falcons, who stood at 6-7 heading into Monday as the fight for a playoff berth of their own.
Finally, the Commanders travel to take on the Cowboys, a team they already lost to at home. Suffice to say, Quinn and the Commanders have a lot to be concerned about, from the schedule alone.
For now, Quinn is happy. But the 9-5 mark has been built on the foundation of a softer-than-most-in-the-NFL schedule. Quinn said the road win over the Saints helps a lot, according to Sports Illustrated.
“For us to go and get one on the road is a big deal for us,” Quinn said. “There is lots to clean up with those and we will, but that is just December and January football. We went all the way down on the last play and when we talked about the fight of the group, I think we embodied that.”
Spencer Rattler seemed to rattle Commanders
The Commanders didn’t adjust well to the Saints’ quarterback change from Jake Haener to Spencer Rattler, making it appear the Saints might have won if they started Rattler. Saints coach Darren Rizzi said the team needed momentum, according to neworleanssaints.com.
“As I said at halftime to the offense, we just need the first score to get a little momentum going,” Rizzi said. “Sometimes there is a snowball effect. I think, if I am not mistaken, we had one first down in the first half, and we had 16 first downs in the second half. A tale of two halves. It's just really that initial read, that initial scoring drive to get a little confidence. When there's a big fat zero up there for a while. There's not a lot of confidence going on. Once you get that first score, everybody starts feeling on the sideline like you can do this.”
Commanders don’t have a playoff-level offensive line
Giving up eight sacks to a team like the Saints is extremely bad. New Orleans had no more than four sacks against any team all season. The performance by the Commanders’ pass protection can only be described as atrocious.
Furthermore, the Commanders didn’t run the ball effectively. Brian Robinson Jr. managed just over three yards a carry against a team that had surrendered five per game this season.
Yes, the Commanders missed Tyler Biadasz at center. His injury played a role. But it’s not like Biadasz is a superstar. He’s an effective center. The Commanders simply aren’t very good along the offensive line.
Quinn acknowledged his team has work to do on the line — on both sides of the ball — according to commanders.com.
“Sure. There's a number of things, but when you're kind of, you can't pick 30 things, right?” Quinn said. “So, there's some line of scrimmage stuff that we wanted to make sure on both sides, the lead sled dogs. We're getting the right looks for the right guys and putting them in the right spaces. Those we want, we're always going to dig in on third down always. And then the winning time moments as the season goes along and the air gets a little thinner, you gotta keep executing at a really high level.
“We've all seen that from games over the weekend and that you watch to say, those are the moments. So, those are the ones that I don't think you'll ever feel like, ‘Okay, we've done enough there.' You always want to stay ready, you always want to stay on it because so many of these games, I don't know, maybe there's 70% of them are within one score, I mean it's a high number. And as it gets even moving further, those are the moments, man, that when they come up you gotta nail them. So, I don't ever want us to think, ‘Okay, we're good on that. We've done this two minute, we've done a clock.' No, no, no, let's do it again.”
Commanders defense seems to wilt in second half of games
Many times this season, the Commanders have failed defensively in the second half of games. Against the Saints the only thing that prevented an epic second-half failure came in the form of an incomplete pass on the 2-point conversion.
The Commanders led 17-0 midway through the third quarter. This game should not have finished close. Quinn bemoaned a combination of penalties and missed opportunities, according to espn.com.
“When you get those, you really put yourself in a bad spot,” Quinn said. “We have lots to clean up, but we’ve been in a lot of close games and been battle-hardened.”
But Quinn’s choice of defensive coordinator Joe Whitt has come under scrutiny. To be fair, Whitt isn’t playing with a stacked deck in terms of talent. But his ability to make halftime adjustments seems to be lacking. The Saints played without almost all of their key weapons, and still Whitt couldn’t find a way for his team to stop a rookie quarterback.
