Allowing two kickoff return touchdowns and missing an extra point in the final minutes led to the Washington Commanders losing their third straight game in a painful manner.
However, the main issue causing this ongoing slide has been a problem long before these final moments. The offense, led by rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, which was one of the best in the NFL for a while, only managed nine points and 169 yards through the first three quarters against Dallas. They fell behind 20-9 and then struggled to break through the Cowboys’ conservative defense.
“We just couldn’t really get it going,” said receiver Terry McLaurin. His long touchdown with 21 seconds left didn’t change the fact that he only had three catches for 16 yards through three quarters. “We’ve got to find a way to start faster and sustain drives, and that’s everybody: the whole coaching staff and the offensive players just going out there and figuring out ways that we can stay on the field.”
This has been a recurring issue for Washington. They only gained 242 yards in a loss to Pittsburgh on Nov. 10 and 264 yards in a loss to Philadelphia just days later. Since returning from a rib injury that caused him to miss a game last month, Daniels has completed just under 61% of his passes, down from 75.6% during his first seven games.
Both Daniels and coach Dan Quinn have stated that the injury isn’t the problem. The coaching staff pointed to a lack of sufficient practice time, but even after a full week of practice before the Cowboys game, the issues continued.
It’s now fair to wonder if teams have figured out offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s system after studying the film.
“I think teams and coordinators are going to see what other teams have success against us and try to figure out how they could incorporate that into their scheme,” Daniels said after completing just 12 of 22 passes for 80 yards through three quarters against Dallas. “We’ve been in third and longer a lot these past couple games, so that’s kind of where you get into the exotic pressures and stuff like that. We’ve just got to be better on first and second downs and stay ahead of the chains.”
Daniels is right, and this issue has been going on even before the losing streak. The Commanders have converted only 36% of third-down opportunities (27 for 75) in their last seven games, compared to 52% (31 for 60) in their first five games.
This problem won’t be any easier to solve with Tennessee coming to town on Sunday. Despite their 3-8 record, the Titans have the second-best third-down defense in the league, allowing conversions on just 31.6% of third-down attempts.
