4 Downs with the Commanders: Turnovers tell the tale
Give it to the Chicago Bears: Even though they’re not a division foe, you could argue that they’ve given the Washington Commanders some of their more memorable games this decade-although not always for the right reasons.
The 2022 meeting (a 12-7 Washington win) was an assault on the football and uniform senses (Bears wore a brownish-orange “turnip style” jersey), while the 2023 game marked the beginning of the end of the Ron Rivera.
Last year’s showdown delivered the Hail Mary that grounded the Bears (they wouldn’t win after that afternoon) and sent the Commanders into hyperdrive; while this year’s matchup also delivered a last-second game-winning score. Only for the wrong team, as Chicago gets out of Landover with a 25-24 victory. And Washington’s 3-3 start includes losses to the Bears, Atlanta and Green Bay — all Wild Card contenders who now hold tiebreakers against the Burgundy and Gold.
First Down: Washington turned the ball over twice in the first quarter and once in the fourth quarter, leading to 13 Chicago points. Jayden Daniels threw three touchdown passes, but his fourth quarter fumble set up the Bears game-winning field goal. And the miscues didn’t just involve offensive mistakes, as a missed tackle led to a 55-yard touchdown pass that got the Bears back in the game in the fourth quarter.
The defense still needs to make strides, and with games at Dallas (number one in yardage) and Kansas City (um, Patrick Mahomes), on the horizon one hopes the first responder brings the ball-carrier down.
Second Down: What hurts about the Commanders’ loss is they missed a chance to sneak into first place of the NFC East as Philadelphia lost its second straight last Thursday (feels like forever in NFL-time) by slipping to the New York Giants.
The Big Apple has a new hero in a rookie, but instead of first round pick and quarterback Jaxson Dart, it’s fourth rounder and fullback Cam Skattebo, who’s providing a spark for the suddenly no longer lifeless Giants. We’ll see how much life they have after trips to Denver and Philly in their next two games.
Dallas was haunted by a former Cowboy as Carolina’s Rico Dowdle rushed for 183 yards in a Panthers 30-27 win and are 2-3-1 entering their showdown with Washington.
Up Interstate 95, the disaster that is the Ravens continues to crater with a 17-3 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams. The 1-5 start is their worst since 2015.
Third Down: Washington converted 3-8 opportunities, running pass plays on of their third downs. Jayden Daniels completed 4-7 for three conversions, while his fourth quarter fumble proved costly. His top target was Jeremy McNichols, who caught two of three passes thrown his way for one conversion.
Zach Ertz had two of his three targets (both incomplete) wiped out due to penalties against the Bears. Yardage breakdown: 1-3 when needing fewer than four yards and 2-5 when needing seven or more yards. And facing third and long 63% of the time is no recipe for success.
Flag on the Play: Washington was whistled six times with five accepted penalties (one was an offsetting penalty), which ties with week two in Green Bay as their lowest total of the season. Three were on offense (including the offsetting foul); two came on special teams and one was on the defense.
Laremy Tunsil’s false start was the team’s ninth of the season, tying it for the most often called penalty against the Commanders (with offensive/special teams holding). Tunsil also joins Marshon Lattimore as the most penalized player (four flags) this fall.
The costliest infraction this time? Mike Sainristill’s illegal contact in the third quarter turned what would have been a third and nine into a first down and jump-started a field goal drive for the Bears.
Fourth Down: The bright lights continue for the Commanders who will go from Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on ABC to the 4:25 p.m. window on FOX. With apologies to Green Bay at Arizona, Washington-Dallas screams FOX’s No. 1 broadcast team of Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady.
Fans of a certain age will say Buck-Aikman, their parents will cite Summerall-Madden, and grandparents will mention Summerall-Brookshier.
We had two Monday night games this past week in staggered fashion; and for week seven, it’s a traditional doubleheader with Tampa Bay at Detroit starting at 7 p.m. followed by Houston at Seattle. I’m not a huge fan of two MNF games, just like the 9:30 a.m. European game has yet to find a way into my heart. But when these are combined, it takes even more quality teams out of the main broadcast windows and leaves less-compelling matchups in the main menu.
But as I wrote a few years ago, I still feel it’s only a matter of time before we get the 9:30 a.m. game plus two Monday matchups as part of the every-week diet.