Four Downs with the Commanders: Missed opportunities in Kansas City
Some windows of opportunity aren’t just obvious — they’re screaming at you.
The Commanders had not one, but two chances to take a lead in the first half of Monday night’s game in Kansas City after the much-maligned defense intercepted a pair of Patrick Mahomes’ passes.
The offense failed to generate even a field goal with those two possessions, and they went into halftime tied 7-7 (for the record, Washington’s first drive ended in the red zone with a Marcus Mariota interception).
That’s when that much-maligned defense came into play, allowing back-to-back-to-back touchdown drives to begin the second half as the Commanders lost 28-7. The third straight loss has them looking around for their next meal ticket — which might just be in Spain next month.
First Down: One cannot emphasize enough how soul-sucking and heartbreaking that Chiefs drive was to open the third quarter. And after moving 80 yards on eight plays for a touchdown, they moved the ball 75 yards on eight plays the next time they had the ball. Then, on their third possession of the half, Kansas City doubled down with a 13-play, 94-yard, tear-your-heart-out-and-drop-kick-it-through-the-uprights possession that bled 7:02 off the clock. The defense didn’t allow 44 points like they did last week against Dallas, but when they needed to contain the Chiefs, they came up short.
Second Down: NFC East-leading Philadelphia (6-2) finally won a game by more than a touchdown, routing the last-place New York Giants 38-20. The Giants also lost rookie running back Cam Skattebo for the season with a badly dislocated ankle. Dallas’ defense remains deficient as they coughed up 44 points in a loss at Denver to slip under .500 again. The 1976 Bucs, 2008 Lions, and 2017 Browns can rest easy as the New York Jets are no longer winless after rallying for three fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 39-38 win at Cincinnati. And eight weeks into the season, did anyone have Indianapolis with the league’s best record? Yes, the Colts are helped by playing in the AFC South, but five of their seven wins have come by double digits. And they’re doing this with Plan B quarterback Daniel Jones on his redemption tour.
Third Down: Washington moved the chains on 7-12 attempts, but converted just 2-5 after halftime. Marcus Mariota completed 5-7 passes for four conversions while getting sacked twice. Mariota also ran for a first down while Bill Croskey-Merritt and Jeremy McNichols moved the chains on running plays. McNichols and Terry McLaurin were the top targets, each catching both passes thrown their way to meet the marker. Yardage breakdown: 4-6 on short-yardage, 1-2 when needing four to six yards and 2-4 on third and long.
Flag on the Play: Three accepted penalties plus one that was offsetting for 35 yards, with three on the defense (two unnecessary roughness calls plus a defensive hold) plus the obligatory false start. For those not counting at home, the 14 false starts are the most of any penalty for this team and rookie Josh Conerly’s false start gives him five penalties for the year (second most behind Marshon Lattimore). The most costly whistle? Quan Martin’s third quarter unnecessary roughness turned what would have been a Kansas City second and five on the Chiefs’ 25 into a first and 10 from the KC 40. They’d score the go-ahead touchdown seven plays later.
Fourth Down: The prime-time lights remain on for the Burgundy and Gold as they move from Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on ABC to Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth on NBC. For those dealing with spotlight fatigue, the next “regional” 1 p.m. game for this team will be December 7.