The Dallas Cowboys are finding out quickly what the Washington Commanders already knew about Von Miller.
Dallas brought in the veteran edge rusher just before the season, hoping the future Pro Football Hall of Famer could still give them something as a rotational threat. Miller believed he had more football left in him, too. Five games in, that bet has not paid off.
He has not recorded a sack. He has only two tackles and one pressure. And in Dallas’ ugly Thursday Night Football loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miller’s trouble holding the edge showed up again and again.
That is already drawing heat. Former Washington safety turned ESPN analyst Donte Whittner took aim at Miller on the morning debate show Get Up, saying it was time for the eight-time Pro Bowler to step aside. The Cowboys, though, do not have many better answers on their front seven, which is part of why Miller was in the building to begin with.
Washington already saw this version of him last season. Miller did flash as a pass-rusher and even led the team in sacks, although injuries to others helped him get there. But he was also much slower than the player who once wrecked games in his prime, and opponents kept testing him with off-tackle runs that exposed his decline against the run.
The Commanders tried to bring him back this offseason. Miller wanted another shot in Washington after a lost campaign, but general manager Adam Peters had a different plan.
Peters wanted the roster younger and more explosive, with more urgency and less dependence on aging veterans chasing one more run. Miller no longer fit that vision, so he moved on to Dallas.
So far, that looks like the right call for Washington. The Commanders may not be putting up sparkling results, but their defense is showing more life. They are generating pressure, creating chaos in the backfield, and defensive coordinator Daronte Jones’ move to a 3-4 front appears to be working.
Dallas, meanwhile, is staring at a mess. The loss to Tampa Bay only deepened the chaos in the NFC East, where the Commanders sit at 1-3 but are still hanging around. Jayden Daniels is set to return in Week 5 against the New York Giants, and that keeps some hope alive.
As for Miller, the picture is getting harder to ignore. Father Time has caught him. He held him off longer than most, but a player offenses once had to scheme around is now looking like a liability.
In Other News...
Commanders Still Have An Opening In A Division Nobody Controls
A rough start has left the Commanders with plenty of work to do, but the bigger picture around the NFC East still gives Washington a path forward. At 1-3 after a Week 4 loss, the margin for error is thin, and the questions around Dan Quinns future are starting to surface too. Even so, this is a division that has not offered anyone much room to separate, with the Cowboys and Eagles both dealing with their own problems and looking far less secure than expected.
That creates an opening the Commanders can still chase if they start stacking wins and the rest of the division keeps stumbling. Washington does not need the NFC East to look pretty, just competitive enough to stay in reach while the standings remain unsettled. The next stretch matters because a couple of good results could quickly change the tone around a season that already feels much more fragile than it did a few weeks ago. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Season Turning Point Puts Brandon Coleman In A Brutal Spotlight
Sundays meeting with the Giants arrives at a tense point for Washington, with the NFC East still unsettled and the Commanders trying to steady themselves through a run of injuries. The encouraging part is that Jayden Daniels is expected back without limitations, which gives the offense a chance to look more like itself as the stakes rise in Week 5.
Brandon Coleman, though, is one of the players who will be watched closest. He has been asked to handle a major role up front at a time when the margin for error is shrinking, and this matchup is the kind that can expose every weak spot along the line. For Washington, it is less about style points than survival, and Colemans performance could end up shaping how secure the team feels heading into the rest of the division race. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Are Counting On A Familiar Name In A Game That Matters
Lucas Patrick arrived in Washington on Sept. 16, and since then he has quickly settled into an important role up front. With Nick Allegretti injured, Patrick has handled center duties and played 129 snaps there, drawing strong marks from Pro Football Focus and giving the Commanders a steadier answer in the middle of the line than they had just a few weeks ago.
Now comes a twist with a little extra edge. Patrick is lined up to work with quarterback Jayden Daniels against the Giants, the same team that let him go during roster cuts earlier in the offseason. For a Commanders offense trying to keep its footing, the matchup gives Patrick a chance to keep proving he belongs while facing the club that moved on from him just before the regular season began. [Read more 🡒]