Commanders’ Red Zone Misfire Highlights Kliff Kingsbury’s Play-Calling Struggles
The Washington Commanders' season continues to spiral, and while there’s no shortage of blame to go around, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury is wearing a good chunk of it after a baffling goal-line sequence against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 14.
Let’s start with the context. After the Vikings opened the game with a smooth touchdown drive, Jayden Daniels and the Commanders responded with poise.
The rookie quarterback led an impressive march down the field, punctuated by a pair of strong runs from Chris Rodriguez Jr. that had Washington knocking on the door at the two-yard line. Momentum was building.
The Commanders had a golden opportunity to answer back, tie the game, and set the tone early.
Instead, everything unraveled.
A Head-Scratching Goal-Line Series
On second-and-goal from the two, Kingsbury dialed up three straight pass plays. Three.
Straight. Passes.
After Rodriguez had just gashed the defense twice, Washington never went back to the ground. The result?
A turnover on downs and a major missed opportunity.
The Vikings didn’t waste time capitalizing. They marched 98 yards the other way for another touchdown, stretching the lead to 14-0 and flipping the game’s script.
From there, Washington was chasing. The run game was shelved, Daniels was forced to shoulder the load, and the hits started piling up-literally.
The rookie took some punishing shots, and in the process, aggravated an elbow injury that had already been bothering him.
It’s fair to say a 31-point loss can’t be pinned on one sequence, but that red zone meltdown was a turning point. The Commanders had a chance to punch back and instead handed the Vikings a momentum swing that they never gave back.
Kingsbury Owns It-But That’s Not Enough
To his credit, Kingsbury didn’t deflect when asked about the decision-making. Speaking to the media Thursday, he was candid about the missteps.
“There’s 30 plays in that game I wish I’d called something differently,” Kingsbury said. “There weren’t a lot of great play calls in that game. And like I said, that’s on me and I’ve got to get better.”
That kind of accountability is important, and it’s not something you always hear from coaches. But as far as the Commanders are concerned, words don’t mean much right now. Execution-and better decision-making-are what matter.
The most puzzling call of the series? That would be the third-down lob attempt to backup offensive lineman Brandon Coleman.
Yes, you read that right. A pass to a lineman.
It was a clear attempt at misdirection, but the Vikings weren’t fooled. They saw it coming and shut it down before Daniels could make the connection.
Then came fourth down. Daniels fired a pass to Deebo Samuel Sr., who couldn’t haul it in. And just like that, a promising drive turned into a gut punch.
A Pattern of Overthinking
This wasn’t an isolated incident. Kingsbury has flirted with overly cute play-calling more than once this season.
Just look back at the late-game decisions against the Dolphins in Madrid. Washington had a real shot to steal that one, but questionable calls derailed them again.
The creativity Kingsbury brings to the table is part of what got him back into the league. But there’s a fine line between innovative and unnecessary. Right now, he’s on the wrong side of it.
Washington fans are frustrated-and understandably so. Daniels has shown flashes, the defense has had moments, and there’s talent on this roster. But when the coaching staff short-circuits scoring chances, especially early in games, it puts the whole team in a hole.
Kingsbury says he’ll be better. He needs to be. Because if this trend continues, the conversation won’t just be about play calls-it’ll be about whether he’s calling plays at all next season.