Washington’s defense has become hard to ignore for all the wrong reasons, and the numbers say the problem starts after halftime.
Through five games, the Commanders have given up 95 second-half points, the most in the NFL. Defensive coordinator Daronte Jones didn’t dance around it when he met with reporters Friday.
“We're okay with a three- or four-yard catch; just gotta rally make the tackle.” Washington has been surrendering far more than that once the game flips, and now the assignment gets uglier with an unbeaten San Francisco offense coming in at nearly 31 points per game and ranking second in the league in second-half scoring.
The injury situation also kept piling up Friday. Defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw did not practice after being a full participant Thursday, and he was listed with ankle and knee injuries.
Washington’s list remains crowded with Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Javontae Jean-Baptiste, Charles Omenihu, and Marcus Mariota still out. Austin Ekeler stayed limited, Rachaad White moved from full to limited, and wide receiver Stefon Diggs was back to limited work after sitting out Thursday.
The Commanders still have Saturday’s practice before final game status is set.
San Francisco has its own injury watch to manage. Nick Bosa missed practice for a second straight day because of a calf issue, while Mike Evans also remained out.
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk, though, returned to full participation after dealing with a knee injury. General manager John Lynch said the 49ers want to be careful with Bosa rather than push him back too soon and risk another injury.
Washington’s season has also brought a strange statistical twist: the takeaways are there, but the wins mostly aren’t. The Commanders came into the year emphasizing a takeaway-first mindset, and five weeks in they’ve forced seven turnovers while giving it away just twice.
That leaves them at a +5 turnover differential, tied for second-best in the NFL, even though they’ve managed only one victory. It’s the kind of number that usually puts a team in a much better spot than Washington has found itself.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels pointed to the fourth-quarter passing game when asked about the offense’s issues late. “We just gotta learn from it,” Daniels said.
“You know, they were bringing a lot of zero pressure. I gotta be able to get different checks to the guys and, you know, ultimately just be, play in the quarterback position, make sure we're in the right position to be able to get the ball out to its perimeters, to the skill guys, so they can make plays and hopefully break a couple tackles and make some things happen.”
The bigger picture around the roster keeps pointing in an uncomfortable direction, too. Washington is sitting at 1-3-1, injuries have stripped away much of the offensive core, and the late-game mistakes have only made the situation look shakier.
That has already turned the conversation toward the future, with executives needing to sort through which players are worth paying while contributors sit in a tough spot. Daron Payne’s name is expected to keep coming up in mock trade chatter in the weeks ahead.
There are still a few clearer football reasons for why the offense has had such a hard time. NFL Pro data shows the Commanders are averaging 3.9 yards per carry on runs inside the tackles, which ranks 17th, while that number jumps to 5.7 yards per carry outside the tackles, good for fourth.
In other words, the inside run game has been slow to find traction, even though interior pass protection has held up well. At tackle, it’s the opposite problem: the run blocking has been better than the pass protection.
Elsewhere around the team Friday, Terry McLaurin said “the belief is still there” in the locker room and stressed that Washington has to avoid long third downs against San Francisco. Commanders insider Ben Standig also took a look at the length of Washington’s injury list, ran through each position group, and recapped David Blough’s time at the microphone. On the 49ers side, there was also discussion about the George Kittle problem and San Francisco’s heavy motion usage.
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Still, Blough made clear there was plenty to clean up, and the focus landed quickly on the pre-snap mistakes that stalled what should have been a promising second-quarter scoring chance. For a team trying to build on a fast start, those kinds of penalties can turn a good possession into a wasted one, and the Commanders now have a familiar discipline issue sitting right in the middle of an offense that otherwise looked ready to hit another gear. [Read more 🡒]