The Washington Commanders had the Los Angeles Rams in check for much of the first half Sunday, but one matchup kept slipping through their hands. By the time the Rams walked away with a 20-13 win, Puka Nacua had become the difference Washington never solved.
Nacua piled up 14 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown, while also adding two carries for 20 yards. He didn’t burn the Commanders with one huge downfield strike. Instead, Sean McVay kept using him like a piece of the run game, and Washington never found the answer.
That was the part that clearly stuck with Commanders outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson after the loss. He didn’t sugarcoat it when explaining how the Rams kept moving the ball.
“They ran the same play all day, feeding the same person the same ball all day. So, as a defense, you just gotta drop your nuts and figure out how you’re going to stop that.
You know what I’m saying? If you’re not going to let it happen anymore.
Regardless of the individual results, when you have a game plan that easy, and they’re not hiding what they’re doing and running duo all day, they will find a way to get Puka the ball. That’s what you have to hone in on, and find the ways to stop that and get your defense off the field and limit the points.”
Chaisson’s point was less about taking a shot at the Rams and more about admitting Washington knew what was coming and still couldn’t shut it down. Some Rams fans may have heard it as an insult, but the message was really the opposite: the Rams had a plan, and it worked.
In Other News...
Commanders Face A Brutal Thursday Reality In NFC East Race
A short week has turned into a meaningful one for the Commanders, who head into Thursday nights matchup with the Giants knowing the NFC East picture already has some early separation. New York sits atop the division, and Washington needs a win just to keep pace in a race that can tighten or slip away quickly when these head-to-head games start stacking up.
The matchup has also taken on a different edge with the betting market moving toward the Giants, a sign of how much confidence there is in New York entering the prime-time spot. For Washington, the assignment is straightforward but unforgiving: handle a division rival on a short week, or watch the standings get a little harder to chase. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Defense Has A Chance To Prove This Progress Is Real
The Commanders defense has started to look more like the unit Dan Quinn envisioned, and the recent uptick has given the coaching staff reason to believe the turnaround is more than a short-lived spike. Quinn has pointed to defensive coordinator Daronte Jones as part of the improvement, with Washington cleaning up some of the issues that were costing it earlier in the season and giving up fewer points in the process.
Thursday night brings a familiar test, with the Giants back on the schedule and another chance for Washington to show the progress can hold up under pressure. For a defense that needed to steady itself, the challenge now is not just playing better for a week, but proving the gains can survive a quick turnaround and another divisional matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Just Made KLavon Chaissons Future A Bigger Story
Washingtons decision-making at the trade deadline said plenty about where the front office thinks this season is headed. General manager Adam Peters stood pat, and in the process kept KLavon Chaisson in the building after the edge rusher arrived on a one-year deal following a breakout year with New England. For a player who was brought in as a short-term add, Chaisson has quickly become more than that, giving the Commanders steady pressure off the edge and fitting into a defense that has leaned on him from the start.
The bigger story now is what comes next. Through eight games, Chaisson has done enough to make his future a real conversation inside the organization, with the team weighing whether he could be part of the long-term plan rather than just a one-year stopgap. Washington is already looking ahead to next spring with the possibility of a new deal, a sign that Chaissons production and presence have changed the way the Commanders view him. [Read more 🡒]