The Washington Commanders’ Week 9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams was the kind of game that left a lot of blame to go around. Washington opened with some promise, then unraveled after halftime and never found a steady answer on either side of the ball. The defense spent too much time chasing, the offense never got rolling, and the result was another frustrating Sunday in a season that still has half its schedule left.
Offensively, the Commanders earned a D, and the grade starts with Jayden Daniels. He missed several open throws that could have shifted the game, including one on the second-to-last drive.
The run game didn’t help matters either. Washington managed only 60 rushing yards, with Rachaad White averaging four yards per carry on just seven attempts and Austin Ekeler averaging two yards per carry.
That kind of production simply won’t cut it. Through the air, Van Jefferson stood out as the top wide receiver, which says plenty about how little help Daniels got.
Nobody was threatening downfield, and the protection in front of him wasn’t good enough either.
The defense came away with a B+ despite the loss, largely because it was put in a bad spot by the offense’s inability to sustain drives. By the fourth quarter, the group was worn down.
Even with Puka Nacua piling up 14 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown, the Commanders’ defense held up better than the box score might suggest. Matt Stafford was pressured enough to lose his rhythm at times, and Nacua’s damage mostly came on short, contested catches rather than explosive plays.
Trey Amos was in coverage on Nacua’s touchdown, and the defense, overall, did enough to win if the offense had done its part.
Special teams was one of the cleaner areas of the day and earned an A-. Drew Stevens stayed perfect on field goals and extra points, continuing to build consistency.
His kickoffs still need work, but Washington’s coverage held up well, allowing only one return for 29 yards. Tress Way was excellent as usual, averaging 47 yards per punt with strong hang time.
Three of his punts landed inside the 20, and the Rams didn’t get any punt return yardage. Los Angeles also did a good job limiting Luke McCaffrey on kickoffs, with only two returns allowed for 22 and 20 yards.
On the coaching side, the Commanders got a C-. Offensive coordinator David Blough had a rough afternoon, and much of it was self-inflicted.
The final drive stood out for the wrong reasons, with the play call and execution both looking odd. The bigger issue, though, was the lack of adjustment to Myles Garrett, which was described as both mind-blowing and inexcusable.
On defense, Daronte Jones’ unit was mostly solid, but it gave Nacua too much room at the line too often. That cushion made life easier for him and let him work into easy catches instead of being forced into tougher ones.
Daniels himself received a C. His numbers were serviceable, but much of the passing game was built on short throws, and that was partly by design because the Rams were bringing pressure and Washington’s top deep threats - Terry McLaurin, Treylon Burks, and Dyami Brown - were all out injured.
Still, Daniels missed a first-half throw to Rachaad White that would have kept a drive alive, and he also missed Van Jefferson with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. That incompletion ended the possession on downs and would have otherwise put Washington in the red zone, or at least set up a chance to tie the game.
The offense and the coaching staff both have work to do, and until that disconnect gets fixed, the Commanders are going to keep running into the same problems.
In Other News...
Commanders Defense Faces Heat After Chaissons Blunt Take On Rams Loss
The Commanders defense had a long week to sit with what went wrong in the 20-13 loss to the Rams, and KLavon Chaisson did not try to soften the edge of it. Los Angeles leaned heavily on Puka Nacua, who finished with 14 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown, and the repeated success of that approach became the central problem Washington could not solve.
Chaisson pointed to the lack of adjustment as the issue, underscoring how the defense let a predictable plan keep working anyway. For a unit that needed to be sharper in a tight game, the frustration was less about surprise and more about failing to respond once the pattern was obvious. [Read more 🡒]
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 🡒]