The Commanders are walking into Week 5 with wide receiver problems that leave little room for caution, and that puts Chig Okonkwo front and center against the Giants.
With Stefon Diggs unavailable at Northwest Stadium and Terry McLaurin’s hamstring still a question, Washington needs someone who can win where the field gets tight and the coverages get sticky. Okonkwo, listed at 6-foot-3 and 238 pounds, fits that job. He looks and plays a lot like a wide receiver in a tight end’s frame, and that kind of flexibility is exactly what the offense needs with Jayden Daniels back in the mix.
The matchup is there too. The Giants have already been vulnerable to tight ends this season, and that opens the door for Okonkwo to finally produce the kind of day Washington has been waiting for. Terrance Ferguson already showed the formula in Week 2, when the Rams’ hybrid tight end-receiver beat New York for six catches, 54 yards and a five-yard touchdown.
Okonkwo can create similar problems. He should have an edge on the Giants’ inside linebackers, Tremaine Edmunds and Arvell Reese, in space, but the better bet is to move him around more and force New York’s defense to deal with him on the perimeter. That’s where his size and movement skills can stress corners like Deonte Banks and Greg Newsome II in one-on-one situations.
Treylon Burks can help in the same way. His size gives Washington another body who can work outside and help tilt the field.
The run game matters just as much. If the Commanders want outside-zone runs to work, they have to seal the edges and deal with Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Okonkwo and Burks have enough mass to help crack back on edge defenders and let Washington get blockers onto defensive backs in space. That becomes even more useful if Ben Sinnott and John Bates are brought along with motion and pushed to the second and third levels of the Giants’ defense.
That kind of package would also give the Commanders the run-heavy looks that set up Daniels’ under-center play-action game, which was supposed to be a bigger part of the offense. Instead, the scheme has stayed tied to a lot of the read-option and pistol concepts Kliff Kingsbury used before, while Blough has also not featured the tight ends nearly enough.
That lack of usage shows up in the numbers. Washington’s tight ends have only 15 targets, nine catches and 59 yards. For a player the Commanders paid $27 million to matter, that’s not nearly enough.
Against the Giants, though, the opening is there. The only question is whether Blough finally uses Okonkwo the way this offense was built to use him.
In Other News...
Commanders Have Another Officiating Controversy Fans Wont Let Go
The Commanders left Week 5 with more than just a loss to the Giants, because the officiating became part of the conversation again. A key call wiped out an interception by cornerback Amik Robertson, turning what looked like a swing play into another sore point for a team that feels like it has seen too many of these moments already this season.
Robertson did not let the frustration sit for long, taking to social media to vent about the quality of the officiating and pointing to multiple instances this year he believes have hurt Washington. The broader backdrop only adds to the irritation, with recent NFL officiating disputes and player confrontations making every questionable flag feel bigger, and this one is sure to linger with Commanders fans for a while. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Let A Winnable Game Slip Away With Brutal Late Mistake
For much of Sunday, Washington looked like it had done enough to leave with a much-needed road win, building a two-touchdown cushion before the game turned into a fourth-quarter scramble. The Giants, powered by Jameis Winstons 326-yard, three-touchdown outing, stormed back to force overtime, turning what had been a comfortable afternoon for the Commanders into a tense finish.
Even after the lead evaporated, Washington still had a clear path to escape with a victory, only to let the moment slip away in the final seconds. The late clock management left the Commanders settling for a tie instead of a win, an outcome that will linger because it was there to be taken. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Fans Have One More Reason To Revisit That Giants Tie
The Giants 27-27 tie with Washington is getting another look, and not just because divisional games tend to linger. Cam Skattebo, who was at the center of the overtime turnover sequence, acknowledged that the ball security lapse was his mistake and said he has to do better moving forward. For Commanders fans, it is one more reminder that the game was there to be claimed late, even if it ended up as a split.
Skattebo framed the finish as a lesson for the Giants, stressing the need to protect the football as they move on to face the Saints. New York still sits atop the NFC East, which only adds to the sense that Washington left something behind in a game where the margin was razor thin and the ending never quite felt settled. [Read more 🡒]