The last time Washington and the Rams met, the Commanders made things interesting late - but Los Angeles had already done enough to walk out of SoFi Stadium with a 28-20 win in Week 15 on Dec. 17, 2023.
Washington trailed 28-7 with 9:05 left and suddenly found some life. Jacoby Brissett led a quick 67-yard march in just five plays, finishing it with a 29-yard touchdown strike to Terry McLaurin. That cut the margin to 28-14, and then Daron Payne helped give the Commanders another shot by bursting through for an 8-yard sack on Matthew Stafford, forcing a Rams punt.
The offense kept pushing. Starting with 5:03 to go, Washington put together a 65-yard drive in nine plays, and the biggest snap came when Brissett and McLaurin connected on a 48-yard gain.
Brissett then hit Curtis Samuel for a 3-yard touchdown with 1:46 remaining. Joey Slye’s extra point was blocked, leaving the Commanders down 28-20.
Washington did recover Slye’s onside kick, but the comeback stopped there. Kyren Williams answered with runs of 8, 4 and 6 yards to move the chains, and the Rams were able to run out the clock in victory formation.
For most of the afternoon, Los Angeles had controlled the game. The Rams shut Washington out in the first half and led 13-0 at the break, then pushed the margin to 20-0 in the third quarter on a 62-yard touchdown from Stafford to Cooper Kupp. Washington finally got on the board when Sam Howell found Curtis Samuel for a 19-yard score with 6:25 left in the third, but the Rams answered right back with Stafford’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson.
Brissett finished 8 of 10 for 124 yards and two touchdowns, good for a 157.9 passer rating after coming off the bench. Howell went 11 of 26 for 102 yards, one touchdown and one interception, with a 50.5 passer rating. McLaurin paced Washington with six catches for 141 yards and a touchdown.
The result moved the Rams to 7-7 and dropped Washington to 4-10 in what would be Ron Rivera’s final season as head coach.
In Other News...
Commanders Center Problem Has Become Impossible To Ignore
After the loss to the Rams dropped Washington to 2-5-1, the offensive line again became impossible to separate from the bigger story of how this season has gone. The center position, in particular, has turned into a weekly source of instability, and it is hard to ignore how much of that traces back to the offseason decision-making that left the Commanders leaning on Nick Allegretti after moving on from Tyler Biadasz.
The issue is not just one bad Sunday, either. Injuries have already forced the Commanders to keep adjusting in the middle of the line, and the result has been a unit that never seems to settle into a rhythm. For a team trying to build around a young offense, the center spot has become one of the clearest reminders that the margin for error is shrinking fast. [Read more 🡒]
Commanders Left Tackle Problem Is Becoming Impossible To Ignore
When Laremy Tunsil went down with a torn triceps in training camp, the Commanders had to reshuffle quickly and hand Brandon Coleman the blindside tackle job. It was always going to be a difficult ask, but the recent game against the Rams made the adjustment look even more precarious, with Colemans struggles putting a spotlight on a position the team can hardly afford to get wrong.
The bigger problem is the lack of easy answers behind him. Washington does not have much depth at left tackle, so every rough outing only sharpens the internal debate about how to stabilize the spot before it becomes a season-long issue. For now, the Commanders are left weighing whether to ride it out or make a move from outside the starting five. [Read more 🡒]
Dan Quinns Frustration Sums Up A Commanders Problem Getting Worse
The Commanders latest loss had the familiar feel of a team leaving points on the field and then paying for it on the scoreboard. In a 20-13 defeat to the Rams at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Washington again found itself stuck between promising stretches and the kind of execution that turns a close game into a frustrating one, with Dan Quinn pointing to the missed chances on both sides of the ball.
Quinns irritation fit the moment because the Commanders did enough in spots to stay in it, but not enough to finish it. The defense created chances and the offense had openings to build on them, yet the game never quite came together in the way a playoff-caliber team needs, and the final sequence only sharpened the issue as Washingtons chance to force a tie slipped away in painful fashion. [Read more 🡒]