Nick Allegretti may not have looked like the answer in Week 1, but the Commanders are asking him to be exactly that in Week 2.
Washington’s starting center heads into AT&T Stadium with a major assignment: help take control of the middle against a Cowboys front built around Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams. Between them, the two linemen own seven Pro Bowl selections, so on paper this is the kind of matchup that can swallow an interior blocker whole. But the Commanders have reason to believe Allegretti can hold up if the line around him does its job.
That belief comes from what happened against Philadelphia. Allegretti missed the decisive block when Commanders offensive coordinator David Blough dialed up a puzzling two-point play with the game on the line, and that moment will stick with people. Still, the full picture was better than that one snap suggested.
According to ESPN’s John Keim, Allegretti did a respectable job working with guards Chris Paul and Sam Cosmi to handle Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis. Keim also pointed out that the Eagles left Allegretti uncovered on 32 of his 38 pass-block snaps. That says plenty about the kinds of problems Philadelphia was trying to create around him - movement, slants, and twists coming from different angles.
Those particular issues should be less punishing against Dallas, where the expectation is that Clark will line up head-up over Allegretti more often. That gives the center a cleaner assignment: use his 6-foot-4, 310-pound frame to lean on Clark, win enough of those battles, then help sort out the interior and get to combination blocks on Williams.
Williams is the more disruptive name, and he’s already on Jayden Daniels’ radar. But the Commanders also can’t lose sight of Otito Ogbonnia, a 320-pound presence who played 40 snaps against the New York Giants last week as part of the five-man fronts preferred by Dallas defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
If Washington wants to run the ball and keep Daniels clean for play-action, it has to handle those overloaded looks in the middle. That puts a lot on Allegretti, but he won’t be carrying the load alone.
Sam Cosmi showed in Week 1 that he can be a force on the interior. Brian Baldinger called it a “helluva effort” from the Commanders’ offensive line, singling out Cosmi for what he did against Carter. Baldinger’s point was simple: not many guards can handle Carter one-on-one.
That matters here because if Cosmi keeps playing at that level, it makes Allegretti’s job much more manageable. The Commanders don’t need perfection from their center. They need enough stability inside to open lanes, protect the pocket, and let the offense function the way it wants to.
If Allegretti gets that done, the Week 1 noise starts to fade fast. And Washington gives itself a real shot to beat the team it always seems to enjoy beating.
In Other News...
Tom Brady Added To The Misery Of Washingtons Ugly Afternoon
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Bradys unfiltered commentary quickly became part of the conversation, but the bigger issue for Washington was the sight of Daniels left elbow bending unnaturally. In a day that had already gone sideways, the injury concern for the rookie quarterback was the part that mattered most, and it left the Commanders facing an uneasy wait after an afternoon nobody in the building will want to replay. [Read more 🡒]
Jayden Daniels Injury Scare Just Changed Everything For Washington
A tense halftime scene at FedEx Field changed the tone of Washingtons Week 2 meeting with Dallas in a hurry, as Jayden Daniels left on the final play of the first half with a left arm injury. The setback was especially alarming because the injury appeared to be a dislocated elbow, a similar issue to one Daniels had dealt with before, turning what had been a familiar divisional matchup into a much bigger concern for the Commanders.
Marcus Mariota took over for the second half after Daniels was carted off, leaving Washington to regroup around a different quarterback and an uncertain outlook. For a team already trying to establish its identity early in the season, the injury adds another layer of anxiety, and the immediate focus now shifts from the scoreboard to the quarterbacks status moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Sonny Styles Sent A Message Commanders Fans Should Love
Sonny Styles gave the Commanders something to build on in a tight season opener against the Eagles, flashing the kind of early impact Washington has been hoping to see from its rookie linebacker. In his debut, Styles finished with four tackles, including two for loss, along with a sack and a quarterback hit, a useful blend of disruption and activity even in a 24-22 loss.
Styles also sounded like a player who understands the standard is only going to get tougher from here, noting there are areas of his game he still needs to clean up. For Washington, the encouraging part is that a rookie already looked comfortable making plays in a high-pressure setting, and now the next test comes quickly with Dallas up next. [Read more 🡒]