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Daily Slop – 16 Oct 24: Commanders will retire Hall of Fame CB Darrell Green’s No. 28 on Sunday

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Washington Times

LOVERRO: Daniels keeps Commanders in the fight against Ravens

Yes, the Washington Commanders lost 30-23 to the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

Yes, they got run over by Derrick Henry, who had 132 yards on 24 carries.

Yes, Lamar Jackson picked them apart, completing 20 of 26 passes for 323 yards.

But that kid, that rookie Washington quarterback.

When Jayden Daniels steps on the field in big moments — in this case, trying to bring his team back from a 27-13 Baltimore lead going into the fourth quarter — you just believe this 23-year-old can win the game for you.

He didn’t. I get it. They lost.

But they had their shots to win, and with a defense that really suffered from the remnants of the disastrous Ron Rivera regime in this game — and with Washington’s version of Derrick Henry, Brian Robinson Jr., sidelined with a knee injury – they had no business going toe-to-toe with the Ravens.

“As lopsided as it felt, we were still in the fight at the end … it was a really important game for us to be in,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said.

They believed they were in the fight because Daniels, who competed 24 of 35 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns, including a remarkable throw to Terry McLaurin on fourth and goal in at the beginning of the fourth quarter to cut the Baltimore lead to 27-20, has instilled that belief.

“In those moments, he is really strong and really comfortable in those spots,” Quinn said of his star quarterback. “The whole team feels that.

“There is a lot of belief, and it came, that belief, from a lot of the work that he’s done,” he said. “In those spaces, that’s one of his real strengths. Fortunately for us, as a young player, you normally wouldn’t count on that, building to that spot. But because he has real command in that space, the players do have a lot of faith in him.”’

Washington Post (paywall)

For the Commanders, the NFC East is there for the taking

As the NFC East outlook has rapidly changed, Washington has gone from an afterthought to the division favorite.

On Sept. 1, had you placed a $10 bet on the Washington Commanders to win the NFC East, you would have been laughed at for kissing $10 goodbye. You also would have gotten odds that, had a division crown come to fruition, would have turned those 10 bucks into $110.

Take those 10 bucks this week and put them on the Commanders to win the division? Congrats. You would turn $10 into $22.

This race has pivoted, and with alarming speed.

this flip-flop from what so many expected has as much to do with the Commanders — and breakout star quarterback Jayden Daniels — as it does with the rest of the division. Which is, in a word, a mess.

Even after Sunday’s 30-23 loss at Baltimore — last year’s top seed in the AFC playoffs that has designs on returning to that spot — Washington ranks in the top five in so many meaningful offensive categories: yards per play (fifth at 6.1), yards per game (fifth at 378), percentage of drives that end in a score (first at 61.8 percent), points per game (tied for second at 29.7). That’s with Daniels leading the NFL in completion percentage (75.3) and ranking fourth in passer rating (107.1) and third in QBR (73.7).

A preseason cruise through the Commanders’ schedule might have featured a few games that seemed like certain losses — at Cincinnati, at Baltimore and at Philadelphia among them. Now, peruse the remaining schedule and find a game the Commanders are sure to lose. It’s hard.

Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)

What went wrong for the Commanders defense against the Ravens

Breaking down the issues the Commanders defense in the loss to the Ravens

[O]ver the past few weeks, the Commanders have been forced to try and find different ways to play in order to hide their deficiencies at corner. They’ve focused on protecting the corners by playing lots of two deep safety looks, which has helped keep defenders over the top and limit explosive plays somewhat, but that in turn has created a different problem. With an extra safety deep, the Commanders are consistently light in the box against the run and while the occasional stunt works to help blow up a run or steal a gap back, they’ve been unable to shut down running games.

That left the Commanders with quite the predicament going into the game against the Ravens this past Sunday. The Ravens have the top rushing attack in the NFL, but they also have an MVP at quarterback very much capable of beating them with his arm too. So should Quinn and Whitt try to persist with protecting the corners and potentially being shredded up front in the run game by Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson, or commit to stopping the run and potentially having Jackson throw all over them?

They opted for the latter, choosing to not let Henry beat them early by committing extra defenders in the box to stop the run. Early in the game, it actually worked quite effectively.

Commanders.com

Commanders’ Week 8 game vs. Bears flexed to 4:25 p.m.

The Washington Commanders’ Week 8 home matchup against the Chicago Bears has been flexed from 1 p.m. on Oct. 27 to 4:25 p.m. on the same day, the NFL officially announced Tuesday afternoon.

The matchup will be highlighted by No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels squaring off against No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams for the first time in their professional careers. Both players have gotten out to exceptional starts to their rookie seasons. Daniels, who has already become a favorite to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, is performing among the league’s best quarterbacks this season, ranking ninth in passing yards (1,404), first in completion percentage (75.3%), third in QBR (73.7) and fourth in passer rating (107.1). He became the first quarterback in league history to pass for at least 1,000 yards and rush for at least 250 yards in their first five games.

Williams is not far behind Daniels as far as the stats are concerned, as he has passed for 1,317 yards with nine touchdowns to five interceptions. He has already set or is at least on pace to break several franchise records. He became the fourth rookie quarterback to have four touchdown passes and at least 50 rushing yards in the Bears’ blowout win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, and he was the first Bears quarterback since Cade McCown in 1999 to throw for three touchdowns in a game.

Heavy

Commanders Signed Ex-Patriots DT, Worked Out All-Pro: Report

The team signed veteran defensive tackle Carl Davis on Tuesday, October 15, the same day former All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller was in for a workout.

Davis’ arrival was reported by NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. He noted how the 32-year-old interior lineman played for Commanders head coach Dan Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. with the Dallas Cowboys last season.

A brief stint with the Cowboys was the sixth stop on the NFL circuit for Davis, who entered the pros as a third-round pick in the 2015 draft. He started 12 games during three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and added seven more starts with the New England Patriots from 2020-22.

[T]hings could be different for Fuller. The 14th-overall pick 10 years ago, Fuller achieved All-Pro honors with the Chicago Bears in 2018.

Commanders.com

Five favorite plays from Darrell Green’s HOF career

The Washington Commanders will honor cornerback Darrell Green by retiring his No. 28 jersey, making him just the fifth player in franchise history to be distinguished in such a way. Green, a first-round draft pick by Washington in 1983, was a longtime key piece of the Burgundy & Gold’s defense, helping it win two Super Bowls and setting several franchise and league records.

Jan. 10, 1988: Green scores on 52-yard punt return against the Bears

There’s sure to be plenty of debate as to which play was the best of Green’s career, but the last one on this list is one that gets brought more often than others.

It was the Wild Card round of the playoffs in 1988, and Washington went on the road to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears. The game was a slugfest in four-degree weather with –20 wind chill. The Bears jumped out to a 14-0 lead thanks to a run from Calvin Thomas and a 14-yard touchdown pass to Ron Morris from Jim McMahon, but Washington battled back to tie it up with a three-yard run by George Rogers and an 18-yard touchdown reception by Clint Didier.

Later in the third quarter, Washington’s defense forced McMahon to throw an incompletion on third down at the Bears’ 8-yard line, sending Green back to return the punt. Tommy Barnhardt sent the ball flying, and Green made the catch at Washington’s 48-yard line. Green sprinted to the sideline, hurdled over a would-be tackler and evaded more Bears players to get into the open field. From there, Green faced no opposition and crossed the goal line for the 52-yard touchdown.

The Bears cut into Washington’s lead with a 25-yard field goal later in the third quarter, but Green and the defense held them scoreless for the rest of the way to survive and advance to the NFC championship game.

Upcoming opponent

Cat Scratch Reader

Panthers vs. Falcons game review: Eyes on the young guys

While it was another tough loss for the Panthers, the rookie class showed much needed signs of life.

[T]he Panthers aren’t going to compete for anything this year. This season has always been about building towards the future, with little to no focus on short term success in the win column. Wins are nice, but the Panthers proving they have a good coach in place and an ability to develop young talent are paramount.

Let’s take look at some of the encouraging performances from the rookies on the roster projected to have increasing roles going forward.

Xavier Legette

For all intents and purposes, Legette looked exactly like the type of player you would hope he would be at this time in his career. He looked big, fast, physical and productive with his opportunities. In his 51 snaps, he put up a 67.8 PFF grade including a 65.3 receiving grade and 77.4 run blocking grade. Legette’s touchdown in the waning seconds of the first half was one of the best plays of the game by any Panthers player. The first round pick has been a bright spot so far, looking forward to seeing how he looks rest of season.

Trevin Wallace

With Josey Jewell still sidelined with an injury, Wallace was in charge of relaying the defensive calls. A tough ask for a 3rd round rookie, but to his credit he does not look overwhelmed by the opportunity.

Ja’Tavion Sanders

The fourth round selection at tight end played 48 snaps for the Panthers, effectively being the Panthers first string tight end. Sanders had an up and down performance as a route-runner and receiver but is still showing improvement week-to-week as a blocker.

Podcasts & videos

Heart & Soul: Previewing Panthers, Washington Legends & Player Comps | Get Loud | Commanders

Photos

Commanders.com

PHOTOS | Darrell Green through the years

Check out the top photos of cornerback Darrell Green in honor of the cornerback getting his jersey number retired by the franchise. (Photos via The Associated Press)