Game Recap: Commanders survive late rally by Saints to hang on for a 20-19 win

The Commanders enter this game fresh off of a Week 14 bye, while the Saints return home a bit battered and bruised from their winning road trip vs the NY Giants in which Derek Carr was doubly-injured on a play in which he badly injured his left (non-throwing) hand and suffered a concussion. Jake Haener is expected to play at QB in place of Carr. Also missing from the Saints lineup is their top offensive playmaker, Taysom Hill, who was injured in the game against the Rams and is out for at least the remainder of the season.

One other significant player who won’t be in a Saints uniform today is cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who was dealt to the Commanders at the trade deadline. Lattimore was injured (hamstring) at the time of the trade and hasn’t yet taken the field with the Commanders. He will make his debut in the burgundy & gold today against his former team in a stadium he knows well.

The Commanders will be missing a few players. One is RB Austin Ekeler, who is on IR with a concussion. Another is WR Noah Brown, Washington’s 2nd-most productive receiver behind Terry McLaurin, who was placed on IR late this week. A late scratch was starting center Tyler Biadasz, who is inactive with an illness; his backup is Michael Deiter. All three players — Ekeler, Brown and Biadasz — are critical members of the offense and their absence will impact Washington’s ability to move the ball against the Saints.

While the Saints have not been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, with a 5-8 record, they would need to win every remaining game just to finish with a winning record.

The Commanders, meanwhile, are in the middle of the hunt for a wildcard seeding (and not yet mathematically eliminated from winning the NFC East division title). Although the Commanders will remain at least the 7th seed in the playoffs for another week regardless of today’s outcome, to remain in control of their playoff hopes, the Commanders need to keep on winning. The expectation is that a rested and healthy Commanders team, favored by more than a touchdown against the home team, will do just that against a wounded Saints team that is limping towards the end of a difficult 2024 season.

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First Quarter

Washington kicked off to New Orleans, who started the first offensive drive of the game at the 34-yard line after a return from the goal line on the Greg Joseph kickoff.

After two short runs, the Saints faced 3rd & 3 at the 41 yard line. A completed pass was negated by an offensive holding call, bringing up 3rd & 13 at the 31-yard line. On the second try at 3rd down, Haener faced pressure, lost his composure, tried to scramble, and took a bad sack for a loss of 11 yards, with Payne & Armstrong credited with the sack.

Jamison Crowder, just returned from IR, fielded the 45-yard punt and returned it 9 yards to the Washington 44 yard line, where Jayden Daniels led the offense onto the field.

Following a Daniels 1-yard scramble on 1st down, Terry McLaurin gained 8 yards to bring up 3rd & 1 at the 47-yard line. Brian Robinson picked up the Commanders’ initial first down of the game with a 1-yard run.

Now across midfield, Robinson gained 9 yards on 1st down, and then gained 5 yards to get another first down at the Saints 32-yard line, already in field goal range.

After a short scramble followed by a throw-away by Daniels, Crowder gained just 5 yards on 3rd & 9, and Greg Joseph came onto the field to attempt his first kick — a 45-yard field goal— in a Commanders uniform. He drilled it, becoming the 5th Commanders kicker to score in 2024 — HOWEVER, a late flag was thrown for a personal foul. Dan Quinn accepted the penalty, taking the points off the board and sending his offense back on the field, 1st & 10 at the 13-yard line.

Daniels kept the ball on 1st down, scampering right for 9 yards to the 4-yard line. Robinson earned 1st & goal at the 3-yard line with an inside run.

An apparent touchdown pass to Zaccheaus was nullified by an illegal shift called against OZ himself, pushing the ball back to the 7-yadrd line. On the subsequent play, Daniels kept the ball and ran inside the 3-yard line, but the ball was knocked out of his hand and recovered by Jeremy McNichols at the 7-yard line for 2nd & goal.

An offensive holding call against Sam Cosmi pushed the ball back to the 17-yard line, where Washington again had 2nd & goal.

Under pressure, Daniels scrambled left and right, seemed to drop the ball, pick it up again, and then fire a laser to Terry McLaurin in traffic for the first touchdown of the game.

The score was 7-0; the drive lasted 12 plays, and covered 56 yards in 6:39. It wasn’t beautiful football, but the Commanders had the early lead.

Following the kickoff by Washington, the Saints started their second offensive drive of the game at the 28-yard line.

On 2nd down, Alvin Kamara got loose in the middle of the field on a 29-yard catch & run to put the ball across midfield, with 1st down at the 44-yard line.

On the next play, Dorance Armstrong added another sack to his total for the day to make it 2nd & 19.

So far, the Commanders have 5 first downs; the Saints have 1. Washington has 56 total yards; Saints have 15. Washington’s defense has racked up 2 sacks for 20 yards lost on 6 total plays by the Saints offense. New Orleans has had one big offensive play and one really costly special teams penalty.

After Kamara lost another 3 yards on a 2nd down run, the Commanders forced 3rd & 33 at the NO 44-yard line. Haener scrambled on 3rd down to the Washington 49-yard line, and the punter came on the field.

Crowder was back to field the punt again, and made the fair catch at the 8-yard line.

With 01:47 remaining in the 1st quarter, the Commanders offense came on the field for its second drive of the game.

Opening up with a 2-back look, the Commanders ran the ball on 1st down and then passed to Zach Ertz on 2nd down to bring up 3rd & 3 at the 15-yard line. McLaurin caught a 5-yard pass on the left sideline to secure the 1st down to bring the quarter to an end..

Second Quarter

Washington opened the second quarter with 1st & 0 at the Washington 21-yard line. So far, Brian Robinson had 5 carries for 18 yards while Jayden Daniels had completed 5-6 for 40 yards and a passing TD. JD5 had added 11 yards on 4 carries.

Dyami Brown took a shovel pass for 16 yards, but on the subsequent 1st down, Chase Young sacked Jayden Daniels for a loss of 4 yards.

After a short pass to Robinson, it was 3rd & 8 at the Washington 39-yard line. On the 3rd down play, a first-down catch & run by Terry McLaurin was negated by a holding call on Dyami Brown.

On 3rd & 16, Cam Jordan sacked Daniels again, forcing the Commanders to punt from their own 24-yard line.

After a good punt and a negative return by the the Saints, Haener came out for the Saints 3rd offensive drive of the game, taking over at the NO 26-yard line.

Haener missed a wide open Valdez-Scantling on 2nd down to bring up 3rd & 4 at the 32 yard line. On 3rd down, Haener escaped an almost-sack by the LDE only to throw an interception in the middle of the field by Mike Sainristil.

Washington took over at their own 47-yard line on the sudden change.

Daniels ran out of bounds on 1st down for 0 yards — technically a sack — followed by a holding call on 2nd down to bring up 2nd & 19. Offensive penalties have been really hurting Washington.

After a 12-yard completion to Dyami Brown, Washington faced 3rd & 8, and Daniels made a fantastic throw to Jamison Crowder between two defenders for 12 yards and another 1st down at the 39-yard line, on the edge of field goal range.

Zaccheaus earned 9-yards on 2nd & 11 to bring up 3rd & 2 at the 31-yard line.

On the money down, Daniels scrambled right, and went out of bounds right at the line to gain to set up 1st & 10 at the NO 29-yard line.

On 2nd & 3, Daniels’ pass was batted down at the line to force 3rd & 3 at the NO 22 yard line. On 3rd down, Zach Ertz made a great play to pull in a Daniels pass and run to the 3-yard line for 1st & goal. Ertz was shaken up on the play and was helped from the field and into the blue tent.

Washington has 10 first downs; New Orleans has 1. Commanders are 5-7 on 3rd down conversions; NO is 0-3. Total yards, 147 for WAS, 25 for NO. Passing yards, 105 for WAS, 9 for NO. Rushing, 42 yards for WAS, 16 for NO.

On the next play, Terry McLaurin caught his 2nd TD of the day running right to left across the end zone; Daniels pass followed a fake handoff to Robinson on a beautifully designed and executed play.

Following the PAT it was 14-0; the scoring drive lasted 10 plays and covered 53 yards.

The Saints started their next offensive drive at the 30-yard line with 05:32 on the clock as the network broadcast showed Zach Ertz headed to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion.

On 3rd & 4, Haener took a huge sack at the NO 26 yard line — an emphatic end to the Saints drive by Jeremy Chinn on the safety blitz.

Following the punt, Washington had the ball at their own 29-yard line with 03:38 on the clock and a chance to add to the lead before the end of the half. The Saints drive lasted 3 plays and lost 4 yards.

Facing 3rd & 1 at the 38-yard line, a fake handoff to Brian Robinson on a play action pass almost turned into a sack, but Jayden Daniels miraculously shook free and scrambled to his right, gaining 2 yards and picking up an important first down and bring up the 2-minute warning.

Following the time out, Washington had 1st & 10 at their own 40-yard line with 2 time outs in hand and a chance to add to their 2-touchdown lead.

Having deferred at the start of the game, Washington would also get the ball to open the 2nd half.

On 3rd & 9, Daniels took his 4th sack of the game, this time a loss of 14 yards to the LDE. The Commanders would have to punt the ball back to the Saints, who started their final drive of the first half at their own 30-yard line with 01:41 on the clock and two timeouts in hand. The Saints defensive stop was an important one that changed the game situation. Rather than facing a potential 3-score deficit, New Orleans has the opportunity to put points on the board and cut the Commanders’ lead before halftime, possibly swinging the momentum at a critical time. Washington’s defense will need to continue to play the way they have so far and shut down any hope in the Saints’ hearts.

Luvu put on the pressure to force an incompletion on 1st down. The defense rallied to the ball on 2nd down to force 3rd & 5, and Dan Quinn used his final time out of the half.

On the money down, Haener, against the blitz but with good protection, hit Dante Pettis for 12 yards and a first down.

A dropped pas by MVS on 1st down, and a throwaway by Haener under heavy pressure by Luvu on 2nd down brought up 3rd & 10 with just over 01:13 to play. Another incomplete pass ended the drive, but the Saints punt team downed the ball at the Washington 2-yard line.

With 50 seconds on the clock, each team had 2 time outs. Quinn used his after a 3-yard gain on 1st down.

Daniels hit McLaurin and McCaffrey on a pair of passes, but neither player was able to get out of bounds, and the clock ran out with the Commanders at their own 20-yard line.

Halftime Stats

Statistics via ESPN

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Third Quarter

The second half started with the Saints kicking off to the Commanders, who started their 6th offensive drive of the game at their own 32-yard line. The Commanders defense has done a good job on Jake Haener. Washington’s offense, though, let the Saints defense pressure Daniels too much in the first half (officially 5 sacks in the half); that will need to be improved. Washington needs to score on this drive to start to choke off any fight that the Saints might be feeling coming out of the locker room. There is no energy from Saints fans in the stands; any offensive score here should suck the energy dry from the crowd as well.

Ertz has been ruled out with a concussion.

A run by Robinson and scramble by Daniels brought up 3rd & 1 at the 41-yard line. On 3rd down, Daniels kept the ball, running right for 5 yards and a fresh set of downs at the 46-yard line.

Jayden hit Zaccheaus on a 14-yard catch & run at the numbers on the right side of the field, and then a swing pass to Brian Robinson added 20 yards to push the ball all the way to the Saints 20-yard line.

In the red zone, Daniels scrambled for 10 yards on 2nd down to earn 1st & goal at the 9-yard line. Will we see TD #3 for Terry McLaurin here?

Kingsbury called two Brian Robinson runs to reach 3rd & goal from the 1 yard line. A failed play action pass turned into another Cam Jordan sack at the 5-yard line.

Greg Joseph came on the field and nailed a 23-yard field goal to extend the lead to 17-0; the scoring drive took 11 plays and covered 63 yards.

The Saints started their 6th offensive drive of the game with Spencer Rattler taking over at QB with Haener on the sideline. Rattler started his first drive of the game at the 29-yard line.

Washington put him under pressure immediately with a 6-man blitz that forced a quick throwaway. An incompletion (and declined holding penalty) brought up 3rd & 10.

On 3rd down, the Commanders rushed 4 and Rattler found Pettis for 12 yards and a first down at the 41-yard line. The Saints fans came to life. The change from Haener to Rattler feels like it has added a bit of life, but a false start pushed the Saints back.

On 2nd & 11, Rattler, who was under heavy pressure, tossed a rainbow that Jeremy Chinn thought he was going to intercept. Instead, Valdez-Scantling caught it for a 39-yard gain and the crowd roared.

The Saints wasted no time with a WR pass from Cedrick Wilson to Alvin Kamara for a 21-yard touchdown.

With the PAT, the score was 17-7. The scoring drive covered 71 yards in 6 plays.

Following the kickoff, the Commanders started their second drive of the half at their own 32-yard line facing noise from the home crowd.

On 2nd & 11, Daniels hit Terry McLaurin on the left sideline for 25 yards to the 44-yard line and a fresh set of downs.

Brian Robinson lost 4 yards on 2 runs (he’s at 15 carries for 53 yards) before Jayden Daniels, under pressure, tucked the ball and ran 24 yards for a 1st down. At this point, Daniels is Washington’s leading rusher, with 10 carries for 65 yards.

After a false start penalty, Washington faced 2nd & 14 at the NO 28-yard line. On the subsequent play, Chase Young got his 2nd sack of the game to force 3rd & 19.

Daniels hit Jamison Crowder at the 23-yard line, short of the first down.

The field goal team came onto the field, and Greg Joseph apparently missed wide right, but the 3rd quarter ended before the snap, so the kick didn’t count.

Fourth Quarter

The Commanders have the opportunity to extend the lead to 13 points with a field goal to open the 4th quarter. Hopefully, Joseph wouldn’t repeat the miss on his ‘practice kick’ to end the prior quarter.

On the re-kick, Joseph put the ball through the uprights to make the score 20-7. The scoring drive had covered 45 yards in 9 plays.

The Saints came to life with the QB change on the prior drive. Hopefully, Joe Whitt has talked to his troops about adjusting to the change. The Commanders need to stop this drive and add another score to re-establish control by the middle of the 4th quarter.

Rattle led his offense onto the field to start their first drive of the final quarter at the 26-yard line following very good coverage by the Commanders special teams.

A run for no gain and an incomplete pass forced 3rd & 10 very quickly. On the 3rd down play, the Commanders rush broke through and put Rattler on the ground, but the sack was negated by a hands-to-the-face penalty against Ben St-Juste.

The Saints got an automatic 1st down as a result of the penalty.

Three plays later, the Saints had the ball 1st & 10 at the Washington 32-yard line. The Commanders put Rattler under pressure; he threw the ball away, but the refs threw a questionable flag on Dante Fowler for roughing the passer. Another automatic first down by penalty.

On the next play, 1st & 10 at the 17-yard line, Dante Fowler tackled the running back Miller (Alvin Kamara had gone to the locker room earlier to be checked) for a loss of 6.

On 3rd & 16 a the 23-yard line, Daron Payne got a big mitt on the Rattler pass and knocked it down at the line of scrimmage after Newton had tipped the pass on the prior play.

The Saints settled for a 41-yard field goal to cut the lead to 10 points at 20-10. The scoring drive covered 51 yards in 9 plays, and had been helped along by a couple of untimely penalties by the Commanders defense.

Washington’s 8th drive of the game started with about 11 minutes left to play at the 37-yard line following a good return by Luke McCaffrey.

Robinson caught a pass and ran the ball to earn 10 yards and another first down.

On the next play, Daniels tied to hit Terry McLaurin at the 5-yard line, but put the ball 1-yard too long, and it went off the fingertips of the diving receiver at full stretch.

On 3rd & 8 at midfield, Daniels was sacked for the 8th time to force the Tress Way punt. A penalty for holding on the return pushed the ball back to the Saints 8-yard line with 08:06 on the clock and a 10-point deficit for the home team.

The defense has given up 10 points in the 2nd half. The TD drive was good execution by the Saints; the field goal drive was helped along by sloppy penalties by the Commanders. This time, the burgundy & gold defense needs to end this drive on the Saints side of the field.

Kamara has been ruled out of the game, so the running back is Kendre Miller.

On 2nd & 10, Rattler completed a pass out of his own end zone; another roughing the passer penalty against Dante Fowler — this one for no apparent reason — gave the Saints another 1st down plus 15 yards at the 42-yard line.

On the subsequent play, Valdez-Scantling picked up 24 yards to the Commanders 34-yard line, and Jeremy Chinn was shaken up on the play and went to the blue tent (as did MV-S). New Orleans apparently doesn’t know they are supposed to get beaten badly in this game. They insist on trying to score at every opportunity.

Two incomplete passes by Rattler (the first dropped by his receiver; the 2nd dropped by Frankie Luvu who had both hands on the ball) brought up 3rd & 10. Rattler threw into the end zone, but no receiver was close to the ball.

Grupe came on to attempt a 51-yard field goal, which was good, cutting Washington’s lead to 7 points with just under 7 minutes left in the game. Washington’s offense would need to score here. The scoring drive by the Saints covered 59 yards in 7 plays and took just 1:09.

McNichols returned the kickoff to the 36-yard line, where the offense took over. Washington would really benefit from a long clock-eating drive here that ends in a score.

On 2nd & 8, Terry McLaurin was all alone streaking down the right sideline, but the pass from Jayden Daniels hit him in the hands but was just a bit long. Terry bobbled the ball and was unable to pull it in, losing the opportunity for a walk in touchdown.

Ben Sinnott gained 7 yards on 3rd & 8 to bring up 4th & 1 at the Washington 45-yard line. Dan Quinn left his offense on the field. On an ugly play, Jayden Daniels leaped over the line and earned the line to gain.

On 1st down, Daniels tried yet another deep pass to McLaurin, this time underthrown inside the NO 5-yard line and incomplete.

On 3rd & 3 at the NO 41-yard line, John Bates made a huge catch for a 6-yard gain and a fresh set of downs with just 03:28 on the clock.

On 2nd & 12, Daniels hit Zaccheaus out of the slot in the middle of the field for 13 yards and another 1st down at the New Orleans 30-yard line with 02:36 on the clock.

On 2nd & 13, Daniels hit Dyami Brown at the 10-yard line, but the gain was negated by a holding call. First down lost; out of field goal range; clock stopped — really bad penalty.

An incomplete pass short to OZ on 2nd & 23 stopped the clock again and brought up 3rd won with 02:17 on the clock.

A run to the 36-yard line by Robinson brought up the 2-minute warning. A field goal from this point on the field would be 54-yards on 4th & 16. It seems as if the field goal is the only real option here.

After the time out for the 2-minute warning, Greg Joseph came out for the kick. His 54-yard attempt went wide right — it wasn’t close. The snap was low but the hold was good. Another costly missed field goal by a Washington kicker!!

The Saints took over on downs at their own 44-yard line with 1 timeout and needing a touchdown to tie or win the game.

A 12-yard run by Miller on 1st down moved the ball to the Washington 44-yard line. A completion and out-of-bounds put the ball at the 41-yard line with 94 seconds left in the game with a stopped clock.

On 3rd & 1, Austin gained 8 yards and got out of bounds.

Miller got to the 15-yard line on a run, but then was tackled for a loss of 2 to bring up 2nd & 12 with 00:36 on the clock. The Saints used their final time out.

The subsequent play was a completion in the middle of the field. An incomplete pass on 3rd down stopped the clock on 4th & 3 with 17 seconds left in the game.

Rattler completed the 4th down pass to TE Foster Moreau in the middle of the field, and the big TE ran the ball to the 1-yard line. The Saints lined up and Rattler spiked the ball to stop the clock with 4 seconds remaining.

On the final offensive play of the game, Moreau caught the ball in the end zone as time expired.

With no time on the clock and the score 20-19, interim head coach Darren Rizzi decided to go for 2 and the win.

On the 2-point try, Spencer Rattler rolled right and threw for Juwan Johnson on the right side about a yard inside the end zone. Johnson was unable to make the catch, and the Commanders moved to 9-5 with a 20-19 win!

Full Game Stats

Statistics via ESPN

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