Sixteen. That’s the number of rushing attempts the Washington Commanders had against the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday. The team rushed for a total of 84 yards which equates to 5.25 yards per attempt. Seems pretty good, doesn’t it?
It’s inconceivable to me that this team only ran the ball 16 times, yet Sam Howell dropped back to pass 52 times. That is an absolute ridiculous ratio, especially for a team that held a lead through the entire first-half and a majority of the second. I don’t understand what the thought process behind allowing this to go on. Even if Ron isn’t the one calling the plays he’s still the head honcho and should know he has the authority to tell his OC to get some more balance in his play calling.
There’s no guarantee that more rushing attempts would have turned this loss into a victory, but it typically leads to a few things that would help. Longer drives, less time on the clock for Philly, wearing out the Eagle’s defense, these are all examples of the benefits the Commanders could’ve experienced. If you’re averaging half a first down on each rushing attempt, I don’t see any justification for giving that up! It sometimes feels like Bieniemy sees WR screens as quasi-runs which is another example of the coaching malpractice that has taken place.
Note to steal this quote from Sandra Bullock but, “RUN THE DANG BALL!”
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