Washington’s tough loss doesn’t drop them much, if at all
The Washington Commanders were on a four game winning streak and getting a lot of national attention. Rookie QB Jayden Daniels led his team into enemy territory, and almost willed them to a victory. The defense had been holding their own the last two weeks, but Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers, and Lamar Jackson, stopped their upward swing, along with a few injuries. The Commanders lost 30-23, but had plenty of opportunities to flip that score the other way. They earned some respect by keeping it “close” with a Super Bowl contender, but they’ll have to win the games they’re supposed to win to keep it.
Washington is now 4-2, and they still have sole possession of first place in the NFC East. FanDuel had them at 6 1⁄2 wins before the season started, and a home game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday should get them one win closer to cashing that bet. Jayden Daniels has been nominated for rookie of the week every week, and he will need to keep his historic first season going to keep his franchise in contention.
High: 6
Low: 16
Average: 9.7
#6
The Athletic(Kendall)
One Big Question: Is this a new-and-improved Kliff Kingsbury?
Washington leads the league in EPA per play (.20) and is scoring on 61.82 percent of its drives, which is the highest rate in the NFL since at least the 1999 season, according to TruMedia. Kingsbury, the Commanders’ offensive coordinator, coached the Arizona Cardinals from 2019 to 2022 and those teams never scored on more than 45 percent of their drives. Kingsbury’s 2021 team started 10-2 before defenses figured things out, and Arizona lost five of its last six (including its wild-card round loss). Will he have a counterpunch this season? Last week: 5
Sports Illustrated(Orr)
Series Conversion Rate is a fun stat that tracks the percentage of fresh downs that result in an additional first down or touchdown. And the Commanders actually had a better SCR against the Ravens than they did a week ago in a beatdown of the Cleveland Browns. While it’s a bit of a copout observation, seeing Jayden Daniels play this well, especially with Baltimore eliminating the Commanders’ early down rushes, was impressive. Last week: 4
Fox Sports(Brooks)
Jayden Daniels’ star power gives the Commanders a chance to beat any opponent. The 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner and dark-horse MVP candidate threatens opponents with a unique set of running and passing skills that force them to defend every blade of grass from sideline to sideline and end line-to-end line. As offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury continues to add concepts and complements to the game plan, Washington’s offense could single-handedly keep the team in playoff contention with or without significant contributions from the defense. Last week: 5
#7
Pro Football Talk
They’ve proven they can play with anyone. Last week: 5
Clutch Points(Johrendt)
The Commanders faced their first big test of the 2024 NFL season, traveling to face the Ravens in a high-powered, offensive matchup. On the wrong side of a seven-point loss, the Commanders kept things incredibly close, as the offense did enough to keep itself in the game.
Daniels connected with Terry McLaurin for two scores, while the rushing attack was certainly missing Brian Robinson, who missed the game with a knee injury. It was an impressive showing from Daniels, who played turnover-free football and threw for the most yards on his career, but was kept quiet running the ball. Last week: 6
#8
NFL.com(Edholm)
Had they made the field goal before the half and scored a touchdown — not a field goal — at the start of the third quarter, the Commanders would’ve had a far better chance of winning in Baltimore. This was a mostly-strong showing in a tough environment; the Commanders held firmer than, say, last season’s upstart darlings, the Lions, did in Baltimore about a year ago. All told, Sunday was another strong showing by Jayden Daniels and the offense, with the 30-23 loss being more of an indictment on the defense allowing big plays all game. This is clearly the biggest issue with Washington right now. Without a viable pass rush or the ability to create turnovers (plural), the Commanders are going to struggle against the league’s higher-caliber offenses, especially after the reported season-long loss of DT Jonathan Allen. But are the Commanders still a contender in spite of this? I maintain an emphatic yes. Daniels couldn’t match Lamar Jackson’s lethality level but was darned good in defeat. Last week: 6
Fox Sports(Helman)
They say there are no moral victories in the NFL, but I’m not sure. I think it matters that the Commanders, led by a rookie quarterback and employing a woeful defense, went to Baltimore and gave the Ravens everything they could handle. Officially, it’s a loss. But I feel even better about this Washington team than I did a week ago. Last week: 6
#9
ESPN
Lesson learned: Rookie QB Jayden Daniels is legit.
A franchise that has sought an answer at quarterback for decades can finally breathe easy. It’s not just that Daniels ranks third in QBR (73.6) after six games or that he has thrown for 1,404 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for an additional 322 and four scores. It’s all about how he continues to develop because of the preparation he does during the week, and how he’s developing a higher level of chemistry with his receivers, notably Terry McLaurin. As coach Dan Quinn said following Sunday’s loss to Baltimore, “There’s a lot of belief in him.” — John Keim Last week: 7
USA Today(Davis)
A middling-at-best defense could hardly afford to lose longtime captain Jonathan Allen to a season-ending pectoral injury. Especially thin up front, the Commanders are about to see two of the league’s hottest runners, Carolina’s Chuba Hubbard and Chicago’s D’Andre Swift. Last week: 7
Sporting News(Iyer)
The Commanders made it a fun, one-possession game down the Beltway against the Ravens, thanks a lot to the rookie-veteran wide receiver combination of Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin. They are starting to figure things out more defensively to further stamp their playoff contender status. Last week: 6
Pro Football Network(Soope)
There’s no shame in a seven-point loss in Baltimore. This Jayden Daniels-led machine continues to impress, and while their defense comes with plenty of question marks, that flaw shouldn’t limit them from finding success over the next month with the Panthers, Bears, Giants, and Steelers up next.
The competitive nature of the NFC East makes this an interesting team to evaluate, as it is possible that consecutive games within the division (Week 11 at Philadelphia and Week 12 vs. Dallas) could dictate their fate. If this Washington Commanders offense is clicking (34.3 PPG over their past four), they have a legitimate chance to beat any team in this league. Last week: 9
WalterFootball
“Jayden Daniels has been incredible, but so has Washington’s defense the past two weeks. Is this a fluke?” I asked this last week, and we found our answer. The Redskins couldn’t get Baltimore’s offense off the field in the final three quarters last week. Last week: 8
Sharp Football Analysis
Last week: 9
Odds Shark
Last week: 8
#10
Yahoo Sports(Schwab)
The Commanders lost at Baltimore but they passed a test. Jayden Daniels looked good and Washington was competitive against one of the best teams in the NFL. The result wasn’t what the Commanders wanted but how they played was a positive sign for them going forward. Last week: 8
The 33rd Team(Mosher)
The Washington Commanders lost a game that everyone expected them to lose against a top-three team on our list. There is no shame in that, and they played the Ravens incredibly well.
In fact, Washington fans should be encouraged coming out of that game, as Jayden Daniels went toe-to-toe with Lamar Jackson. The Commanders will be just fine. Last week: 5
New York Post(Dunleavy)
Daniels connected on two touchdown passes with Terry McLaurin but one of the league’s most explosive offenses was one-dimensional without injured running back Brian Robinson Jr. A committee of rushers managed 52 yards on 18 carries. The Commanders had their four-game winning streak snapped because the defense allowed 484 yards, including scoring drives of 93 and 94 yards. Last week: 7
The Score
Brian Robinson already has the same number of rushing touchdowns (five) in 2024 as he did last season. The 25-year-old has been critical for Washington’s offense and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels. Last week: 8
Bleacher Report
There hasn’t been a hotter offensive team in the league over the last month than the Washington Commanders, and that has been mostly due to the excellent play of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels.
Daniels had another solid outing Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens—269 passing yards, two scores and a passer rating north of 110. But Washington’s defense was gashed for 484 yards and 30 points, and those defensive deficiencies proved too much to overcome.
Commanders head coach Dan Quinn was disappointed by the loss while addressing the media after the game. But he was proud of the way his young team fought back to make a game of it in the second half.
“It certainly was a tough game,” Quinn said. “That’s what we talked about in the locker room. As lopsided as it felt, [we] still in the fight at the end. We do have a tough crew with an attitude to battle. There is going to be a lot to learn from this game.” Last week: 7
#11
NFL Trade Rumors(Woodie)
They didn’t get the win, but Washington proved they could hang with the big dogs in Baltimore. Jayden Daniels already looks like one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Last week: 14
The Lines
Jayden Daniels and Terry McLaurin kept cooking against tougher competition, but the Commanders defense couldn’t stop the Ravens. Last week: 12
#12
CBS Sports(Prisco)
They gave up a lot of big plays on defense in the loss to the Ravens. That has been a season-long issue, but Jayden Daniels couldn’t overcome it against Baltimore. Last week: 6
#13
Sportsnaut(Johnson)
The Washington Commanders aren’t one of the best NFL teams in 2024, there’s nothing wrong with that. Week 6 showed the talent and experience gap between the Commanders and Baltimore Ravens, but Jayden Daniels and Co. kept this thing very competitive throughout. Coming out of Week 6, Jayden Daniels is still playing like a future MVP candidate and he’s led the Commanders to a 4-2 record. Best of all, that mark should be 5-2 with the Carolina Panthers on deck next week. Last week: 9
#14
The Ringer(Lee)
Last week: 15
NumberFire
Last week: 11
#16
Team Rankings
Last week: 16