Washington loses 4 of its last 5 games
The Washington Commanders ended their three-game losing streak with a win over the Atlanta Falcons. That brought them back to .500 with a 3-3 record. That game was an improvement on both offense and defense, but they were still labeled consistently inconsistent, and nobody was buying them as a legit playoff contender.
They had to chance to start a winning streak, and gain some momentum heading into this week’s rematch with the 6-1 Philadelphia Eagles. Instead, the offense was anemic, and they lost to the Giants who had one win coming into the game, and were dealing with a lot of injured starters missing. It was a complete disaster, and it’s honestly shocking that they aren’t ranked lower by everyone this week.
Ron Rivera is firmly on the hot seat after another slow start in his 4th year, and the excuses and comments he continues to make after losses. Sam Howell, and Eric Bieniemy are trying to make this new offense work, but the QB continues to get sacked at a record rate, and opposing teams are just teeing off with adjustments that are too little and too late.
DraftKings had the Washington Commanders at 6 1⁄2 wins for the season after the Bears debacle, and that’s moved back up to 6 1⁄2 wins after the Giants debacle. Washington returns home for their next game and they opened as 6 1/2-point home underdogs to the Philadelphia Eagles.
High: 21
Low: 30
Average: 24.7
#21
NFL SpinZone(Scataglia)
Bad team. Overrated QB. Bad quarterback. Bad coach. Last week: 17
#22
Touchdown Wire(Bailey)
Why is Ron Rivera still there? Move on, promote Eric Bieniemy, and see what he can do for the remainder of the season, because this is embarrassing. Last week: 22
#23
ESPN
Young riser: LB Jamin Davis
Quarterback Sam Howell could be this person by season’s end (and many would have predicted receiver Jahan Dotson at season’s start), but Davis has been the under-25 player who has been the most consistent. He has one interception and one forced fumble and more than half of his tackles have been for gains of 3 yards or less. Davis, 24, is playing more decisive vs. the run and is one sack shy of his career high (3.0). — John Keim Last week: 21
CBS Sports(Prisco)
The offensive line is awful and Sam Howell is taking a beating. He’s been sacked 40 times. That’s disgraceful. Last week: 19
Sporting News(Iyer)
The Commanders cannot protect Sam Howell well and part of racking up the sacks is his fault, trying to make the big plays with his arm and legs on every down. They need a longer look at the QB, but they are starting to see signs why he’s not the franchise answer. Last week: 21
The 33rd Team(Reynolds)
The Washington Commanders might be the most volatile team in the league. In the past four weeks, they’ve taken the Eagles to overtime, got blown out by the Bears, beaten the Falcons and lost to the Giants. QB Sam Howell has put up big numbers in three games, but he’s also on pace to take the most sacks in history.
Washington has enough talent to contend for a wild-card spot, but it is far from reliable. The Commanders face two top-10 teams in the next three weeks. Last week: 21
ProFootballTalk(Florio)
Will Magic Johnson try to hire Pat Riley to coach the team next year? Last week: 21
Clutch Points(Johrendt)
The offense was never able to get off the ground against the Giants, and a big reason why was the fact that Sam Howell was sacked six times. It was a struggle on the ground as well, and with an uneven offensive attack, it put too much on Howell.
Washington started the season strong, but have tailed off lately, showing their true colors of a middling team still stuck in mediocrity – and it’s safe to say players are fed up (NSFW). Last week: 20
Bleacher Report
In the leadup to Sunday’s meeting with the Giants, Commanders head coach Ron Rivera told reporters that he remained confident in quarterback Sam Howell and the Washington passing game.
It was simply a matter of getting the ball out quickly so Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel could do damage after the catch:
“You’re talking about the impact that each guy has and their ability to have a big impact that, ‘Hey, what can we do? How can we do it? What can we do better?’ Those are conversations that were had. Getting the ball to them in space is very important because of their ability for yards after catch. I think part of it too is, again, getting the ball out of Sam’s hands quickly.”
Sixty minutes, seven points and another loss later, the Commanders still don’t have a 100-yard receiver this season. For the second time in as many weeks, Dotson and Howell failed to connect on what could have been a game-tying touchdown. And at least one of our analysts believes it’s time for a change under center in the nation’s capital.
‘Enough already,” Davenport said. “We’ve seen enough of Howell to know he isn’t the long-term answer at quarterback in Washington. He isn’t the short-term answer, either.
“Jacoby Brissett isn’t a world-beater, but he’s a capable veteran who gives the team a better chance at winning. Washington has dropped four of five, and the season is circling the drain ahead of a must-win game against Philly. They aren’t beating the Eagles with Howell.”
“This year’s Washington campaign has always been about the development of Howell,” Sobleski countered. “Howell needs to prove the organization right by going with him as the starter or show he’s not good enough and force the franchise to make a big move at quarterback next year.
“Unfortunately, the assessment has been muddied by the Commanders’ inability to properly protect Howell. Currently, the team is on pace to allow the most quarterback sacks during a single season in NFL history, thus surpassing David Carr and the expansion Houston Texans. So far, opponents have sacked Howell at least four times in every game, including six instances Sunday against the New York Giants.” Last week: 22
DraftKings Network
Last week: 18
Fox Sports(Helman)
Last week: 20
Odds Checker(Radowitz)
Last week: 13
#24
Sports Illustrated(Orr)
An absolute stunner of a stat dug up by the Washington Post on Sunday, via TruMedia: “[Sam] Howell has taken a sack on 34.8 percent of his pressures, which, if that holds up, would be the highest rate of any quarterback since at least 2011, according to TruMedia. That’s a massive problem capable of derailing drives.”
That is why this game was an absolute perfect forum for Wink Martindale’s defense. Last week: 25
The Score
Captain Jonathan Allen didn’t hold back after the Commanders’ latest loss. Washington had a chance to tie or take the lead late and failed to get it done for what felt like the millionth time since Allen was drafted. Last week: 22
#25
NFL.com(Edholm)
The 3-4 record cosmetically hides the fact that two of those losses came to the previously 0-4 Bears and now the Giants, who entered Sunday at 1-5. Sam Howell has done some good things, and we know Washington has dudes at receiver … So why is the offense so painfully inconsistent? It goes without saying that an O-line that allows six sacks and commits seven penalties is a big reason why. Every one of the sacks was for minus-7 yards or worse. Howell must play with more awareness, but what about OC Eric Bieniemy and OL coach Travelle Wharton? They had no answers for the Giants’ stunts and blitzes all game. Just another step backward after the 2-0 start. Last week: 24
The Athletic(Kendall)
One question: Is this team in the chase for a top-two pick?
The Commanders would be picking 14th if the season ended right now, so they’ve got work to do, but there’s plenty of time. Washington has the fourth-toughest remaining schedule, according to Tankathon, and it needs a quarterback. Sam Howell had a rating of 60.5 and was sacked six more times on Sunday. Defensive lineman Jonathan Allen has clearly had enough (see below). You know new owner Josh Harris would love a shot to draft Caleb Williams or Drake Maye. Last week: 22
The Ringer
Something needs to change dramatically. Last week: 23
Pro Football Network(Miller)
The Commanders offense really struggled to put drives together against the Giants. In fact, they had as many offensive drives (14) as they did first downs. They managed only five first downs on their first 12 drives while gaining nine on their final two.
Sam Howell is clearly talented – he can really spin the ball. But he also struggles in the pocket and is on pace to shatter the record for sacks taken in a season. Last week: 24
The Lines
Sam Howell has taken 40 sacks through seven games while Washington’s secondary continues to get burned on a weekly basis. Last week: 23
Oddshark
Last week: 25
#26
Yahoo Sports(Schwab)
Commanders defensive lineman Jonathan Allen went off after an ugly loss Sunday. It’s hard to blame him. He can see that Washington isn’t going anywhere. Losing to that Giants team, which was scrambling just to find five offensive linemen to start with all of their injury issues, tells you how bad Washington is this season. Last week: 24
Sportsnaut(Johnson)
When the NFL trade deadline is days away, games like this can determine what a front office does. Based on how the Washington Commanders performed in Week 7, one of Chase Young or Montez Sweat is headed out the door. Our biggest takeaway, though, Sam Howell isn’t anywhere close to earning the right to be the Commanders’ starting quarterback in 2024 and Eric Bieniemy nor Ron Rivera should return next year. Last week: 21
#28
New York Post(Dunleavy)
Last week: 19
#30
USA Today(Davis)
They were 1-for-15 on third down in Sunday’s loss to the Giants, dropping their NFC-worst conversion rate to 29.4%. Can you blame Pro Bowl DT Jonathan Allen for his 100% expletive rate? Last week: 23
Team Rankings
Last week: 27
NumberFire
Last week: 29