The Commanders season has been surprising in many ways with the Hail Mary against the Chicago Bears topping off what was a strong start to the season. Since then, Washington has gone on a three-game skid, leaving fans concerned about the rest of the season. The only win in the last four weeks was a five-point victory against the horrendous New York Giants.
The Three-Week Skid for the Washington Commanders
Before this season started, expectations were low for the Washington Commanders, as they started by being ranked low throughout the NFL. This all changed due to the play of Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels and a determined Washington Commanders team that started to believe in each other.
The past three weeks have been filled with many mistakes for the Commanders that make viewers wonder if the spark that this team possessed at the beginning of the season has gone away.
In week 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a hard count by veteran quarterback Russell Wilson led to the Commanders not getting the ball game for the rest of the game as the Steelers were able to run the clock out because of this.
In Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles, there was questionable playcalling by Kliff Kingsbury that shifted the game’s momentum. The Commanders could’ve taken a one-point lead on a field goal with about eight minutes left in the game. The Commanders went for it on fourth down and came up short as they gave the ball back to Philadelphia which led to the Eagles building upon their lead in the game and in the NFC East.
Week 12 against the Dallas Cowboys was filled with mistakes by kicker Austin Seibert. During this game, Seibert missed two extra points and a 51-yard field goal. One extra point came at the end of the game and would have most likely sent the game into overtime. In the end, Seibert missed wide left. Seibert was just recently placed on IR as well.
Looking Ahead to the Future
These types of mistakes can seem impossible to recover from as they can kill the confidence of any team. However, the Washington Commanders still remain in the playoff picture as they sit in the seventh seed of the NFC.
Yet, there isn’t much room between the Commanders and a few teams on the outside looking in. It’s a hole Washington dug itself into and one it now has dig itself out of starting Sunday.
It will be interesting to see how the team responds as the Tennessee Titans are next on the schedule. The Commanders know they need to clean up the mistakes in order to go on a positive run. They hope to maintain that spark they had at the beginning of the season.
There aren’t any easy games the rest of the way for the Commanders. Each one is going to have more significance for a team trying to return to the playoffs.
Main Photo Courtesy of Peter Casey – Imagn Images
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