The Washington Commanders are above .500 in November for the first time since 2018

The Washington Commanders beat the Houston Texans 23-10. The Commanders defense dominated the Texans for most of the game. They pressured Davis Mills all day long and hit him a total of nine times. For the offense they did enough to beat the Texans. The biggest problem from the offense was they left a lot of points on the field and will need to clean that up, especially against better teams.

Defense

The defense played its best game of the season against the Texans. They gave up a total of five yards in the first half. The defensive line dominated the line of scrimmage all game long. They totaled a total of five sacks throughout the game. The defense also had a total of nine tackles for a loss. For the secondary they forced two turnovers both being interceptions and one being a pick six.

The Commanders only allowed 21 total rushing yards. The more surprising thing was Davis Mills was the Texans leading rusher. Coming into today the Texans relied on Dameon Pierce who was averaging around 85 rushing yards a game. Today he had a total of eight rushing yards on ten carries for a 0.8 average per carry. This was a season low for him and was the main reason the Texans offense struggled.

The D-line gave the Texans problems all game long. From blowing up run plays to sacking Mills the D-line came to play today. The interior of this defensive line is the best part of the defense right now. Jon Allen had a great game today. He had two sacks and three tackles for a loss. He is playing at a pro bowl level and maybe even an All-pro level. Then for Daron Payne he had a sack and a tackle for a loss.

Finally the Secondary had another good game and forced two more turnovers. Kendall Fuller has been playing well the last few games. Today he an interception, which turned into a pick six. Then on the other side Benjamin St-Juste played well and had a pass break up. The one pass break up by St-Juste turned into an amazing interception made by Darrick Forrest. This was Forrest third interception this season.

Offense

The offense played good enough to beat the Texans. The best thing they did during the game was protecting the ball and not giving it away to the texans. The offense left a lot of points on the field Sunday. They got in the three 1st and goal situations and only scored one touchdown from those. The other two resulted in field goals, which can’t happen when you play better teams.

The run attack had another good game on Sunday. They rushed for 153 total yards. And the leading rusher was Antonio Gibson with 72 rushing yards. The one touchdown the offense had was a rushing touchdown by Curtis Samuel. The Commanders will need to continue with this run attack because this passing game doesn’t look like it’s going to beat anyone right now.

The passing game wasn’t great today. Heinicke missed a lot of throws today. He finished 15 for 27 and threw for 191 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. He also only got the ball to McLaurin four times today, which is not enough. Heinicke targeted McLaurin three other times, but all of the throws were inaccurate. Next week against the Falcons Heinicke will need to improve his accuracy and decision making.

Special Teams

Joey Slye had another good game on Sunday. He went three for three on field goals and two for two on extra points. It’s his fourth game in a row being perfect on field goals and extra points. On kickoffs Slye was six for six on touchbacks as well.

Look Ahead

Next week the Commanders will take on the Falcons at FedexField at 1 PM on Fox. The Falcons beat the bears 27-24 on Sunday. Atlanta is third in the NFL in rushing yards per game. Once again the Commanders will need to stop the run next week. If they do stop the run the Commanders should be able to win on Sunday because the Falcons aren’t good at throwing the ball.

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