Washington Commanders Vs. Philadelphia Eagles (Game 1) – Studs and Duds

Which Commanders players stood out, for better or worse?

Sunday’s game against Philly may not have yielded the outcome Commander’s fans desired, but I am very proud of how this team bounced back from a complete disaster last week at home against the Bills and played a heck of an entertaining game against the defending NFC champions in their house in front of the worst fan-base in the NFL. The players showed no quit and deserve credit. The head coach on the other hand…

My biggest issue so far this season is Washington seems incapable of putting together two good halves of football. Until that happens, this team will be towing the line between winning and losing all season.

Below are my Studs and Duds of the game followed by some notes.

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Studs:

Sam Howell – After a game to forget last week against the Bills, Howell responded in a big way on the road in Philly. The gunslinger threw for 290 yards and the game-tying touchdown to put the contest into overtime. He did get sacked five times, but he also had some amazing throws in the face of pressure and made some nice scrambles when the team needed them the most (40 rushing yards).

Terry McLaurin – McLaurin didn’t reach the endzone, but he was a solid target for Howell all afternoon, collecting eight catches (should have been nine) for 86 yards.

Curtis Samuel – Samuel had multiple key catches to help extend drives during the game. He also added a rushing touchdown on a well-executed jet sweep.

Eric Bieniemy – After laying a play-calling egg against the Bills, EB bounced back nicely and called a pretty good game against Philly on the road. There is still room for improvement, but a trait of a good coach is to scratch where it itches – and I think he did just that.

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Duds:

Emmanuel Forbes – It was a VERY rough game for the rookie cornerback who was continually torched by A.J. Brown. Brown collected nine receptions for 175 yards and two touchdowns (both which came against Forbes).

Sam Cosmi – Cosmi has been BY FAR our best offensive lineman throughout the first three games, but he was routinely abused by the Eagles defensive tackles; becoming a human BoBo Doll to Fletcher Cox and company.

Andrew Wylie – Wylie allowed five pressures and 1.5 sacks on the afternoon. The problems on the edge continue for the veteran tackle.

Tug-Boat Ron – The dud goes to Rivera for not going for two at the end of regulation. The Commanders had all the momentum there and that was the right time to try to end the game by converting the two-point conversion. His “excuse” was his guys were “gassed”. Well guess what – if your guys were gassed, I bet that defense you just drove down the field against was too! He OFFICIALLY loses the name Riverboat Ron.

Refs – As I’ve said in the past, I hate pinning the outcome of a game on the zebras, but this crew missed two huge calls in overtime that very well could have determined the ending. The McLaurin sideline catch that was ruled out of bounds was a miss; as was the false-start that was never called on the tush-push fourth down conversion.

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Notes:

-Jahan Dotson was well on his way to earning dud status for his crucial drop on a third down would-be conversion and his general disappearing act throughout the game – that was until the final play where he ran a great route in the endzone and Sam put it on him for the touchdown.

-Brian Robinson could have, and maybe should have, made the Studs list for his tough running and nice touchdown romp…but he did have a fumble that we are lucky to have recovered in the endzone and missed a few blocks when he was in pass protection.

-Antonio Gibson continues to mishandle the football. Fortunately for Washington, his fumble on the toss bounced right back to him, however, if he’d had taken the pitch cleanly, he may have scored.

-Logan Thomas had some nice grabs, including a big-time catch over the middle where Howell threw a laser.

-Chase Young, going against the best offensive line in the NFL, had three tackles, one for a loss, and a sack on the afternoon. Solid game by Young.

-I know he kind of gets overlooked by many in this fanbase, but Kendall Fuller has been playing pretty well through the first four games of the season.

-Jamin Davis made a few really nice plays Sunday afternoon, and he’s quietly having a solid start to the season.