We handed out our report cards for the Washington Commanders’ Week 2 win over the New York Giants. It wasn’t the prettiest win, as the Commanders scored 21 points but not one touchdown in defeating the Giants.
However, the most important statistic was the win. The Commanders finished with 425 yards of total offense, rushed for 215 yards and rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels continues to show positive progress.
Running backs Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler look like they could be the NFL’s most dangerous backfield.
The lack of scoring and penalties hampered Washington’s overall grades from Sunday’s win. Primarily, everything related to the penalties. Washington lived in the red zone but committed five penalties once arriving there, often ending any chance at a touchdown. Washington also had a kickoff return by Ekeler called back due to holding.
How did others grade the Commanders in Week 2? CBS Sports weighed in, giving a grade to the entire team instead of our unit rankings and gave Washington a B.
Some times all you need to win in the NFL is a strong rushing attack and your kicker, which is exactly what the Commanders used to pull out an impressive win on Sunday. Brian Robinson Jr. went off against the Giants, rushing for 133 yards on 17 carries. The Commanders’ ability to run the ball was a big reason why they were able to score on every possession they had in the game with the exception of a kneel down before halftime. All of Washington’s points came from Austin Seibert, who set the franchise record with seven field goals. The Commanders are now 8-0 over the past 10 years when they rush for at least 200 yards.
The grade is fair. We were a bit harsher due to the penalties. It is early in the season under a new coaching staff, so the hope is that the Commanders will fix the penalty issue in the coming weeks.