Hogs Haven
The Commanders hosted the Raiders on a beautiful late summer afternoon and came away with their most complete game in all three phases of their young season. After a disappointing performance the previous Thursday night at Lambeau, Dan Quinn’s squad came out clicking on all cylinders and took it to Las Vegas all game long. The Raiders did pick up some yards and points during garbage time, however this game was never in doubt from the opening kickoff.
Washington should get a better test next Sunday on the road against the Falcons, but for now, we’ll celebrate 2-1 and some really encouraging signs of growth from this football team.
Below are my Studs and Duds of the game, followed by some notes.
Marcus Mariota: Mariota did a great job filling in for the injured Jayden Daniels. He looked calm, cool and collected as he led the offense on multiple scoring drives. He was an efficient 15/21 for 207 yards and a touchdown and added 40 rushing yards and a touchdown. He should have had two more passing touchdowns if Lane could have hauled in the nice back-should throw in the endzone and the officials would have ruled CORRECTLY on Terry’s long catch-and-run. His one blemish on the afternoon came on his fumble after a long run.
Jaylin Lane: Lane did have what I considered a ball he should have caught for a touchdown slip through his hands on a perfect back-shoulder thrown from Mariota, however his 90-yard punt return for a touchdown was BEAUTIFUL and trumped the drop. Lane had five punt returns for 127 yards and the score on the afternoon.
Commanders Rushing Attack: I’m combining this category, as I wanted to give a shout-out to our running backs, offensive line and tight ends for their dominant performance on the ground. Washington had 201 yards on 32 attempts and scored three touchdowns. Jeremy McNichols’ 60 yards score, where he ran over, around and through defenders, was a thing of beauty. Special shoutout to the big boys up front, including two new starters in Andrew Wylie and Chris Paul, who led the way. The tight end group also blocked very well on the afternoon. Finally, credit Kliff Kingsbury for sticking to the run all game!
Commanders Defensive Front Seven: I know this is a bit generic, however I feel the entire unit, with the exception of a few big plays, played great against Geno Smith and the Raiders. The defense was led by outstanding performances by Bobby Wagner (11 total tackles, two sacks, two TFL), Dorance Armstrong (five tackles, one sack, two TFL), and Daron Payne (who was unblockable all afternoon). Both Von Miller and Javontae Jean-Baptiste each notched their first sack of the young season. Although Goldman, Newton and Kinlaw didn’t stuff the stat sheet, they caused havoc all afternoon. This front seven had pressure on Smith all game long.
Marshon Lattimore: Latimore was lock-down all day yesterday, allowing just one...
