Hogs Haven
ESPN
Both teams enter the historic matchup with something to prove. The Commanders, winless in international play (0-1-1), turn to veteran quarterback Marcus Mariota for his fifth start of the season while Jayden Daniels remains sidelined. On the opposing side, the Dolphins are 2-5 in international regular-season games and have lost four straight overseas.
Adding to the storyline is a special connection under center: both Mariota and Tua Tagovailoa hail from Saint Louis High School in Honolulu, Hawai’i — where Tagovailoa first met Mariota at a passing academy when he was in fourth grade.
NFL.com
Why Tom picked the Dolphins: For perhaps the first time this season, they’re entering a game looking like the more functional, stable side, carrying some honest-to-god mojo from Week 10’s impressive win over Buffalo. Could Miami actually gather some — lord help us — momentum here? It’s hard to imagine a more appealing foil for Mike McDaniel’s crew than the Commanders, whose defense is stained by the highest EPA per dropback mark (0.22) in the NFL, per Next Gen Stats, while allowing a league-high passer rating of 112.7 to opposing QBs. Tua Tagovailoa thus has a great chance to post a passer rating of 80-plus for the second consecutive game, which would mark the first time he’s done that since Week 5 against Carolina. He also has some capable offensive playmakers (De’Von Achane and Jaylen Waddle) at his disposal, while Washington will not have Terry McLaurin, Daron Payne or, you know, the one player who basically makes that whole operation go (Jayden Daniels). Unless you’re predicting some international hijinks, it’s difficult to justify going against McDaniel’s squad here.
Washington Post (paywall)
A trip that was supposed to be a showcase instead is a reckoning for a team on a five-game skid.
Five straight losses will make the sturdiest franchise wobble. What has happened over the past month — with the past four losses each by at least three touchdowns — can make you wonder whether the franchise was stable in the first place.
Think about when Commanders fans considered making this sojourn. When the game was announced in May, Washington was an NFL darling, a surprise NFC finalist with an adult general manager who seemed adept at roster construction, an introspective coach who doubled as a culture-builder and a comet of a young quarterback who made anything possible. Shelling out a few grand to see your exciting, contending team in an exotic destination could have seemed tempting, even logical.
Given all that, it’s almost inconceivable that the Commanders outfit that is practicing this week at the headquarters of Real Madrid, the soccer powerhouse, feels so unsteady. Adam Peters is still the general manager. Dan Quinn is still the coach. Jayden...
