Hogs Haven
NFL.com
Washington’s fight can’t make up for limitations. The Commanders deserve a healthy amount of credit for how they approached this prime-time affair in which most everyone expected them to lose. They showed up ready to scrap for four quarters and took the fight to the Chiefs early. Washington stopped an early Kansas City drive in its tracks when Marshon Lattimore made an excellent play, snagging a Mahomes pass for a one-armed interception. The Commanders forced another turnover on the ensuing Chiefs drive and transformed into a remarkably sticky secondary in the first half, keeping this game close heading into the break.
Ultimately, though, the Commanders’ offensive limitations — and kicker Matt Gay’s absence — meant they didn’t get anything out of those early takeaways. Against lesser opponents, they may have been able to survive these missed opportunities, but when facing these Chiefs, teams like Washington must capitalize when given chances to gain an early advantage. Halftime afforded the Chiefs a chance to adjust and it became clear Washington’s wasted chances would be its downfall, an unfortunate result for a team that hasn’t had much luck with health or circumstance this season.
It’s difficult to determine where the Commanders are headed. Washington is a team that’s been tough to pin down through eight weeks. The Commanders’ best win was a 27-10 comeback victory over the Chargers in Inglewood, but they’ve lacked that type of performance in most of their other contests against perceived quality teams.
The 44-22 loss to the Cowboys was concerning on a number of fronts but could be excused away by Jayden Daniels’ injury. So too can this one, but the road only gets tougher from here with games against Seattle, Detroit and Denver in the next five weeks.
Marcus Mariota is a solid backup, but it’s difficult to envision them keeping up with the Seahawks when they managed to score just seven points against the Chiefs, and the same is true for their matchup with the Lions. They need Daniels back soon and a hamstring injury typically doesn’t call for a quick return, meaning it will take a significant team effort — similar to the one they showed in the first half Monday night — to prevent this season from sliding off the rails. Buckle up.
Next Gen Stats insight from Commanders-Chiefs (via NFL Pro): Patrick Mahomes averaged 2.95 seconds to throw on Monday night, his longest this season. On throws over four seconds, he completed 8 of 9 passes for 149 yards and all three of his touchdown passes. Mahomes also scrambled on a season-high 28.2% of his dropbacks, recording three scramble runs for 31 rushing yards while completing 4 of 6 scramble passes for 52 yards and two touchdowns.
Commanders.com
There were two versions of the Washington Commanders on the field...
