Hogs Haven
Washington Post (paywall)
It took one game for Samuel to show his dimensions, which could make life fun this year for offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.
[W]hat the Commanders — and by extension, Kingsbury, their offensive coordinator — now know they have is a newcomer who simply understands how to ball. On a day when the Giants limited McLaurin and Daniels turned elsewhere, no one was more involved than Samuel. He was targeted 10 times; no other Commander had more than five targets. He made seven catches for 77 yards; no other Commander had more than three catches or 34 receiving yards. And when the game needed to be iced, he iced it — on the ground.
Samuel’s signature moment in his Washington debut not only put the game away. It showed how dangerous he could be from different spots in the formation, how Kingsbury can confuse a defense with motion.
Samuel got one key block from rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt. He got another block downfield from hustling left tackle Laremy Tunsil [and another by TE John Bates]. And when he was hit inside the 5-yard line by Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke, he lunged to the end zone. A one-possession game became a 21-6 lead.
A year ago with the 49ers, Samuel touched the ball more than eight times only twice in his 16 games. It took one week to reach that total with the Commanders.
Washington Post (paywall)
Deebo Samuel Sr., Laremy Tunsil and Deatrich Wise Jr. and Javon Kinlaw all make big plays as Washington shuts down New York, 21-6.
For all the poise and plays made by returning players Sunday, including a solid if unspectacular performance by Daniels, the real story was the newcomers.
Samuel caught seven passes for 77 yards in addition to the touchdown run that put the game away. Jacory Croskey-Merritt, the one-man rookie hype machine, ran for 82 yards and a score. And a defense buoyed by new players at every level showed up — with Deatrich Wise Jr. and Javon Kinlaw crashing through the Giants’ offensive line and Will Harris and Trey Amos combining for six tackles in the secondary.
It was the first time Washington kept an opponent out of the end zone at home in nearly five years. Washington held the Dallas Cowboys to just a field goal in a 25-3 win in Week 7 of the 2020 season.
All told, 42 of the 53 players on the opening day roster were acquired by Peters — including 18 this past offseason.
Go-go music blared in the parking lots. Sections of the upper deck that once sat empty for important games appeared full. In a moment of symbolism that was almost too on-the-nose, morning rain storms stopped and the sun came out before kickoff.
There was both excitement and frustration in...
