Hogs Haven
The Washington Commanders lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, and Joe Whitt talked about the play the pissed him off the most on Monday night, letting Patrick Mahomes get to the outside on 4th on 2 on the Chiefs first drive of the 2nd half. They had two interceptions, but Quan Martin’s forced fumble wasn’t recovered. Whitt previewed their next opponent, the Seattle Seahawks, and talked up QB Sam Darnold, WRs Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, and their tricky run game.
Whitt was asked about wanting to increase the speed on the defense, and then playing LB Jordan Magee and S Tyler Owens more vs Kansas City. He talked again about simplifying the play calls, and allowing Jordan and TO to just run and hit. He added S Jeremy Reaves to that group, saying he played really physical and fast on Monday night. “When you play well, you get more opportunities. It’s going to be hard to get Jordan off the field, so we have to make sure we can find roles for him. Same as TO, TO’s a guy that has a lot of hit power to him, and a lot of speed.”
DT Johnny Newton suffered an ankle injury on Monday night, and didn’t practice yesterday. Whitt has been using him as a DE, along with Frankie Luvu, due to season-ending injuries to three DEs this season. Newton has been “playing fast and explosive and throwing hands” and Whitt is hoping that he’s available this week as they continue to deal with more injuries.
Kliff Kingsbury has been dealing with injuries to some key players on offense. Jayden Daniels, Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel, and Noah Brown have all been sidelined at different points early in the season, and defenses have clamped down on the running game due to the lack of deep threats. Kingsbury said they’re still trying to find the right combination to stretch the field. Washington was leading the league in rushing early in the season, but the production has gone down during their three-game losing streak.
Brandon Coleman was active for the first time since Week 2, and he replaced LT Laremy Tunsil when he left the game twice due to a hamstring injury. Coleman started the first two games at left guard, but he was replaced by Chris Paul, and has been a healthy scratch until the Chiefs game. Kingsbury said Paul earned that starting spot, and he continues to earn it in practice and games. They’re not low on Coleman, and he did a good job returning to the position he played during his rookie season.
