Hogs Haven
Most weeks of this season, I have tried to post some kind of game preview article, usually based on statistical reviews of offensive & defensive rankings, turnover margins, common opponents and the like.
After three consecutive beatdowns at the hands of the Cowboys, Chiefs and Seahawks in games broadcast to all or most of the country, it seems futile to compare the metrics of the 3-6 Commanders with those of the 5-3 Lions. It’s not that the Lions are some sort of unstoppable juggernaut; it’s just that Washington has done very little right since Jayden Daniels dropped a slippery ball in the 4th quarter of the Monday Night Football game vs the Bears a month ago.
The only way that this game against the visiting Lions remains competitive is for the Commanders to play completely different football then they have for the past three weeks, and, with the injured reserve list growing, that possibility appears to grow increasingly unlikely every week.
Instead of a statistical look at the two teams, I thought I’d simply share some thoughts ahead of what could be another brutal 3 hours for Washington fans.
Before the curb-stomping suffered by the Commanders on Sunday night at home against the Seahawks, with the Commanders hovering around .500, I was keeping a close eye on the potential competition for NFC wild card spots.
In Week 8, these teams lost:
The only Week 8 game that truly went the wrong way for the Commanders playoff hopes was the win by the Packers in Pittsburgh.
While a Week 8 win on Monday Night Football in Kansas City seemed unlikely, I was encouraged by the idea that the Commanders at least wouldn’t fall behind the competition, because Week 8 was a bad week for the NFC in inter-conference matchups.
Heading into Week 9, I had high hopes that the return of Jayden Daniels would provide the spark needed to change Washington’s recent bad fortune and get the team a badly needed win to move the overall record to 4-5.
So I spent all day last Sunday watching the results of games involving potential NFC wildcard teams. These teams lost:
The wins by the 49ers and Rams were not favorable, but expecting the Giants and Saints to get those wins was unreasonable.
The point is, I felt pretty good about Washington’s situation ahead of the kickoff last Sunday night. The team was back at home after being on the road for 5 of the first 8 games; Jayden was back; the Art Monk jersey retirement was happening — it just felt like the Seahawks could end up being overwhelmed by a hungry football team on the rebound from a couple of weeks of bad play and bad injury luck.
In an alternate universe where Washington got...
