Commanders Vs. Chiefs - Studs and Duds

Washington’s Monday night primetime tilt against the surging Kansas City Chiefs was a tale of two halves.

The Commanders “recalibrated” defense looked good through two quarters - and then the Chiefs stepped on their throats. The offense sputtered all evening and could not make plays when they needed them most.

The results - another embarrassing loss on the road - this time falling 28-7 to a MUCH superior team. One thing I think we all can glean right now is that this is not a good football team and may be lucky to see seven wins on the season.

Below are my Studs and Duds of the game, followed by some notes.

Studs:

Terry McLaurin: Terry returned to the field after missing the last four games due to a quad injury and showed just how important he is to the team’s offense. He was targeted just four times but hauled in three of those with two being AMAZING catches - including his toe-tapping touchdown. He did have to leave the game late in the third quarter with some apparent discomfort to his quad.

Jeremy McNichols: McNichols was a valuable target for Mariota in the passing game, collecting a team-leading five receptions for 64 yards. He also had some nice blitz pick-ups on the evening.

Jeremy Reaves: Reavo was flying around all night making big plays. He had seven total tackles, six of them solo, with two for a loss.

Jacob Martin: Martin had a good night rushing the passer collecting two sacks, and multiple pressures. He showed nice explosion and bend off the edge and his motor didn’t stop running.

Duds:

Deebo Samuel: I know he’s playing through a heel issue, but his hands should be fine. The bobbled pass that got picked early-on was a backbreaker for Washington. Samuel had just three receptions for 11 yards and was responsible for the turnover.

Jaylin Lane: The rookie’s struggles handling the football continue to plague him. His muffed kickoff return early in the third quarter that went out of bounds at the one-yard line started Washington’s downward spiral. He also had a ball go off his hands on what would have been a big third down conversion (would have been a tough catch though) during that same possession.

Kliff Kingsbury: This was a HORRIBLE offensive game-plan by Kliff. The gimmicky plays have to end as defenses are easily catching on.

Notes:

Marshon Lattimore had a nice game. His coverage was good, and he had a really nice interception early in the first quarter. He did fail to pounce on a fumble created by Savage though.

Mariota did what he could to keep us in the game, but the offense was making too many mistakes for him to overcome on his own. The running game never got going, which put him at a huge disadvantage against that KC defense. The playcalling did him no favors.

Both Luke McCaffrey and Ben Sinnott NEED MORE TARGETS!

Josh Conerly had some good and bad moments in this game. He still continues to struggle when defenders get inside his pads.

I’m not knocking Ertz, as he’s had one heck of a career, but it may be time to get both Sinnott and Bates more looks. That being said, I still think he converted the fourth down.

Jordan Magee saw a lot of snaps this game, and although the results were mixed, he certainly does fly around the field.

Bobby Wagner came up with an easy interception, but he was targeted in coverage throughout the game and proved he’s still a MAJOR liability.

John Bates continues to show he’s one of the best blocking tight ends in the league. He also caught a pass for 22 yards.

Johnny Newton flashed a bit - but also had a bone-headed penalty on his sack.

Frankie Luvu saw most of his time as an EDGE (which I had suggested early last week), but he still struggled when asked to play in space.

Trey Amos continues to show he’s Washington’s best cover corner…

Preston Smith should be released. HE DOES NOTHING!

Maybe it was the toe issue, but Daron Payne pulled a major disappearing act.

I thought Tyler Owens had some good moments. There were some times where he seemed to be over-thinking things a bit or got lost in coverage, but he plays fast and aggressive, and I like that.

Washington is NOT a good football team. We may be lucky to win seven games.

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