Last week: 37-20 loss @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Washington Commanders were one of the more interesting teams in the 2024 season. They have a new head coach that Cowboys fans will recognize: Dan Quinn, and a new quarterback with the second pick in 2024, Jayden Daniels.

They opened the season at home against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team loaded with offensive weapons and defensive stars. A close matchup was expected, with both offenses outplaying the other’s defense. That was half true.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield played arguably the best game of his career. When the Commanders were tight coverage, he threw the ball to the perfect spot for his receivers to make a play, and they did. When under pressure, Mayfield almost always escaped and made a play.

Baker should have been sacked five times, but somehow he escaped and threw or ran for a first down. Quinn must have lost his mind on the sidelines.

You have to give the Commanders’ defensive line a lot of credit for playing hard and applying a lot of pressure all game, but inconsistency in the secondary did their damage. Tampa Bay defended its big lead, controlled the game and picked apart Quinn’s defense.

Jayden Daniels played decently, but the positive is that he improved as the game went on. He was also in trouble with open receivers at first, but eventually he settled down in the pocket and started making throws. He needs to try to make more throws further forward, but that will come with time. Meanwhile, running back Austin Ekeler and tight end Zack Ertz proved to be reliable in the short game, with Ekeler breaking tackles on several plays.

In the running game, there is always the danger of Brian Robinson Jr. and Daniels breaking through. Both have the ability to make big plays, but the Commanders’ offensive line has struggled to open up running lanes when necessary.

Overall, the final score was not an indicator of the Commanders’ performance, but rather a reflection of what the Bucs did right. It will be interesting to see how the Commanders’ offense and defense fare against a pathetic Giants team on Sunday.

Next game: against New York Giants, Sunday at 12:00 CDT