Last week brought an unfamiliar vibe around this iteration of the Washington Commanders. A 28-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers riddled with self- inflicted errors followed by an equally frustrating 26-18 road defeat against
the Philadelphia Eagles dropped the team from 7-2 and at the top of the NFC East to 7-4 sitting at the seventh seed if the playoffs started today. By several metrics, the team has already outperformed expectations many outside analysts had at the start of the season. The Commanders brushed aside concerns about them needing time to rebuild under head coach Dan Quinn and won seven of their first nine games -- their only losses coming against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baltimore Ravens.
The standards rose with that success, though, and the conversation around the Commanders is no longer about showing proof of concept but preparing for a possibly deep postseason run behind No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels. The fact that the Commanders were able to legitimately compete against the top teams has some positive long-term ramifications, but for now, their first losing streak, during which they've looked noticeably off for a variety of factors, represents the most adversity they've faced all season. The players took the weekend off following their loss to the Eagles, and they hope the rest will do them some good, both mentally and physically.
"Just getting rested up and kind of collecting your mind and come back in the building and get ready to play," running back Austin Ekeler said in the Eagles' locker room.
Check out the top photos of the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field during their Week 11 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. (Photos by Emilee Fails/Washington Commanders)
There was frustration mixed with the disappointment following both losses last week. Despite the list of mental errors, the Commanders had a realistic chance of winning one or both matchups. The frustration stems from the evidence of what Washington can do when it's in a rhythm. They had a top five offense heading into the Steelers game, ranking third in points per game and fourth in third-down conversion rate. Their defense had risen from near the bottom of the league to put up more respectable numbers while sporting the fifth-ranked unit against the pass.
Last week was a brutal reminder that the team is still a work in progress. An offensive unit that started the season methodically picking apart defenses produced its two lowest production totals of the year with just 506 combined yards (they nearly hit that total almost a month ago against the Chicago Bears with 481). There are a number of contributing factors here, from Daniels making uncharacteristic misses in the passing game to the Commanders simply going against better defenses. The players aren't making excuses; they know it's not good enough.
"I gotta play better," Daniels said. "There are some throws I want back, for sure. I think we all just gotta look ourselves in the mirror and say, 'How can we get better moving forward?'"
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Regardless of the reason, the offense has not been performing up to the same level it was earlier in the season. Over the last three games, the unit is 26th in yards per game, 25th in yards per play and 25th in third-down conversion rate. The Commanders are also 21st in rushing -- a strength for the team -- in that span. Again, there are layers to that dip in production, such as Daniels not getting as much free space as a ball carrier and Brian Robinson Jr. missing the Giants and Steelers games.
"We just weren't playing our game," Robinson said. "We just weren't playing like we usually play when we're playing our style of ball from start to finish."
Things have been better on the defensive side of the ball, at least for three- and-a-half quarters of play. There's an argument to be made that the unit kept Washington competitive against the Steelers and Eagles. At one point, Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson had just 108 passing yards, and the Eagles, who had a top 10 scoring offense heading into the game, had just 12 points. Rookie Mike Sainristil played a large role in containing A.J. Brown, who finished with five receptions for 65 yards. That alone is a sign of improvement.
Still, the unit made critical mistakes when it mattered most. Steelers receiver Mike Williams' only catch against Washington ended up being the game-winner with 2:22 left to play. It couldn't contain Eagles running back Saquon Barkley in the fourth quarter as he rushed for two touchdowns and put the game away. There's clear growth from the defense compared to the start of the season, but the players know that small moments are magnified against good teams in the fourth quarter.
"Games like these are the ones that it comes down to who can limit the mistakes," Sainristil said. "The margin for error is so small in these games. They [the Eagles] capitalized on a few things that we did out there. And when it comes down to crunch time, we just gotta be a little bit better and get back to our fundamentals and just execute."
The players allowed themselves to feel the sting from the two losses. Jeremy Reaves said in the Eagles' locker room that "it's frustrating" and "I'm pissed," adding "I hate losing. I hate losing in the division, especially." And to drive Reaves' point home further, the loss bumped the Commanders down to second place in the NFC East and fighting for a Wild Card spot.
They also don't feel like they're so far off track that a rebound is impossible.
"Just little plays here and there that we just need to fix up and get back to the drawing board," said linebacker Frankie Luvu. "So, it's nothing out of our control. Everything is correctable. Like I said, we just gotta get back, watch this film. The main thing is getting our bodies right and getting healthy."
The Commanders have gone through injuries at key spots. Robinson has been in and out of the lineup with various leg issues; offensive linemen like Tyler Biadasz, Cornelius Lucas and Brandon Coleman has been on the injury report; and Marshon Lattimore has yet to play since the Commanders made the trade for him partly because of a hamstring injury.
The hope is that the extra time off will help the players get rested up for the final six games."There's a lot of football left to be played," Sainristil said.
"From here on out, it's just about making sure that when we get to the winning moments...we are as sharp as ever."
And while back-to-back losses are tough to stomach in the moment, the reality is that the Commanders still have plenty to play for with factors that lean in their favor. Four of their next six games are at home, and teams like the Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints all have losing records. If the Commanders can get back to their winning ways, everything from getting a winning record for the first time since 2016 to winning the division is in front of them.
However, as the last two games have shown, execution matters this time of the season. The players are confident they can learn from last week.
"I think that we'll respond to what we're going through now," Robinson said. "We will get back on track. We definitely gotta look in the mirror and see what it's gonna take for us to clean up everything that's dirty right now, but I feel like we've got a good group of guys that take full accountability."
