Losing isn't fun, and the last three weeks haven't been the most thrilling of times for the Washington Commanders.
After jumping out to a 7-2 start with an offense that was regularly hanging 30 points on opponents, the Commanders have dropped their last three straight due to a mix of their own mistakes and playing two top-tier teams in the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles. Even more frustrating is how the Commanders looked in those games, most recently the 34-26 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Thanks to those previously mentioned mistakes, the Commanders appeared noticeably off, especially on offense, compared to what they were in the first half of the season.
As the Commanders get set to usher in December -- the most critical part of the season – with a home matchup against the Tennessee Titans, coach Dan Quinn wants his team, players and coaches included, to get back to their identity.
"I want to see this identity just reveal itself about how we play," Quinn said Monday. "And those things will play out as we're going and that's what I want to see from the guys -- that the speed, the effort, the finishing, and if we do those things right, the score will certainly take care of itself, but that's what I want to see."
The speed and effort portions of the Commanders' identity have been present in all three games. There's no doubt that the players wanted to win, and "the fight that we have," as Quinn put it following the 34-26 loss to the Cowboys, was part of the reason why Washington was in position to win all its previous three games. That showed itself in more memorable moments like Terry McLaurin's 86-yard touchdown in the final seconds of regulation and in subtler plays like Jeremy Chinn delivering a lick on Jalen Brooks to knock the ball loose on a third-and-12.
Conversely, the ability to finish has not been present, at least not consistently, and it stems from the Commanders' struggles earlier in games. For example, although Washington did rush for 145 yards against the Cowboys, the running game -- a key piece of the offense's identity -- has not been nearly as successful during its losing streak. Over the last three weeks, the Commanders have rushed for 99.3 yards per game, which ranks 19th in that span and far below their ranking for the season (5th).
Washington's rushing struggles are multifaceted; injuries, both to the offensive line and the running backs, have played a role, but so have the opponents' game plans. Defense, particularly good ones like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, are going to pick up on tendencies this late in the season. Of course, that doesn't completely absolve the offense, as they must find new ways around those challenges.
Quinn isn't overly concerned, but getting back to a more dominant presence on the ground is going to take the entire offense.
"And so, fortunately for us we do have a big deep crew at that position and as we work through the weeks, we do practice the other guys, including the practice squad through that at the running back spot," Quinn said. "That's where we stand along that and it's very important to us. It's a part of our toughness and finishing and so we're going to work really hard to get that part right."
Regardless of how close the Commanders got to winning their last three games, the fact remains that they fell from having the second-best record in the NFC and first place in their division to fighting for a Wild Card spot. Quinn has been in similar situations during his coaching career, both as the defensive coordinator for the Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks as well as the Atlanta Falcons' head coach. In Quinn's first season with the Falcons, they lost their next six games before bouncing back against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
To Quinn, the best way to get out of the slump the Commanders are in now is to remind themselves of what brought them success in the first place.
"That's such an important thing, to make sure [that] above all else...it's so important to make sure that comes across with you [the media], the fans, our families and everybody watching us play," Quinn said. "That's where you start, and you want to make sure that whatever's caused any clutter or grey, let's move that out and make sure we feature the things that we do really well and dig on those really hard."
And part of the Commanders' identity during their most successful run was not putting themselves in bad positions with mistakes and having crisp execution. They haven't been as sharp in either area, like when the snap was bobbled on the fourth-down play against the Eagles. This has also been true of the defense, as they have developed a habit of playing well for most of the game before giving up back breaking touchdowns or plays downfield in the fourth quarter.
Quinn and the staff like the way the defense fights and performs to start games, but as defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. said in his press conference last week, "it's a 60-minute game."
"Let's play 60 minutes of hard-nosed football and...get to turning this ball over," Whitt said.
Sam Cosmi told his teammates after the loss to the Steelers that he didn't want those results to snowball into the rest of the season. There's still time for the Commanders to get back to winning and secure a playoff berth, so the losing streak, as unideal as it is, hasn't turned into an avalanche set on crushing those hopes yet. There's no denying, however, that each loss decreases those chances.
So, with five games left, the Commanders must find a way to get back on track and do so quickly.
"There's not a formula to it other than we want these performances to be right," Quinn said. "There's no shortcuts to it, but it does come from practice. That's where it's driven from, and you go for it from that spot."
