Jay Gruden said the Commanders didn't capitalize on their chances and that's why they lost to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at Northwest Stadium.
The former Redskins head coach went back and watched the game a second time in preparation for his Monday appearance on The Grant & Danny Show (106.7 the Fan). Gruden said he believed the Commanders had their chance to take control of the game in the first three quarters and just couldn't get it done.
“The last few minutes were pretty chaotic on both sides, but the first three quarters, in my opinion, were all about taking advantage of big opportunities and Washington didn't do that,” Gruden said via offense-has-fallen-off”>Lou DiPietro from Audacy.
“They had a great starting position and had the opportunity to really attack them early on, go full throttle and show who the better team was, but they didn't manage to do that. They just let Dallas hang around and hang around.”
Gruden was the head coach at Washington during the 2014-2019 regular season and was the offensive coordinator for the Benglas (2011-2013) and Jaguars (2020).
“Third downs are bad; They have gone 12 of 38 with 10 sacks and time of possession in the last three games. They’ve averaged 24 minutes per game over the last three games,” Gruden said. “A lot of it has to do with the ability to hold onto the ball and them not staying on the field on third down. There are a lot of reasons for that – sometimes it's pressure, sometimes Jayden misses a throw or a throw isn't possible – so there are a lot of things they can clean up, but the most important thing is they need to do a better job on third down .”
Since Gruden was a Division 1 starting quarterback at Louisville and has worked with NFL quarterbacks for a decade, he's not easy. He knows there are several reasons why the commanders' offensive is struggling.
“A lot of times it's difficult to get away from the No. 1 goal when you feel internal pressure and you have to get rid of the ball,” Gruden said. “It's just hard to point the finger at one thing. Sometimes it's pressure, sometimes it feels like the guy is open and the defender is making a good play, but it's easy to keep the film on pause and then when the ball's gone let him play again and to see someone come wide open and say you should have held the ball and thrown it to that guy. That’s not always the case when you have the ball in your hands and you’re playing quarterback.”
Jay, unlike his brother Jon, is not overly critical. He shows much more empathy and understands the pressure of a rookie quarterback much better.
“Sometimes I agree that maybe he could have held the ball a little longer, but that's easier said than done for a young quarterback.”
