The Washington Commanders entered Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys as 10.5-point favorites. For the first time in years, Washington had the better team between the two long-time rivals.
But somehow the Commanders looked nothing like the team that put the NFL on alert for nine weeks and played their worst game of the season in a 34-26 loss. It was Washington's third straight loss.
It was an embarrassing performance for the commanders, who made mistakes in all three phases. They turned the ball over three times on offense and only managed to move the ball consistently toward the end of the fourth quarter.
The defense allowed a struggling Dallas offense full of backups to have too much success. And then there were the special teams. It was an epic performance by Washington's special forces, not in a good way.
After the game, Commanders WR Terry McLaurin spoke to the media and said Washington's failure to play supplemental football cost them against the Cowboys.
“We just didn’t play our best,” McLaurin said. “We didn’t play free football. In division games, the four quarters matter. We knew that before the game. We didn’t underestimate them by any means, but it’s just unfortunate when you can’t help each other on offense and defense.”
McLaurin is right. This team still hasn't managed to consistently get all three phases on the same level. Yes, there have been outliers, but lately the defense is playing well when the offense is struggling. At the start of the year, it was the offense that carried the team. Lately the defense has improved and the offense has declined.
On Sunday, special teams reared its ugly head.
When quarterback Jayden Daniels led the Commanders with a 60-yard touchdown drive early in the second half, it seemed like Washington's offense had woken up. Unfortunately, kicker Austin Seibert missed the extra point and the Cowboys immediately scored their first touchdown of the day to take a 10-9 lead and never looked back.
Just before halftime, Benjamin St-Juste allowed the Cowboys a 41-yard reception to put them in position for a field goal that put Dallas on the field.
It was one of those days.
“They did a great job, but we just couldn’t get it done,” McLaurin said. “We have to find a way to start faster and stay on track. That means everyone, our entire coaching staff and the offensive players, go out and find ways to stay on the field and help the defense and vice versa, all of us.”
As always, McLaurin is right.
Now the Commanders must prepare for the Tennessee Titans next week before finally reaching their bye week in Week 14.
