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Daily Slop – 12 Nov 24: Quick turnaround; learn from Steelers loss, travel to Philly for huge game on Thursday

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Commanders.com

Final thoughts | Updates on injuries, punt returners and more

Quinn admitted he’ll have a better idea of where players are at in their recovery later in the week.

“You do have to be selective in the way of how to touch the speed this week,” Quinn said. “And that’ll be closer to Wednesday for us as we get to do that Monday today.”

No changes at punt returner

Olamide Zaccheaus had two muffed punts on Sunday, one of which was recovered by the Steelers and directly led to a touchdown. Quinn said after the game that Zaccheaus “works really hard at this” and the team still has confidence in him even after the mistakes.

On Monday, Quinn reaffirmed that the Commanders would not be making a change at punt returner.

“I am confident in him,” Quinn said. “And knowing that, to have one come out and on the possession and lose that one, that’s a big deal. But the guy’s working incredibly hard at it and yeah, don’t have any change into that space as we’re heading into this game.”

Washington Post (paywall)

13 things we learned from the Commanders’ loss to the Steelers

The ‘brotherhood’ is real, Marshon Lattimore needs to heal up, offensive line depth is a problem and more takeaways from the Commanders’ game Sunday.

3. There’s no home-field advantage yet vs. elite fan bases. While Commanders fans are making progress, Northwest Stadium was overrun by Steelers fans. The burgundy towel giveaway, while a thoughtful gesture, didn’t do much to stop those with “Terrible Towels.”

4. Marshon Lattimore needs to heal up ASAP. The newly acquired star cornerback, out with a hamstring injury, would have been helpful, especially against Steelers wide receiver George Pickens (five catches, 91 yards, one touchdown). And in the fourth quarter, on third and nine, Steelers wideout Mike Williams beat cornerback Benjamin St-Juste for the winning touchdown, increasing speculation that …

6. Daniels is still not 100 percent. “It’s nothing that’s holding me back,” the quarterback said of the rib injury he suffered against the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 20. “I go day-to-day with it.” But in possibly related news …

7. Defenses are turning up the heat. In the past two weeks, opponents have sent heavy pressure on Daniels. Pittsburgh blitzed him 20 times, according to the website TruMedia, a season high.

Daniels was still pretty good — completing 10 of 17 passes for 143 yards against the blitz — but he took three sacks.

The Athletic (paywall)

If the Commanders have to learn from a bad loss, there’s no better teacher than the Steelers

The point is they never cheat the game, or themselves. They show up, every season, ready to compete.

“I think I, and we, just have a small picture mentality,” Tomlin said. “We don’t talk about the challenges of present day, in reference to what’s happening. We talk about the urgency of now. That stuff that’s on our resume, it’s just on our resume. There’s enough to have your attention in present day, and that’s where we stay at mentally.”

[Steelers QB Russell] Wilson knows the task ahead for Washington.

“Excellence is built daily,” he said. “It’s built daily. It’s the obsession with the process; it’s the obsession with adversity, too, knowing you’re going to come out at the other end of it. I think so many people, they check out when it gets a little dark and tough, and obstacles come your way. Great players, the great organizations, the great teams, they’re able to overcome obstacles, and just trust the process. It’s a journey. Obviously, this organization is one of the best to ever do it. And obviously in Seattle, we were able to win those 10 years there. It’s all about the people. … In Seattle, it was coach Carroll, and what he was able to do, and the culture he was able to build.”

Washington is just at the start of that obsession. Famously, Daniels is already at the practice facility in Ashburn … early. Tomlin knows exactly who Dan Quinn is; he played at William and Mary as a senior safety when Quinn got his first coaching job as the Tribe’s defensive line coach. The next year, they were on the same coaching staff at VMI. And Quinn coaches from the same hymnal as Tomlin.

But what Adam Peters and Quinn are building is designed to transcend one less-than-stellar effort on the field. That’s why so many players stepped to rookie defensive tackle Johnny Newton in the Commanders’ locker room after Wilson drew him offside with a hard count on fourth-and-1 at Washington’s 49 with 1:02 left, a penalty that put the game away. It was a hard lesson for the second-round pick to learn, in front of a loud crowd — loud for both the home and road teams.

But such things are part of the Commanders’ learning curve. Learn. Adapt. Deal with adversity. Relish adversity.

“This year, they believe in us,” [said RG Sam Cosmi]. “They’re giving us all the tools to be successful. They also, they care about us. Especially AP. I mean, DQ, too. But AP, he’s very communicative with us. He’s very open with us. I’ve never been around that. And other guys are saying the same thing.”

Bullock’s Film Room (subscription)

Missed opportunities haunt Jayden Daniels as Commanders fall to Steelers

Breaking down Daniels performance against the Steelers

Early on, the Steelers did a good job of upsetting Daniels’ rhythm. The Commanders have been extremely efficient all season and have done a good job getting Daniels into rhythm and leaning on the run game to help take pressure off him early in the game. The Steelers shut down the run game early, leading to multiple quick third down situations where the Steelers could let their pass rushers go hunt. They’re known for bringing plenty of pressure on third down and Daniels struggled to cope with that early on.

This is the opening third down of the game for the Commanders. It’s third and two, so a run is open to them, but the Steelers are playing it like it’s a pass. Both linebackers line up in the A gaps either side of the center, threatening to blitz. In these situations, the Commanders have prioritized protection over everything else. They’ve done a great job all season using extra blockers to chip on the edge and help the offensive line up front keep Daniels up right, even if it limits the number of receivers out running routes. But on this occasion, they opt to have all five eligible receivers run routes, including the running back.

As a result of that protection plan, the offensive line has to be ready to handle the threat of the double A gap look from the defense. You can see at the snap, both left guard Nick Allegretti and left tackle Brandon Coleman step inside. They’re anticipating a linebacker to blitz in the A gap, meaning the line has to slide inside to pick it up and leave the edge rusher with the most distance to travel free for Daniels to account for. However, that linebacker doesn’t rush, so Allegretti and Coleman attempt to get back outside to their respective blocks. Coleman struggles to catch up to edge rusher Alex Highsmith, who quickly bursts by him on the way to Daniels.

Feeling that pressure off the edge, Daniels speeds up his process. He attempts to get himself set and deliver a throw to Olamide Zaccheaus on a pivot route. It’s the correct throw, but due to the pressure, Daniels is unable to properly set himself and ends up pulling the throw just slightly out of the reach of Zaccheaus, leading to a punt.

On the next drive, the Commanders went three-and-out again, with Daniels sacked on third down.

Upcoming opponent

Bleeding Green Nation

Eagles open Jordan Mailata’s 21-day practice window

Philadelphia’s starting left tackle is now eligible to be activated from injured reserve.

The Philadelphia Eagles opened Jordan Mailata’s 21-day practice window to return from injured reserve on Monday afternoon, according to an official team announcement.

Mailata originally suffered a hamstring injury during the Eagles’ Week 6 win over the Cleveland Browns. The Eagles’ starting left tackle was seen walking on crutches after that game and he was later placed on injured reserve.

Now that Mailata has missed four games, he’s eligible to be activated from IR.

The big question is: will he be ready to play in a critical game against the Washington Commanders on Thursday night?

Given the nature of the short week, the Eagles won’t be holding normal practices (mostly just walkthrough action instead) leading up to their Week 11 game. And so they won’t be able to gauge Mailata’s recovery progress the way they would leading up to a typical Sunday game. The Eagles’ Week 12 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams might be a more realistic target for a return.

Podcasts & videos

Coming Up Short Against the Steelers & Quick Turnaround to TNF | The Booth Review | Commanders

Every Terry McLaurin Catch From His 113-yard Game vs. Steelers | NFL Week 10 | Washington Commanders

What Went Wrong in Washington Commanders’ Three-Phase Loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers