Washington dips after a close loss
The Washington Commanders hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers, and a few thousand of their closest fans, for a slugfest on Sunday. Washington lost 28-27 in a game they were leading 24-14. Mistakes were all over the field, in all phases of the game, and ultimately sealed the loss with Johnny Newton easily getting drawn offsides on a 4th and 1 play with 1:02 left in the game. This loss dropped them to 7-3, and the Philadelphia Eagles easy win over the Dallas Cowboys gave them a half-game lead in the NFC East.
Washington now prepares for a two-game stretch in the division that starts with a visit to Philly for Thursday Night Football. The Eagles have won their last five games since getting embarrassed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their early season meltdowns have calmed down, and their defense shut down the lowly Giants and Cowboys over the last two weeks. This game will be like any other game played in Philly, and dog-fight that will likely get very violent, very quickly. Washington players are pissed off about the loss to the Steelers, and prepared for a battle for the division.
That loss dropped them in most people’s power rankings, but they are still top 10 for most people. There’s one top 5 holdout, and a couple outside the top 10. Washington already cashed on FanDuel’s 6 1⁄2 win O/U from before the season. The Commanders odds of making the playoffs(-750), winning the division(+195), conference(+1200), and Super Bowl(+2500) all took hits with last week’s loss.
High: 4
Low: 11
Average: 7.9
#4
Clutch Points(Johrendt)
It was a disappointing Week 10 outcome for the Washington Commanders, who welcomed the Pittsburgh Steelers into Northwest Stadium in a strong matchup. It wasn’t a great showing for the Washington offense, as Jayden Daniels (17/34, 202 yards) didn’t look all that strong.
Austin Ekeler stepped in for Brian Robinson again, finding the end zone twice on 13 carries, and Terry McLaurin caught five passes for 113 yards, but it wasn’t enough to earn the win. Last week: 3
#6
Pro Football Talk
They’re still going to be a problem in January. Last week: 4
NumberFire
Last week: 4
#7
ESPN
Non-QB MVP: Wide receiver Terry McLaurin
This, of course, has a lot to do with quarterback Jayden Daniels’ arrival, but McLaurin has caught six touchdown passes, one shy of his career high, and is on pace for a career-best 1,207 receiving yards. He also has four 100-yard receiving games; one more would set another personal best for a season. McLaurin is also a big factor in the red zone with seven catches — one shy of his career best — and a personal-high five touchdowns. — John Keim Last week: 5
Sporting News(Iyer)
The Commanders’ offense was game with Jayden Daniels in a tough matchup vs. the Steelers, helped most again by the backfield committee and go-to wideout Terry McLaurin. But they just showed why their pass defense needs Marshon Lattimore healthy, stat. Last week: 5
Yahoo Sports(Schwab)
The Commanders lost a 50/50 game to a very good Steelers team, and there’s no shame in that. One thing Washington has to address in the offseason is adding someone other than Terry McLaurin for Jayden Daniels to throw to. McLaurin had 113 yards on Sunday. Everyone else had 89 combined. Last week: 5
USA Today(Davis)
Local excitement around QB Jayden Daniels and this team remains palpable … yet still hasn’t prevented teams like the Steelers from enjoying home games at Northwest Stadium. Last week: 5
Fox Sports(Helman)
Next Gen Stats credits the Commanders with three drops against Pittsburgh, and there might have been more if you don’t feel like being generous. In a game decided by one point, critical mistakes like that are often the difference. Last week: 5
New York Post(Dunleavy)
A mind-boggling streak of 11 straight fourth-down conversions to start the season ended on the Commanders’ final possession, when Zach Ertz was marked down just shy of a first down in the one-point loss. Johnny Newtown jumped offside on a late fourth-and-1, allowing the Steelers to run out the clock. Austin Ekeler ran for two touchdowns. Last week: 6
Sportsnaut(Johnson)
The Pittsburgh Steelers gave the Washington Commanders chances to win on Sunday – 2 turnovers and a failed fake punt at the 16-yard line – but this team just couldn’t take advantage. That’s fine, rookie Jayden Daniels can learn from some of the mistakes he made in Week 10 and still feel good about where things are headed. The loss only drops Washington to 7-3 and with matchups upcoming against the Cowboys (twice), Titans and Saints, the Commanders should still finish with 10-plus wins. Last week: 5
WalterFootball
The Redskins were missing Marshon Lattimore and Brian Robinson, and they had the Eagles coming up in four days, and yet they still nearly beat a 7-2 team. Redskins fans shouldn’t be discouraged by this result. Last week: 5
Bleacher Report
Week 10 was a litmus test for the Washington Commanders—a matchup with one of the AFC’s hottest teams in the Pittsburgh Steelers ahead of a critical NFC East showdown with the rival Eagles in Week 11.
After rolling through opponents much of the season, the Washington offense stumbled in Week 10. Quarterback Jayden Daniels told reporters ahead of the matchup that he expected Pittsburgh’s defense to be a challenge.
“I mean, for years, I mean ever since (Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach) Mike Tomlin was there, he is a hell of a coach,” Daniels said. “Obviously, he doesn’t have a losing record for a reason. So, he is going to have his guys ready to play. They play hard. They know their scheme. They have some really good players, obviously got TJ Watt, Patrick Queen, guys like that, Minkah Fitzpatrick. But overall, the whole defense, they play together. They have a good continuity and it’s going to be a good challenge for us.”
He wasn’t wrong.
The 27 points Washington scored were fine, but the Commanders logged fewer than 250 yards of offense and Jayden Daniels completed just half of his 34 pass attempts for 202 yards without a touchdown.
Analyst’s Take
Jayden Daniels made everything look so easy early in his rookie season that a person is almost taken aback when he struggles. But he did Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh held the favorite for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year to a season-low completion percentage (50), zero touchdowns and only five rushing yards. The Steelers brought their trademark pressure, made Daniels uncomfortable and didn’t allow him to break outside of structure to create big plays. Not everyone has the personnel to slow Daniels in the same manner. However, the outcome shows teams can slow down and contain the talented young signal-caller. — Sobleski Last week: 7
Bleeding Green Nation(Gowton)
The Commanders’ last two losses: a one-score defeat in Baltimore and a one-point defeat to Pittsburgh. With a relatively schedule easy remaining schedule, they’re going to make the playoffs. It’s just a matter of being a wild card team or a division winner. Last week: 5
#8
NFL.com(Edholm)
Sunday’s heartbreaking loss can be blamed on a host of other reasons — but it was not the finest game of Jayden Daniels’ young career. He completed 50 percent of his passes, averaged fewer than 6 yards per attempt and couldn’t find much room to scramble as a runner, which has been a growing trend in recent weeks. The Steelers played a lot of man defense against Daniels, and it effectively slowed him down. Still, the Commanders led by 10 in the second half; they just couldn’t put the game away. The defense had its share of big moments but also allowed a touchdown drive every quarter and committed a crushing offsides penalty at game’s end. The Commanders surely could have used newly acquired CB Marshon Lattimore, but his hamstring injury kept him out. Benjamin St-Juste, Mike Sainristil and Noah Igbinoghene had their hands full against the Steelers when Washington’s pass rush didn’t get home. Last week: 5
Fox Sports(Brooks)
Despite a close loss to an emerging AFC title contender, the Commanders look like a squad with the potential to make a postseason run. Jayden Daniels’ sensational talent makes the offense nearly impossible to defend when he is able to push the pace as a dynamic runner-thrower. If the defense continues to play at a high level, the Commanders could surprise as dark-horse contender. Last week: 3
Sharp Football Analysis
Last week: 7
Odds Shark
Last week: 9
#9
The Athletic(Kendall)
Something nice: The offensive balance
Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels rightfully is getting most of the credit for this surprising season, but he’s getting a lot of help. As in help from a lot of places. Ten offensive players received a carry or a catch Sunday. Terry McLaurin is seventh in the league in receiving yards (598), but he’s the only real standout skill player. Five Commanders have at least 160 receiving yards this season and four have at least 160 rushing yards, and Washington is 7-2 for the first time since 1996. Last week: 5
The 33rd Team(Mosher)
The Washington Commanders had plenty of chances to beat the Steelers at home, but mistakes (drops, missed passes, offsides penalties) crushed them.
This is a young team that needs to learn how to be better at the end of games, which will come. They didn’t play a bad game by any stretch, but this was a winnable game that they left on the field. Last week: 6
NFL Trade Rumors(Woodie)
The heartbreaking loss to the Steelers was the first game in a while where first-round QB Jayden Daniels didn’t excel. The Commanders have a chance to bounce back in a big game against Philadelphia. Last week: 10
The Score
Marshon Lattimore’s pending debut. Adding a four-time Pro Bowler to the roster will only help down the stretch. Last week: 8
#10
CBS Sports(Prisco)
Blowing a 10-point lead in losing to the Steelers will be tough to get past. But they have no choice with an enormous Thursday game with the Eagles this week. Last week: 4
Sports Illustrated(Orr)
A harsh downgrade for the Commanders? I don’t see it that way. Everyone struggles against this Steelers defense and if this is what the Kliff Kingsbury offense looks like when humanized, I’ll take two rushing scores and 100-plus receiving yards from your No. 1 target. There’s been a bunch of teams turning in strong performances of late, which has crowded the top 10. Last week: 5
Pro Football Network(Rolfe)
- Offense+ Rank: 2
- Defense+ Rank: 21
- Special Teams Rank: 14
- SOS Rank Through Week 10: 30
The game between the Commanders and the Pittsburgh Steelers gave us a good indication about both teams. The fact that it was a relatively even battle demonstrates that both are likely playoff teams but probably still need some overall improvement in order to challenge for a Super Bowl berth.
Washington’s offense has been excellent this year, ranking second overall. Yet, they’ve played the third-easiest schedule to date.
The offense has stumbled a couple of times against better defensive units. Equally, because the defense is below average, the schedule thus far should raise some concerns about how the Commanders will fair against better teams down the stretch. Last week: 8
#11
The Ringer(Lee)
Last week: 11
Team Rankings
Last week: 11