The Washington Commanders just didn’t do enough offensively and it led to the team’s fourth loss of the season.
Looking at the Washington Commanders’ box score from their Week 11 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, one may conclude that both the offense and defense struggled to contain their opponents.
However, analyzing the game flow reveals that, while the Commanders’ defense was excellent until it ran out of gas late in the game, the offense not only failed to move the ball, but also failed to capture the team’s eighth win of the season.
“The defense did a great job,” Washington receiver Terry McLaurin said following the Eagles’ 26-18 loss. “And when you let a team stick around and don’t take advantage of the offensive possibilities we had, their offense will eventually create plays. So, no, I don’t believe we performed well today.”
It was an honest assessment from one of the team’s more respected members, who has had his fair share of defeats with the franchise.
While running back Brian Robinson Jr. scored the game’s first touchdown on a one-yard run, the Commanders’ offense went three-and-out on three of its first four opportunities and punted on four of the first five, failing to score scores on five drives before halftime.
During that time, the Washington defense limited Philadelphia to three points on three field goal attempts. McLaurin was held without a catch entering the halftime locker room. Of all, it’s difficult to make a grab without a target, and the top receiver didn’t get his first one until 11:11 in the third quarter.
He didn’t make his first catch until 10:34 left in the game.
“There wasn’t anything they were doing that I wasn’t expecting – or that we weren’t expecting,” McLaurin said when asked about the lack of targets and catches. “The ball just didn’t come my way.”
That was his sole grab of the night, and it went for ten yards. That stat line alone reveals a significant focus item for the club to explore and resolve during their extended break between Weeks 11 and 12.
Of course, it’s not the only one, and McLaurin underlined the necessity of each individual player doing their part to ensure the team can come back together focused on rectifying shortcomings and winning a major game against the Dallas Cowboys next Sunday afternoon.
