The Washington Commanders may have dropped to 0-2 in the preseason after Saturday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins, but the game had some positive aspects.
First, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels was outstanding yet again. The No. 2 overall pick completed 10 of 12 passes for 78 yards and departed after leading two drives. Daniels is now 12 of 15 in the preseason, and all three of his drives either led to a score or a scoring opportunity (missed field).
Garrett Podell of CBS Sports revealed the good, bad and ugly from every Week 2 preseason game, just as he did in Week 1.
Here’s Podell’s analysis of the Commanders:
The good: Linebacker Jamin Davis, the Commanders’ 2021 first-round pick, blew up backup quarterback Mike White for a strip sack fumble that was recovered by Washington. Some nice juice for the vet taking advantage of Miami second-round rookie left tackle Patrick Paul. Speaking of rookies, Washington 2024 second overall pick quarterback Jayden Daniels had another efficient outing, completing 10 of his 12 passes for 78 yards while chipping in 13 on the ground on a couple of carries.
Davis was definitely a bright spot for the Commanders. Head coach Dan Quinn has praised Davis throughout the summer for the extra work he’s put in with assistant coach Ryan Kerrigan in learning a completely new position (edge rusher). Davis may been on the bubble for some entering camp, but he’s making the roster. The Commanders believe he can help them in 2024.
The bad & the ugly: The Commanders defense couldn’t do a thing against Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins starting offense on their one drive in the game. Tagovailoa completed all five of his passes for 51 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown, and neither Tyreek Hill nor Jaylen Waddle suited up. Last season’s Washington defense was the worst in the NFL in almost every metric — scoring defense (30.5 points per game), total defense (388.9 total yards per game), passing touchdowns allowed (39) and passer rating allowed (105.7). It’s early in new head coach Dan Quinn’s rebuild, Year 1, but he may not have the same instant success he had when taking over as the Cowboys defensive coordinator in 2021.
You knew Washington’s passing defense would be in this category. The Commanders have allowed passing touchdowns to backup wide receivers in each of their first two preseason games. While that doesn’t sound bad, consider both touchdowns were allowed by two of Washington’s projected starting cornerbacks.
While Quinn and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt’s addition should help improve the group, the Commanders may not have done enough to dramatically improve the league’s worst pass defense.
The good news is rookie Mike Sainristil looks like a future star.