Category: Latest Washington News

Stopping Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving is critical for Commanders

Stopping Bucky Irving is critical for the Commanders.

A rookie running back has certainly caught Joe Whitt’s watchful eye.

The Bucs have a strong passing game with targets like future Hall of Fame WR Mike Evans, WR Jalen McMillan, WR Sterling Shepherd, and TE Cade Otton.

The Bucs must also be pleased with how rookie RB Bucky Irving exploded. Irving, taken 125 overall (4th round) out of Oregon, has been nothing short of sensational.

“He can make you miss in space,” said Whitt. “He’s fast, he’s quick, he’s a slasher. So, I just think they use not just him, but all the eligibles in a very unique way of, when I say fast-paced, they want to get the ball in their hands right now. They have close to a thousand yards with the ball behind the line of scrimmage. So, they want to get those guys in space and then let them have run-after-catch opportunities.”

Irving has 47 receptions for 392 yards (8.3) and converted 16 first downs. The Bucs’ screen game has been very effective with Irving.

“They have a number of different type of screens. You have the play-action screen, the slip screen, the cross screen, all those to the backs. And then you have the ones that the tunnel screen, tear screen from the outside. So, they have just a variety of different screens and different ways to get into it.”

Irving has tremendously helped Baker Mayfield achieve career highs in passing (4,500 yards) and passing touchdowns (41). Irving’s running is so quick and effective that the defense must give him much attention. He has rushed for 1,122 yards, averaging an impressive 5.4 yards per carry.

How can the Commanders’ defense limit Irving enough to have a chance in this playoff game on Sunday?

Whitt succinctly replied, “In the run game, making sure that we take care of the C gap.”

Richard Sherman says Marshon Lattimore will get under Mike Evans’ skin

Sherman thinks this rivalry will impact Sunday’s game.

It’s only fitting that the Washington Commanders play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFL wild-card matchup on Sunday Night Football. While the game was scheduled for Sunday night because of Washington rookie Jayden Daniels, the most intriguing matchup doesn’t involve either quarterback — Daniels or Baker Mayfield.

Instead, everyone is talking about the matchup of Tampa Bay wide receiver Mike Evans against Washington cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

Lattimore has missed six of eight games since the Commanders acquired him at November’s NFL trade deadline. After sitting the last two games, there was no way Lattimore would miss this game.

Lattimore and Evans have a history — an ugly but entertaining one. Lattimore and Evans were NFC South rivals for years when the former played for the New Orleans Saints.  Both players won their fair share of battles against one another.

However, their battles were personal. Evans has drawn penalties, ejections, and fines and served two separate one-game suspensions due to altercations with Lattimore, often after the whistle.

Former NFL cornerback Richard Sherman wasn’t just one of the best defensive backs in the league when he played; he was also a trash talker. Now one of the NFL’s best analysts for Amazon Prime, Sherman believes this rivalry will continue on Sunday.

“Oh, it’s going to make an impact; I am sure they’re going to have Lattimore follow him because Mike is a huge target and a huge part of their offense,” Sherman said on “Up & Adams.”

“Yeah, they got real history. In New Orleans, it was even bigger because the teams understood it; the teams had conflict, so it went further than just Mike and Lattimore. It went through the whole team. But I think the Commanders will back him up even though he’s only been there for a little while. He’s going to continue to be him. He’s going to continue to try to get under Mike’s skin, and Mike’s going to continue to feel a way about him. So, I can’t wait to watch it, that’s one of my favorite matchups.”

So, who gets the best of this matchup?

“I don’t know,” Sherman said. “Marshon’s had a lot of good games against Mike. But Mike’s in a zone right now, and Baker (Mayfield) is gonna feed him, and I’m sure Baker knows the history, and Baker is petty in that way, and I like that about him. So I think Mike will have more opportunities to go after him.”

You can bet Mayfield will go after Lattimore. He’s played only two games in almost three months and is coming off a hamstring injury. The Eagles tested Lattimore in Week 16, and he aggravated the hamstring after an up-and-down battle with A.J. Brown.

You can bet both head coaches have spoken with Lattimore and Evans about maintaining their composure. One penalty could make a huge difference, and the stakes are much higher this time around, as the pair have never met in the playoffs.

 

Where does the playoff matchup of Jayden Daniels, Baker Mayfield rank?

The matchup between Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels and Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield was ranked second-best this Sunday.

The playoffs are upon us, and for the first time since 2020, the Washington Commanders are making an appearance. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels burst onto the scene this year with fireworks, taking the league by storm and making everyone wonder why Caleb Williams was such a big deal.

The way Daniels performed in 2024, the way he led the Commanders and carried the team on his back, is very reminiscent of how Baker Mayfield plays. He’s not as dynamic of a runner as Daniels, but he can move. Mayfield is also known to sling the ball down the field, which Daniels is also capable of. These commonalities are the reasons this quarterback matchup is ranked second by CBS Sports for Wild Card Weekend. An excerpt from the article:

This one has the potential for the most theatrics. Mayfield aired it out for a career-high 41 scores this year, fully becoming the face of the NFC South’s scrappiest contender. And he’s had to make constant plays through the air thanks to the sudden porousness of Todd Bowles’ defense. Daniels, meanwhile, is on track to claim Rookie of the Year honors as a dual-threat superstar. Can his magic translate to this stage?

The only matchup ranked higher than Mayfield and Daniels is the meeting between Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles and Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers.

The Commanders and Bucs kick off at 8:20 pm EDT from Raymond James Stadium on Sunday.

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Sunday’s NFC Wild Card Weekend features Marshon Lattimore vs. Mike Evans

Marshon Lattimore vs. Mike Evans is must-see TV.

Sunday will feature a huge matchup, and Dan Quinn expects the sports networks to make much of it.

That matchup is Tampa Bay Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans and Washington Commanders’ cornerback Marshon Lattimore.

Commanders’ GM Adam Peters traded for Lattimore at the NFL trade deadline. Thus far, Lattimore has only provided his team with one full game vs the Saints. The following week, he injured a hamstring against the Eagles again and was unavailable the last two weeks in wins over the Falcons and Cowboys.

Yet, Quinn was positive in his outlook for Sunday’s playoff game:

“He’s hitting all the markers in a good space, so we will have a jog through practice today, and then we’ll be full speed back at it tomorrow,” Quinn said. So, he’s hit all the markers up to this point and I anticipate that trending through the week, but tomorrow and Friday, specifically tomorrow will be one that’s more speed.”

Lattimore and Evans have provided quite the entertainment in their past meetings as the two battled each other.

Quinn expressed Wednesday he knows it will be a big matchup but he was also quick to say there will be many big matchups in this game.

“There’s definitely matchups all over the field that make a difference in winning and losing,” he said. “And these are two elite competitors, and it’s honestly what makes coaching so much fun.”

Quinn even went as far as to imply that, yes, the television commenters will make much of this matchup, but he is not overlooking several matchups that will be fought Sunday night in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

“Those aren’t the only two that are going to be absolutely battling for it. It may be the only ones that the networks may show [laughs], but let me tell you, there’ll be a lot of guys that are really going to go for it. And it does make that part fun.”

Baker Mayfield torched the Commanders in the opener. He completed an impressive 24 of 30 attempts for 289 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions, averaging 9.6 yards per pass attempt.

Having a healthy Lattimore will help, but the Commanders will also need more (much more) pressure up front than in the first game when they only hit Mayfield four times, sacking him just once.

When did Quinn realize the Commanders’ culture was changing?

Dan Quinn recalls a specific time when he saw the Commanders come together.

When Dan Quinn was named Commanders coach last offseason, those who knew him predicted he would change the culture.

The Commanders’ fan base was not overly impressed with the hire and the discussion of the team’s culture, as Quinn’s predecessor had often referenced the team’s culture as well.

The head coach was asked Wednesday when he first noticed the team culture was changing.

After a win over the Bengals on Monday Night Football, the team did not return to Ashburn but flew directly to Arizona, where they worked all week for the Cardinals game.

“We were still really new as a group together, and so I thought spending a whole week to stay there, that was, I’d say, a step in the right direction,” Quinn said Wednesday.”

The Commanders bought into Quinn’s business trip and played perhaps their most focused and clean game of the season, drilling the Cardinals 42-14, raising their surprising record to 3-1.

“If you have standards about how you do things together, then you have to live those on the best of days and the hardest of days. And so, creating a standard together was an important part of creating a culture because it’s how we do our business together.”

After surprising the NFL by going 7-2 in the first half of the season, the Commanders suddenly lost to the Steelers, Eagles, and Cowboys, falling to 7-5. How would they respond?

“It’s how you practice, how you meet, how you do things together,” Quinn stated. “And so, that doesn’t happen overnight, but it does take time with people doing it together.”

“So, after our third loss to come back, knowing that many others would’ve said, ‘Hey, why don’t you just see what happens and where it goes.’ And we did the opposite of that, and we stepped right into improvement and getting better, and that’s what our culture is about. Handling the difficult times, knowing there’s more work to do, and going for it.”

Quinn shared that Doug Williams had told him that while in Arizona, he observed that after team meetings concluded, “there were a lot of guys hanging out together.”

Quinn had observed, “The quarterbacks were just in an office, away from me, going through things together. And so, coaches, players enjoying spending time together I think is a big deal.”

It is a big deal because you go to battle for your friends more eagerly than you do for your fellow employees.

What do we know about the officiating crew for Commanders vs. Buccaneers?

We learn about the officiating crew for the Commanders and Buccaneers.

The NFL playoffs have arrived, which means officiating will be scrutinized more than ever. Every season, all 32 NFL teams have valid complaints about officiating. The Washington Commanders have dealt with questionable officiating in recent weeks. In the Week 15 win over the Saints, the officials temporarily and incorrectly stopped the clock, allowing New Orleans one more play.

Washington is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2020. The Commanders will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. This week, the NFL revealed the officiating crews for all six playoff games, and Craig Wrolstad’s crew has the assignment in Tampa.

What do we know about Wrolstad’s crew? He’s in his 11th season as a Referee and 22nd overall as an NFL official.

Courtesy of the X account @nflrefstats1, we learned more about Wrolstand and his crew.

  • Wrolstad’s crew is No. 1 in calling pre-snap penalties.
  • Wrolstad’s crew ranks No. 1 in assessing taunting penalties. Why is that important? Mike Evans faces off against Marshon Lattimore, and they have a long history.
  • Wrolstad’s crew ranks second in most penalties per game.
  • Commanders are the NFL’s most penalized team on third down.
  • Commanders No. 1 in the NFL in defensive pass interference penalties.
  • Wrolstad’s crew penalizes heavily on first and second downs but much less on third downs.

Excellent information here. Washington’s penalties have been an issue in recent weeks. Lattimore was called for three pass interference penalties in Week 16 vs. Philadelphia, although two were very questionable.

Something else of note here is that Washington’s pre-snap penalties have also been an issue, which Wrolstad’s crew will call every time.

Hopefully, this weekend’s game will not be decided by officiating. Otherwise, it should be a fun, high-scoring battle.

Latest injury update for Commanders CB Marshon Lattimore

Marshon Lattimore trending upward for the playoffs.

The Washington Commanders are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2020, as they face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football.

Washington finished the season on a five-game winning streak, but the Buccaneers will present a difficult challenge. The two teams met in Week 1, with the Bucs winning 37-20. On that day, quarterback Baker Mayfield completed 80% of his passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns.

Much has changed for the Commanders since Week 1. Rookie cornerback Mike Sainristil looks on the verge of stardom, while Emmanuel Forbes is no longer on the roster, and Benjamin St-Juste is a backup. At the NFL trade deadline, the Commanders acquired four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore from the Saints. Unfortunately, Lattimore has missed six of his eight games since the trade due to a hamstring issue.

The Buccaneers, specifically star wide receiver Mike Evans, know Lattimore well. Evans and Lattimore have an epic history with their annual NFC South battles. But will Lattimore play on Sunday?

Washington released its first injury report of the week, and Lattimore was a full participant.

Head coach Dan Quinn said the following about Lattimore’s status:

“He’s hitting all the markers in a good space, so we will have a jog through practice today, and then we’ll be full speed back at it tomorrow,” Quinn said Wednesday. “So, he’s hit all the markers up to this point and I anticipate that trending through the week, but tomorrow and Friday, specifically tomorrow will be one that’s more speed.”

There are several reasons to be excited about this game. Lattimore’s matchup with Evans will be high on that list.

Latest injury news on Commanders C Tyler Biadasz ahead of playoffs

The latest injury updates on Tyler Biadasz ahead of the NFC wild-card game vs. Bucs.

The Washington Commanders finished the regular season with one of the NFL’s better offensive lines. It was a surprise considering the questions surrounding the tackle position ahead of the position. However, center Tyler Biadasz proved to be one of the Commanders’ most important players.

Biadasz signed a three-year contract with Washington after four years in Dallas. He stabilized the center position, which had been a revolving door over the past few years. And when Biadasz was out of the lineup, his absence was evident.

Biadasz missed the Week 15 win at New Orleans, and the offensive line struggled. The Commanders still won, but it wasn’t easy. In the second half of the Week 17 win over the Atlanta Falcons, Baidasz injured his ankle. He didn’t play in the regular-season finale at Dallas, quarterback Jayden Daniels was sacked four times in the first half, and Washington could not run the ball.

While the Commanders would win, the focus immediately turned to Wild Card Weekend and their matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On Monday, head coach Dan Quinn was optimistic that Biadasz would be available against the Bucs.

Washington returned to practice on Wednesday, and Biadasz was listed as limited. So, are there any concerns about Biadasz’s availability for Sunday?

Biadasz also spoke to reporters after practice and sounded like someone who expects to play.

We’ll continue to monitor Biadasz’s status, but, barring a setback, it would be shocking not to see him in the starting lineup vs. the Bucs.

It was a most frustrating first half for the Commanders

Nothing was going right for the Commanders in the first half.

The Commanders’ offense played their most frustrating half last Sunday in Dallas to begin the season finale.

They couldn’t produce any offensive movement in the first quarter. In fact, the Commanders didn’t cross midfield until six and a half minutes were remaining in the first half.

It was third & 10 from the Washington 48, and as Jayden Daniels dropped back to pass, he again felt the play would be unsuccessful as a pass, so he stepped up and ran 16 yards to the Dallas 36.

Here, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury determined that he would score on the Cowboys with some trickery, as Washington was down 6-0 and unable to execute anything well thus far.

At 6:17, Daniels took a deep snap, looked to his right, and saw Dyami Brown approaching him from the right side, where he had lined up at the snap. Daniels flipped the ball to Brown, who continued left, stepped up at the 45, and heaved a pass toward the left side of the end zone.

Kingsbury had guessed correctly; Olamide Zaccheaus was wide open eight yards behind the nearest Cowboy. The ball led Zaccheaus to the end zone, where Zaccheaus promptly dropped it.

It was a perfect illustration of the offensive coordinator planning a specific play, then running it in reps during the practice week, finding the ideal opportunity to call it during a game, and the play coming wide open; however, a player not finishing the play.

It was a microcosm of Sunday’s first half against the Cowboys. The drive ended in a Zane Gonzalez field goal, but the touchdown that put the Commanders ahead 7-6 was there for the taking, and the team simply couldn’t step up and make the play.

With Jayden Daniels attempting 12 passes, the result had been a mere 38 yards, being sacked four times for -18 yards and only three first-half points.

At least Marcus Mariota came to the rescue in the second half…

Dan Quinn ranked as best first-year coaching hire in the NFL

Dan Quinn receives high marks for first year with the Commanders.

Dan Quinn has been the head coach of the Washington Commanders for less than a year and we can already comfortably say the team made the right choice.

In Quinn’s first season at the helm, the Commanders ended with a 12-5 record and a spot in the playoffs. It’s the team’s first playoff berth since 2020 and the team’s most wins since the 1991 campaign.

Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports recently re-graded all of the first-year coaching hires, and, predictably, Quinn came out on top.

Benjamin gave Quinn an A- grade and offered the following analysis:

The former Atlanta Falcons coach has certainly benefited from the star power of rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels, the top draft choice of new general manager Adam Peters. But in tapping Kliff Kingsbury as his play-caller, Quinn has overseen one of the game’s most dynamic aerial attacks, while infusing the locker room with a been there, done that type of confidence. Quite simply, he’s hired and leaned into his aces, making him the perfect figurehead for the upstart Commanders’ current moment.

Quinn previously served as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, where he compiled a 43-42 record and appeared in Super Bowl LI.
After his time in Atlanta, Quinn went to Dallas to coach the Cowboys’ defense. Now, the veteran coach excels as the head coach of one of the Cowboys’ division rivals.
Quinn and the Commanders will face off against the NFC South-winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the playoffs.