It was second-and-10 at the Washington 48-yard line, and Seattle quarterback Geno Smith hit wide receiver DK Metcalf for 27 yards, and Jason Myers’ 43-yard field goal was good as time expired.
The Washington Commanders thus lost another close and important game.
This loss was at Seattle 29-26.
What else is new?
Down 26-19, the Commanders drove 71 yards in ten plays. Following two incompletions, Washington faced a 3rd & 10 at the Seattle 35, when Sam Howell found Dyami Brown for a 35-yard touchdown, and Joey Slye tied the game at 26-26.
So I tweeted, “But there are 52 seconds remaining.”
Sure enough, the defense could not keep Seattle from scoring, the Seahawks winning the game and dropping the Commanders to 4-6 after ten games.
The Commanders’ defense had its struggles all day, surrendering 27 first downs, 489 total yards, and 369 passing yards, including the second consecutive week a running back scored from 64 yards!
The Commanders’ third-down defense was actually pretty good, holding Seattle to four of 14. But once again, this day came down to the team needing to make a play on the final possession, and they did not.
At the conclusion of the third quarter, the Commanders had attempted 31 passes and only nine running attempts. The Seahawks generating good pressure on Howell.
Suddenly, trailing 19-12, there were running plays for 15, 12, 5, and 2 yards. The Commanders drove 73 yards in 8 plays, with the drive being finalized when Howell found Antonio Gibson open for a 19-yard touchdown, tying the game at 19-19 with exactly eight minutes remaining.
But the Commanders, on the next Seattle possession, surrendered a 75-yard ten-play drive, putting Washington again behind 26-19.
The Commanders gave up 120 rushing yards on 26 Seattle attempts, while Geno Smith completed 31 passes for 369 yards.
Sam Howell completed 31 passes for 312 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked three times for -24 yards.
So, it is another loss, another last-minute disappointment and frustration.