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Yes, it was at times ugly.
Yes, Taylor Heinicke raised the concern meter, making some very unfortunate decisions with the ball in his hands.
Yes, the Falcons drove and drove and seemed destined to win.
Yet, there were the Commanders, making a huge play, getting a huge win and leaving us shaking our heads, but at least with smiles on our faces.
When the game had concluded, here are some numbers that jumped out to me:
- 100 Ron Rivera came into Sunday’s game with a 96-87-1 regular season head coaching record. Including his 3-5 playoff record, Sunday’s heart-stopping 19-13 win over the Falcons gave Rivera 100 total NFL wins as a head coach.
- 105 Brian Robinson Jr, Sunday accomplished his first NFL 100-yard rushing game. Robinson achieved the feat with his 18 carries.
- 82 The Commanders led 19-13, but the Falcons drove 82 yards down to the Commanders 2. Montez Sweat then tackled Mariota for a 2-yard loss back to the 4 yard line. Daron Payne then deflected Mariota’s pass, which was then intercepted by Kendall Fuller, preserving the win.
- 18 This game was such a nail-biter, such an evenly contested game throughout that only 18 yards of offense separated the two teams. The Falcons concluded their day with 167 yards rushing and 165 passing for an offensive total of 332 yards. The Commanders generated 176 rushing, 136 passing (314 total yards).
- 7 Just seven weeks ago the Commanders were 1-4, fans were already talking about tanking the season, so they could draft high enough to get their future quality quarterback. In these seven weeks, the Commanders are 6-1, running their record to 7-5.
- 7-5 I know it was ugly. I know Taylor Heinicke really had some bad decisions. But they won and this is the first time the franchise through 12 games has been at least 7-5 since the 2000 team coached by Norv Turner. Unfortunately for Turner, that team lost three of their final four games, finished 8-8 and Turner was fired (at 7-7).