How did the hosts of “First Things First: Monday view the Commanders’ comeback win over Denver?
Nick Wright, in criticizing Russell Wilson and head coach Sean Payton, remarked, “Sean Payton is not going down with the Russell Wilson ship. Sean Payton has not been good thus far. You blew an 18-point lead at home to Sam Howell.”
Wright continued, “They played the Raiders and Washington at home and lost!” He raised his voice for emphasis, expressing that the Raiders and Commanders are not good teams.
The hosts took their turns criticizing the Broncos. Greg Jennings echoed that Wilson was not getting the job done. He referenced that in the second half Sunday against Washington (excluding the Hail Mary), Wilson completed only 11 of 23 passes for 104 yards, no touchdowns, one interception and a 42.7 passer rating.
Jennings, rather than crediting Montez Sweat or Chase Young for their pass rush to sack Wilson, forcing a late field goal, chose to simply blame Wilson for the sack.
Then, did they praise Washington? Not at all. Wright then transitioned to asking, “When does Russ get benched? They are going to lose three in a row. They play Kansas City, Green Bay and Kansas City.”
Chris Broussard did go as far as saying Denver is “clearly being outplayed drastically in the second half. That’s coaches making adjustments, the opposing coaches making adjustments, and Sean Payton not adjusting to it.” So THIS is when the show will credit Ron Rivera, Jack Del Rio, or Eric Bieniemy, right?
Nope, again, it was all Denver-focused, that Wilson needs to play better while Payton needs to coach better.
Jennings closed by stating Payton “is literally taking a hammer and just cracking it up beside the head of Russell Wilson saying, ‘I’m going to wake you up, one way or another’… the adjustment that needs to be made is the play of your quarterback.”
Kevin Wilds was the lone host to laud the Commanders when he voiced, “Let’s talk about the Commanders as Sam Howell had a great game. I told you Sam Howell is going to be good.”
So, thus far, Washington is 2-0, but “First Things First” believes this is more about the Cardinals and Broncos than it is about the Commanders.
Next Sunday, the Bills come to FedEx Field, which will be a huge opportunity for the Commanders to gain some respect.