Tag: 2022 Titans at Commanders Week 5

Commanders final drive ends in disappointment in loss to Titans

The final drive began with such hope and ended with a familiar disappointment for the Commanders.

Carson Wentz’s pass intended for J.D. McKissic was intercepted by David Long Jr. sealing a 21-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans at FedEx Field in Landover.

The Commanders had started their final possession on their own 11-yard line with 4:46 remaining. Brian Robinson ran for two yards for a first down at the Washington 22. Robinson again ran for two yards to the 33 for a second first down.

Wentz connected with Curtis Samuel for eight yards for a third first down at the Washington 48 at 1:58. From the Titans 47, Wentz ran eight yards for a fourth first down at the Titans 39.

Terry McLaurin broke a tackle, gaining 10 yards on a reception from Wentz to the Titans’ 29 with 53 seconds on the clock. 3rd & 5 from the 24, Wentz again went to Samuel for eight yards to the 16 for the fifth first down of the drive. 24 seconds remained.

McLaurin then was covered on a Wentz incompletion, yet the Commanders received a huge break from the officials calling pass interference. Ist & Goal at the 2.

Wentz threw two incompletions as Washington did not appear to try to take advantage of size with high passes to Cole Turner or Cam Sims, setting the stage for the interception on a pass into a cluttered area of defenders.

The 18-play 89-yard drive had anemically died, and so too has most likely the 2022 season in the Commanders’ fourth consecutive loss.

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Cooley: Commanders must rally to Derrick Henry…all day

Chris Cooley offers his outstanding insight into Washington’s Week 5 game against the Titans.

Chris Cooley knows football; he is worth giving your attention. So, here are excerpts from Cooley’s preview of the Commanders Week 5 game when he appeared on the “Kevin Sheehan Show” podcast Friday.

“If they are down 20 points in this game, they are a bad team. Tennessee is in no way the Tennessee Titans they have been the last five years.”

“How do you not keep A.J. Brown if you are Tennessee? … It’s a massive loss. They have nobody that takes the top off of a defense now.”

“Let’s do the obvious, obvious. Derrick Henry cannot have a 220-yard plus game and just gash you all day. If that happens, that is embarrassing.”

He (Henry) is as good a running back as we’ve seen in a long time. He is amazing. Let’s overload boxes here. Let’s out-do numbers as a defense. Let’s make sure we play them in a more condensed space. Let’s make it hard for them to run the ball. ”

“I think if they can keep Derrick Henry under 5 yards a carry, that Tennessee is not going to score a lot of points. Let’s not allow Henry to have two big ones…Let’s make sure we wrap up and wait for the second guy to come. And for the first guy, you might suck a few times; Derrick Henry is going to knock your head off, so just hold his leg.”

“If you don’t focus on gap control, he also has very good vision. You’ve got to try to play it at the line of scrimmage…If you can get him to make his second cut within one yard then nobody is that unless you are Barry Sanders.”

“When they give him that little toss, you can’t let him get to the edge in one-on-one situations. You’ve got to rally to the ball all day.”

“Here is how I am going to attack (the Commanders’ defense). I am going to go with some run-action stuff. I am also going to run the ball early in the game. I am going to attack Kendall Fuller in the intermediate range early…I think Kendall Fuller right now is a guy I would attack a lot on the outside.”

I am going to go vertical early on William Jackson, asking ‘Can you play it without holding?’ You can’t have five penalties that allow for big plays.”

“Offensively, you have to get the receivers going earlier. You have to get touches to your receivers in the first quarter. Move Samuel some into the backfield and get mismatches.”

“Going to have to pick up pressures and blitzes. Washington has struggled immensely to pass off pressures and blitzes. Tennessee will blitz them to keep the back in. They will bring a lot of 5 and 6-man pressures. Washington has not picked up the blitz well, and Tennessee is going to blitz them.”