Commanders sign WR Olamide Zaccheaus

The Commanders add their first wide receiver of the offseason.

Not only were the Commanders meeting with Drake Maye at the UNC pro day on Thursday, but they also signed wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus.

The former Virginia Cavalier was undrafted in 2019 but signed by the Falcons. During his four seasons with the Falcons (2019-2022), he started 23 games, contributing 94 receptions for 1,328 yards (14.1), 8 touchdowns, and 65 first downs. Here are some NFL highlights of Zaccheaus.

Zaccheaus’s signing with the Commanders might not be that much of a surprise, seeing as he spent the 2023 season with the Eagles. Brian Johnson, the Commanders’ passing game coordinator/assistant head coach, served as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator last season and must have developed a relationship with Zaccheaus.

Last season as an Eagle, Zaccheaus made one start and caught 10 passes for 164 yards (16.4), resulting in 2 touchdowns and 7 first downs. Following his 2022 season with the Falcons, he filed for free agency in March of 2023 and one month later signed with the Eagles.

Zaccheaus will turn 27 in July and has also spent considerable time on special teams. In the 2019 season, he recovered a fumble for a touchdown. He also achieved the longest reception during the 2019 season of 93 yards.

Eagles ahead of the NFC East in Week 3

Not a good week for the NFC East overall as three of the four teams lost by double digits.

The Eagles were the only NFC East team to look good in Week 3.

The Commanders were drilled at home by the Bills 37-3. While the Cowboys and Giants both lost on the road. The Cowboys defense was run over literally by the Cardinals 28-16, while the Giants couldn’t keep up with the 49ers 30-12. The Eagles went on the road and exhibited they were clearly the better team than the 2-0 Bucs, winning 25-11

Eagles 3-0
Cowboys 2-1
Commanders 2-1
Giants 1-2

Eagles: Quarterback Jalen Hurts made NFL history when he recorded his 29th rushing touchdown in only his 48th game. Even more noticeable is the fact that Hurts was a backup for the first 12 games of his career. Hurts and Cam Newton are the only NFL quarterbacks to rush for 10 or more touchdowns in multiple seasons. Hurts is the only one to do so in consecutive seasons. Hurts also connected with AJ Brown on nine receptions for 131 yards. D’Andre Swift accumulated 130 yards on his 16 rushing attempts.

Defensively, the Eagles limited the Buccaneers to only 174 total yards. Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield was held to only 146 yards passing with one touchdown and one interception.

Cowboys: It was a rough week for the Cowboys. They spent the early part of the week talking about how they should be respected more as a dominant team. Then, they lost cornerback Trevon Diggs to a season-ending knee injury during practice.

Running back Tony Pollard gained 122 yards on 23 carries. However, the defense permitted Joshua Dobbs (hardly a proven NFL QB) to complete 80 percent of his passes. While the rushing defense allowed RB James Conner 98 yards on only 14 carries, including a touchdown. Dobbs added a 44-yard run, and the Cardinals embarrassed the Cowboys with 222 rushing yards.

Commanders: It was ugly. One of the worst games in the Super Bowl era for the franchise. The Commanders were sacked nine times, had five turnovers, including four Sam Howell interceptions and the defense did not sack Bills quarterback Josh Allen one time in 32 dropbacks. The Bills registered 15 quarterback hits. How long does Sam Howell survive at this rate? Washington only registered one quarterback hit.

There was plenty of blame to go around, both offensively and defensively. In particular, perhaps the game was a wake-up call for Eric Bieniemy as he further realized Howell is the first starting quarterback Bieniemy has had as an OC not named Mahomes. He knows he will need to make more adjustments immediately.

Giants: The Giants miss their stud athlete/running back Saquon Barkley. The Giants again went without a 100-yard rusher for the 13th consecutive game. Barkley went over 100 rushing yards in four games last season, all wins for the Giants. His open-field ability is elite and greatly helps Daniel Jones in the passing game.

Linebacker Micah McFadden led the team with 10 tackles and four tackles for a loss against the 49ers. Defensive tackle Leonard Williams had a good game with six tackles, two QB hits, and a half-quarterback sack to his credit.

NFC East goes 4-0 in Week 2

What a week for the NFC East.

The NFC East won all four of it’s games in Week 2.

The Eagles on Thursday defeated the Vikings 34-28. Sunday, saw the Commanders top the Broncos 35-33, the Cowboys roll the Jets 30-10 and the Giants come back to defeat the Cardinals 31-28.

Commanders 2-0
Cowboys 2-0
Eagles 2-0
Giants 1-1

Commanders: Being down 21-3, Washington stormed back to lead 35-27 and hold on despite a Hail Marry as time expired by the Broncos. The Commanders quarterback Sam Howell has won each of his three NFL starts, Chase Young made his first 2023 appearance a good one and new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy again displayed much confidence in the offensive personnel, calling for the ball to be spread broadly. Washington’s two new guards, Saahdiq Charles and Sam Cosmi, thus far are marked improvements over the 2022 starting guards Andrew Norvell and Trai Turner.

Cowboys: Dallas has outscored its first two opponents 70-10. The defense is intimidatingly good, and the offense dialed it back in the second half of both games, not needing to show much or risk injury. While Dallas was converting half of its 3rd-down plays (9-18), the Cowboys defense severely limited the Jets to a mere 1-10. The dominant Cowboy defense accumulated three quarterback sacks and won the turnover battle 4-0.

Eagles: The Eagles’ pass defense allowed Kirk Cousins to pass for 364 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Yet, the Eagles won the game. How? Their offense was both explosive and efficient. Jalen Hurts finished 18 of 23 passing for 193 yards. D’Andre Swift rushed for a very impressive 175 yards on his 28 carries (6.3 yards per carry) for one touchdown and a long of 43 yards. The Eagles ran the ball and then ran the ball, generating 259 rushing yards on 48 carries.

Giants: New York found itself down 20-0 to the Cardinals. This meant that in six quarters, the Giants had been outscored by their two opponents 60-0. That is not a typo. But the Giants managed to generate a comeback in which they scored 14 third-quarter points and 17 in the final quarter to obtain their first victory of the 2023 season. Bouncing back from his horrendous Week 1 game, Daniel Jones completed 26 of 37 attempts for 321 yards, two passing touchdowns and rushed for 59 yards in 9 carries, including a rushing touchdown.

NFC East goes 3-1 in Week 1

A good week for the NFC East — except for the Giants.

Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington picked up victories launching the 2023 season.

The NFC East which finished with the best record in the NFL in 2022 did lose one game in Week 1, but that was due to the fact the Cowboys and Giants played each other.

Dallas crushed the Giants 40-0, the Commanders survived the Cardinals 20-16 and the Eagles outlasted the Patriots 25-20.

Cowboys 1-0
Commanders 1-0
Eagles 1-0
Giants 0-1

Dallas: The Cowboys embarrassed the Giants, and that was only in the first half. It was a total domination by the Cowboys.

The defense not only shut out the Giants, but they collected seven sacks, two interceptions, including one pick-6, one blocked field goal TD return and forced five fumbles.

The Cowboys defense registered 23 quarterback pressures on the 37 snaps the Giants dropped back to pass.

Washington: The Commanders offense was supposed to be much better with Eric Bieniemy taking over from Scott Turner. But in their opener, the Commanders converted only 4 of 12 third downs, averaged only 3.8 yards per play, averaged 4.2 yards per pass, turned the ball over three times and allowed six quarterback sacks for -46 yards.

The Commanders defense registered 11 tackles for a loss and allowed only 3.6 yards per play and nine offensive points by the Cardinals.

Philadelphia: Quarterback Jalen Hurts completed 22 of 33 passing for 170 yards and 1 touchdown. He also rushed 9 times for 37 yards. He did lose a fumble.

The biggest play of the day for the Eagles was when Darius Slay notched a pick-6.

Defensive tackle Jordan Davis was a beast as he registered six tackles, 1/2 sack, one QB hit, one TFL, and one forced fumble.

New York: See Dallas above. It was a horrible night for the Giants. Quarterback Daniel Jones completed 15 of 28 passes for 104 yards and two interceptions for a passer rating of 32.4.

What place will the Commanders finish in the NFC East?

Some believe the Commanders will be better than the Giants in 2023.

In what place will the Commanders finish in the 2023 NFC East?

Monday, the hosts of “First Things First,” a Fox Sports talk show, predicted the NFC East 2023 season. The show is hosted by Nick Wright, Chris Broussard, and Kevin Wildes.

Here is the entire segment.

Here is how the three predicted the 2023 NFC East Division to unfold and what they had to say, particularly regarding Washington.

Nick Wright: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Commanders

“Coming in last in the NFC East, look, I wish Eric Bieniemy the best. But Sam Howell is your Week 1 starter. You already have odd vibes between your receivers, your head coach and the offensive coordinator about whether or not they actually like Bieniemy’s coaching style.”

“I thought their decision to not pick up the 5th-year option on Chase Young was inexplicable. Despite the injuries, we know what a talent he is, and the potential to let the number two pick in the draft hit free agency, made no sense to me. They are your fourth-place team.”

Chris Broussard: Eagles, Cowboys, Commanders, Giants

“Washington, I like them a little bit. Not like a Super Bowl team, but I like them. The defense is legit. Eric Bieniemy? I know it is preseason, but I like the way they have been running their offense. Obviously, you have Terry McLaurin; you have some decent skill position players. So I got them in third.”

Kevin Wildes: Eagles, Cowboys, Commanders, Giants

“Oh, look at that, Sam Howell sneaks (the Commanders) into the playoffs.”