Second-half observations from Commanders vs Patriots’ preseason finale

Some observations from the second half of Washington’s preseason finale against the Patriots.

The Washington Commanders wrapped up the preseason with a 20-10 victory over the New England Patriots. Here are some observations from Sunday’s second half of the Commanders’ final preseason game.

  1. A play that illustrates how hard it is to evaluate a wide receiver: Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint clearly had his corner defender beaten deep. However, Trace McSorley badly underthrew him, forcing him to slow down. The defender caught up to him, and the pass was incomplete. Had the pass been better thrown, it would have been a 40-yard gain for Rosemy-Jacksaint. Later, Rosemy-Jacksaint made an adjustment to make a nice catch on a pass underthrown by McSorely.
  2. I don’t know if Phidarian Mathis is going to make the squad. However, he just batted down his second pass of the second half. Is the last tackle spot a battle between Mathis and John Ridgeway?
  3. Running back, Michael Wiley took an inside run, bounced it outside, and then displayed the ability to stay in bounds while diving to the pylon. Excellent footwork by Wiley for the 9-yard touchdown.
  4. When I was ready to declare Colson Yankoff the fourth tight end, Cole Turner made a very nice catch with his arms extended. It was clearly Turner’s best catch of the preseason. I have no idea how coaches are evaluating this battle. Last week, I noticed Yankoff really hustling on special teams.
  5. Another area where this is so deceptive is that a decent quarterback would have had a touchdown on three opportunities on this fourth-quarter drive alone. Joe Milton has no sense of touch or how to pass, though he has a huge arm. The Patriots had people wide open for touchdowns three times in that drive, and Milton could not deliver. On the other hand, Commanders’ coaches saw how badly those plays were being defended.
  6. But 34 players did not dress for the Commanders tonight. Martavis Bryant exhibited his size on Sunday night, making contact on the goalline and catching a touchdown pass from McSorley. It’s been since 2018 since he played in an actual NFL game. I have no idea what coaches are thinking here, other than maybe how thin they think the receiver room might actually be?

Del Rio defends Commanders tackles Allen and Payne

Del Rio makes it clear: Allen and Payne are playing well.

Jack Del Rio took exception Thursday to two of his players being called out publicly this week.

ESPN’s Seth Walder this week had tweeted, stating that Commanders defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne are producing less pass rush in 2023 than in 2022.

Walder revealed some numbers to back his claim. Allen had ranked 9th and Payne 12th in 2022 in “pass rush win rate.”

He then conveyed that through ten games this season, Allen is now 26th and Payne 42nd out of 52 qualifying defensive tackles.

Consequently, when Del Rio was asked about this by the Washington media Thursday, he responded, “I don’t like to sit up here and grade for you guys. They’re two really good players, and they’re playing well.”

Then Del Rio was challenged when one asked where Allen and Payne were making their impact, despite their pass rush win rate” being down from last season.

Del Rio threw out his own challenge, “I’ll watch tape with you if you’d like. They’re pretty good players, and they’re having a good strong year for us.”

Later, Del Rio was asked about how defensive tackle John Ridgeway has played. “Ridge? I think Ridge has played very well the last few weeks in particular.”

Then came a question regarding rookie defensive end Andre Jones Jr. and his pass rush.

“He’s been very aware and has done a nice job with it. I’m looking forward to watching these guys play, and (DE) KJ (Henry) was so close to getting his first sack two weeks ago. As they get opportunities to play, they’re going to make plays, and it’s not all going to be good. But we ask them to go out and apply their technique, play hard, compete their butts off, and help us get the ball back for the offense.”

Back to Andre Jones, “I just think he’s worked hard all year. That’s the one thing I would say about him. He’s been very consistent in how he’s approached things. His role had become primarily a lot on special teams and a little on D, and that equation’s going to change a little bit. He is going to get a little more on D and probably a little less on special teams, but I like the way he’s working at it. He’s done a good job being conscientious, coming in and putting in the work every day.”