Commanders’ 7 most disappointing players in 2023

The Commanders are 4-9 and having a terrible season. Which players have been the most disappointing?

The Washington Commanders are off in Week 14. At 4-9, the Commanders have lost four games in a row and six of their last seven. Washington fired defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio after a 45-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, and we appear to be heading into the final four games of the Ron Rivera era.

The Commanders opened the season 2-0, but it’s been downhill ever since. While there were expectations that quarterback Sam Howell would have ups and downs in his first season as the starter, everyone expected Washington’s defense would keep them in games. Instead, Howell has shown more positives than negatives, but the defense — a consensus top-10 unit in 2022 — hasn’t been able to do anything right.

The offense has shown signs of progress under offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, but even that promise has tailed off recently. Washington has struggled along the offensive line, and the receivers have taken a step back in 2023.

It would be easy to name every Washington offensive lineman as its most disappointing player, but quite frankly, there wasn’t a lot expected from the group as a whole in 2023.

With the Commanders off in Week 14, we look at seven players who have been the most disappointing for a variety of reasons.

Ron Rivera acknowledges Terry McLaurin’s frustration with the offense

Rivera acknowledged he’s spoken with Terry McLaurin about his seemingly reduced role in Eric Bieniemy’s offense.

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera met with the media on Monday after Washington’s 45-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

While there isn’t much Rivera can say about the Commanders at this point, one topic of conversation Monday was the lack of production from the wide receivers.

Terry McLaurin was expected to have another big season under new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy in 2023. Jahan Dotson was a popular pick as one of the NFL’s breakout players. Yet, McLaurin doesn’t have one game with 100 receiving yards, and Dotson has just one.

In Sunday’s loss, McLaurin was held without a catch and had just three targets.

After the game, his frustration was apparent.

“I ran a lot of cardio,” McLaurin said. “It happens; it comes with it when it’s tough. Yeah, it’s frustrating, but I’m going to keep coming in and practicing and playing hard.”

On Monday, Rivera was asked if McLaurin had shared his thoughts on his lack of targets with him.

Rivera acknowledged that he had spoken with McLaurin.

“Yeah, I’ve talked with Terry before, and we’ve talked about those things, and I know he’s talked to Eric, and he’s gone in, and he and EB have good conversations from what I understand,” Rivera answered.

“That’s then to me that’s the way you handle it is you go in and you talk directly. I think that’s big of what he’s been doing. It’s been big of him to come in and fight the frustration and talk about it if that’s what needs to be.”

McLaurin has every reason to be frustrated. He didn’t suddenly forget how to get open. And the fact he and Dotson’s numbers are both down, says the problem is deeper than the pair just failing to get open consistently. It’s especially concerning considering Washington’s high-volume passing attack this season.

Does Bieniemy not do a good enough job of creating opportunities for McLaurin? Or does the blame lie with quarterback Sam Howell? Or is there some truth to McLaurin not creating enough separation?

All things could be true. Regardless, it speaks of larger problems for Washington’s struggling offense, which is an indictment of the coaching staff.

Commanders embarrassed and embarrassing

The Commanders were embarrassed by the Cowboys and, in the process, embarrassing for the fan base.

The Commanders were a 13.5-point underdog Thursday, and they didn’t disappoint the oddsmakers, but they sure did disappoint Washington fans, getting embarrassed 45-10.

The Commanders defense actually forced a punt on the Cowboys’ first possession. However, the Commanders then proceeded to surrender drives of 90, 75 and 75 yards.

Washington had their own 13-play 75-yard drive, culminating in Sam Howell’s one-yard touchdown run over right tackle, narrowing the Dallas lead to 14-10. Commanders fans were encouraged, the Commanders were back in this game.

Dallas then took the ball with 1:51 remaining in the first half and completely punctured any hope the Commanders fan base possessed. It was mystifying to watch how the Cowboys only needed a mere five plays to drive 75 yards for a wide-open touchdown pass to extend their lead to 20-10.

Watching those five plays raised questions of how much fight was in the Commanders’ defense. How much despising of losing really exists anymore? There was no resistance whatsoever on that drive!

The defense, for the most part, following the Sam Howell touchdown to make it 14-10 Dallas, simply couldn’t cover any eligible receiver and couldn’t get to Dak Prescott if their life depended upon it.

Offensively? It was good Howell targeted Terry McLaurin 11 times today. But only four times did the two actually connect on receptions. In the third quarter, still trailing 20-10, Washington drove 53 yards when Howell went for McLaurin on 3rd & 1, but the ball, which was a bit low, then appeared to go right through both of McLaurin’s hands.

On 4th & 1, Howell was again in the shotgun, and Brian Robinson was dropped for a 2-yard loss. Jahan Dotson was in motion and in the wrong place at the snap. Or perhaps the snap was early? I don’t know, but it looked horribly unprepared, even comical for fans of other teams.

At that point, Dallas took over the game completely. The Cowboys then scored on three consecutive possessions on drives of 49, 24 and 65 yards.

Things were extremely ugly by now. Then a pick-6 by Dallas defensive back DaRon Bland was returned 63 yards for a touchdown. Even worse, it was Bland’s fifth interception return for a touchdown this season, setting a new NFL record.

The Commanders were not only embarrassed Thursday by the Cowboys, they were embarrassing for their own fan base.

How to watch Commanders vs. Giants: Time, TV and streaming options for Week 11

All the info you need to watch or listen to the Commanders’ Week 11 game vs. the Giants.

The Washington Commanders (4-6) host the New York Giants (2-8) on Sunday in a rematch from Week 7. On that day, the Giants prevailed, winning 14-7 after Sam Howell’s pass to Jahan Dotson near the goal line on fourth down fell incomplete, giving the Commanders their second disappointing loss in three games.

Just like their first meeting, the Giants will have a new quarterback. In Week 7, veteran Tyrod Taylor started in place of injured starter Daniel Jones, passing for 279 yards and two touchdowns in the win. This week, undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito makes his second career start with Jones and Taylor injured.

For Washington, Howell has passed for over 1,000 yards with eight touchdowns in the three weeks since the last matchup.

Here is everything you need to know to watch, listen to, or stream the Week 11 battle between the Commanders and the Giants.

New York Giants at Washington Commanders — Nov. 19, 1:00 p.m. ET

TV channel: FOX

Commentators: Kenny Albert [play-by-play, Jonathan Vilma [analyst] and Shannon Spake [sideline]

Streaming: FuboTV (try it free)

Radio: BIG 100 (WBIG-FM); here is a list of affiliates. Sirius XM Radio.

Location: FedEx Field, Landover, Md.

Weather: 56 degrees, sunny, 7 MPH winds

Referee: Brad Allen, per Football Zebras

Odds: Commanders -9, O/U 38.5, per BetMGM

Final injury report

Opponent Wire site: Giants Wire

Giants vs. Commanders: 5 things to know about Week 11

The New York Giants and Washington Commanders square off on Sunday afternoon in Week 11, so here are five things fans should know.

New York Giants (2-8) travel down to the Nation’s capital this Sunday afternoon to face their long-time rivals, the Washington Commanders (4-6), at FedExField in Week 11 of the 2023 NFL season.

The game will be televised on FOX at 1:00 p.m. ET. The broadcast crew of Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma, and Shannon Spake (sideline) will provide the call.

Here are five things to know before Sunday’s kickoff.

How Sam Howell has transcended the Commanders’ offensive line

Sam Howell of the Commanders has transcended his leaky offensive line with stellar movement in and out of the pocket. Here’s how it’s happening.

Through the first month of the 2023 season, we had no idea what the Washington Commanders’ offense would look like with new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, because second-year quarterback Sam Howell, in his first season as a full-time starter, couldn’t stay off the ground.

In Weeks 1-5, per Pro Football Focus, Howell was pressured on 38.1% of his dropbacks, and he took a league-high 29 sacks in five games. He threw two touchdowns and four interceptions under pressure. 

In Weeks 6-9, Howell has been pressured on 36.2% of his dropbacks, and he’s been sacked just 14 times in four games. He’s thrown one touchdown and two interceptions under pressure, but he’s creating explosive passing plays under pressure all of a sudden. 

It’s not because Washington’s offensive line got any better; it’s because Howell has upped his game with knowing how to bail to throw – both with movement outside the pocket, and pocket movement inside the pocket. 

In late October, Howell talked about the pressure problem, and what he hoped to do about it.

“It’s one of those things where we want to… obviously the sack problem is definitely an issue and we want to try to avoid that and try to limit those numbers. But at the same time, I still want to go out there and play how I’m coached to play and still keep my eyes downfield and be able to locate those guys and not be too worried about the rush and let those guys up front do their job. There’s definitely a balance of trying to avoid sacks, but also trying to still play quarterback for sure.”

Now, Howell is doing both things at a higher level.

Pete Carroll, whose Seattle Seahawks face Howell’s Commanders at home this Sunday, clearly understands the challenge.

“He moves a lot,” Carroll said Wednesday of Howell. “They move him out of the pocket, so he can do all of that stuff. He’s not a runner but he scrambles; he’s got 157 yards and he’s got a five-yard average when he runs, but that’s not the feature part of it. He is in the mold of what Kansas City looked like; they’re using the quarterback in the same way. Everyone is familiar with seeing that and they’re counting on Sam to do his stuff. He’s a dropback guy, good rhythm, he’s strong and physical, and he can throw the ball all over the field. The main thing you can see with the young guy, the confidence that they have in him and how they’re calling their stuff. It’s impressive.”

Linebacker Bobby Wagner is also on the case.

“Teams have been able to get after [Howell] and been able to sack him a lot. For every sack or whatever, he’s able to escape some plays. There’s a play, he got a third-and-23 by using his legs. We need to be mindful and understand. They know that they’ve been getting pressured a lot, but he’s also getting comfortable with it and being able to trust his legs a little bit more and escape. We just need to be on our job and make the plays we’re supposed to make.”

Let’s start with the third-and-23 run Wagner mentioned; this was last Sunday against the New England Patriots. Given the situation, the Patriots were right to play with deep drops in coverage, but the pressure gave Howell an opening to run, and the void in the middle of the defense allowed him to gain 24 yards on the run to extend the drive.

Now, let’s get into two examples of Howell using pocket movement to beat pressure, starting with this 26-yard touchdown pass to Jamison Crowder against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8. Crowder ran an over route as the inside slot receiver in trips right, and Howell moved to his left as Josh Sweat and Milton Williams collapsed everything inside. Crowder ran through Philly’s Cover-4, but that would have not mattered had Howell not adjusted his launch point in a subtle way to extend the play. Then, it was up to Howell to make a ridiculous throw to Crowder over Reed Blankenship and James Bradberry, and Howell’s got the arm to do that. 

Then, there was this 24-yard completion to Jahan Dotson against the Patriots. Again, Howell faced pressure, and again, he moved subtly to extend the play. This time, edge-rusher Anfernee Jennings, end Deatrich Wise Jr., and DI Christian Barmore crashed the edge protections, overwhelming tackles Charles Leno and Andrew Wylie. Not a problem for Howell, who survived it by using that sense of pocket movement to make the outstanding throw.

And as he showed on this 22-yard completion to Terry McLaurin against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6, Howell is perfectly comfortable moving outside the pocket against pressure, and recovering from that to make another bang-on throw.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into how Howell’s adjustments to pressure have put the Commanders’ offense at a new level.

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You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” featuring all of Week 10’s biggest NFL matchups, right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

WATCH: Commanders QB Sam Howell’s 4 most improbable completions from Week 9

Sam Howell had some “improbable” completions last week. Check them out.

Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell seems to have a knack for making some of the NFL’s more “improbable” completions each week.

According to Next Gen Stats, Howell had several of these throws in Washington’s Week 9 win over the New England Patriots. Here are Howell’s four most improbable throws from Sunday’s game.

This is some high-level stuff from Howell. Each of these four throws displays something different from the second-year quarterback. On the completion to Brown, you see Howell making an accurate throw on the move.

The throw to Terry McLaurin on the sideline was a terrific route from the star wideout and an even better throw from Howell while he was drifting back and under pressure.

The touchdown to Jahan Dotson was a dime. He laid it out in front of Dotson where the defender couldn’t make a play on the ball, allowing Dotson to run under it for the catch. Just a terrific throw.

What’s incredible is that Next Gen Stats didn’t even give us the completion probability on the following throw:

That was one of those throws where you cover your eyes and hope for the best. Howell showed a little “Mahomes magic” on that one to Byron Pringle.

Fantasy football waiver wire: Week 10 free-agent forecast

Check out the top waiver wire targets for Week 10.

As we enter into the home stretch of the fantasy football season, managers are either looking to stay in the hunt or play spoiler for the rest of the league. Either way, the waiver wire is a vital part of the process.

There will be another four teams on a bye in Week 10 while another four will return from their week off.

Teams on a bye in Week 10 include the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles.

We’ll be taking a look at the top available players rostered in Yahoo leagues, using the 75% rostered mark as the threshold. If you have any questions about prioritizing a certain player over another, don’t be afraid to hit me up on X, formerly Twitter, (@KevinHickey11). Your questions and comments are always welcome!

We also will be taking a look at some deeper players to stash and the top streaming options for the upcoming week.

Commanders defeat Patriots 20-17: Everything we know

Everything we know from Washington’s win over New England.

The Washington Commanders (4-5) picked up their second victory since Week 2 on Sunday by holding on for a 20-17 win over the New England Patriots (2-7).

Washington controlled much of the game, but turnovers almost cost them a win. Leading 10-0 in the second quarter, running back Brian Robinson Jr. fumbled deep in Washington territory, giving the struggling Patriots life.

Three plays later, New England quarterback Mac Jones found tight end Hunter Henry for the touchdown, and it was 10-7.

The Commanders punted on the next series, which was followed up by a Rhamondre Stevenson 64-yard touchdown run, and suddenly, the Patriots held a 14-10 lead.

Washington quarterback Sam Howell led another impressive drive to give the Commanders a first-and-goal with 23 seconds remaining in the half. Howell rolled to his right and, instead of throwing it away, got greedy and was intercepted. New England ran out the clock.

Howell found Jahan Dotson for a 33-yard touchdown in the third quarter to tie things up, and kicker Joey Slye would give the Commanders the lead later in the quarter, which would prove to be all they needed for the win.

Here’s everything we know from the win.

Commanders defeat Patriots 20-17: Instant analysis from the win

The Commanders held on for a win over the Patriots that was much closer than it should have been.

The Washington Commanders, in their first game without edge rushers Montez Sweat and Chase Young, defeated the New England Patriots 20-17 to improve to 4-5 on the season.

Quarterback Sam Howell was mostly excellent, completing 29 of 45 passes for 325 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. We say mostly because of Howell’s interception to end the first half. After leading the Commanders on a terrific drive, Howell, on first-and-goal with 23 seconds remaining, is intercepted in the end zone by Patriots safety Kyle Dugger.

It was Washington’s second turnover in the first half, both of which were costly. The Commanders led 10-0 in the second quarter when running back Brian Robinson Jr. fumbled deep in Washington territory. The struggling Patriots offense made them pay when quarterback Mac Jones found tight end Hunter Henry for a touchdown three plays later, and suddenly, we had a game.

After a Washington punt, New England running back Rhamondre Stevenson took advantage of a defensive breakdown and scored on a 64-yard touchdown run.

The Commanders had dominated yet found themselves behind 14-10.

In the third quarter, after a Patriots’ field goal, Howell led a seven-play, 75-yard drive, finishing with this beautiful 33-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jahan Dotson.

Suddenly, it was a tie game again.

After another New England punt, the Commanders would drive down the field for a Joey Slye field goal, which would be the final points for the game.

The two teams traded punts over each of their next three possessions. The Patriots had one chance to tie the game and force overtime or win, and quarterback Mac Jones was intercepted by Washington rookie DB Quan Martin to seal the game for the Commanders.

It was an ugly win for Washington, which held the ball for over 37 minutes and finished with 432 yards of total offense.

Next up for the Commanders are the Seattle Seahawks on the road.