Tag: Kliff Kingsbury

Which Eagles’ defender ‘wrecked’ the Commanders in Week 11?

Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury shows respect to this Eagles’ defender.

Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury met with the media on Thursday to preview this Sunday’s rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The two NFC East rivals met just five weeks ago, with the Eagles coming away with a 26-18 victory. The Commanders actually led this game heading into the fourth quarter. But Philadelphia running back Saquon Barkley took over in the fourth quarter, rushing for two touchdowns and finishing with 198 yards of total offense.

In the first meeting, the Commanders, a top-five NFL offense all season, managed only 264 total yards against the top-ranked Philly defense. Kingsbury singled out one player from the Week 11 meeting who “wrecked” the Commanders.

“It starts, I think, with coach [Eagles DC Vic] Fangio, they’re very well coached,” Kingsbury said. “They don’t give up anything easy. You gotta defeat them, not a lot of big plays. And then creating havoc up front, 98 [Philadelphia Eagles DT Jalen Carter] is as good a player as there is in the NFL right now. He wrecked us the first game, and they have some really good rushers.”

Philadelphia has several talented defenders at every level of the defense. But Carter is unique. Carter, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, was widely considered the best player in his class, but an off-field incident dropped him, and the Eagles happily pounced.

Carter has 4.5 sacks this season, but his dominance doesn’t always appear on the stat sheet. His impact does, though, as Philly’s defense is ranked No. 1 in scoring defense, pass defense and total defense. The Eagles are ranked seventh against the run.

Kingsbury explained why the Eagles are so difficult to run against.

“The two guys inside there have done a great job of even if they empty the box out, really making the run game difficult,” he said. “Not many people have been able to establish it. Baltimore is one of the best teams and running the football and it was kind of tough sledding for them.”

Washington’s offensive line struggled with Philadelphia’s defensive line, specifically the interior five weeks ago. Kingsbury must have an answer for that front or it could be another long day for the Commanders on offense.

 

 

Kliff Kingsbury takes blame for offensive woes vs. Eagles in Week 11

Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury explains what went wrong vs. Eagles in Week 16.

The Washington Commanders were flying high ahead of their Week 11 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday Night Football. At 7-3, the Commanders had led the NFC East through nine weeks but trailed the Eagles by a half-game before Week 11.

Washington had won seven of its last eight games before Week 11, with rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels leading the way.

Things started well for the Commanders that day, as Daniels led Washington on a four-play, 58-yard drive on their second drive of the game to take an early 7-0 lead. However, the offense would stall against Philly’s top-ranked defense but still managed a 10-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter, thanks to a terrific defensive effort.

For whatever reason, Washington’s offense wasn’t up to the task of pulling off the road upset. The Eagles pulled away for a 26-18 win, and Philadelphia outscored Washington 20-8 in the fourth quarter.

The Commanders’ second and final touchdown came on their final drive when Daniels found tight end Zach Ertz with less than a minute remaining. It was a 15-play, 70-yard drive.

Washington finished the game with 264 total yards. Almost half of those yards came on the two touchdown drives early in the game and at the end. So, in between those two drives, the Commanders managed only 136 total yards.

What went wrong?

Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury discussed that first meeting, taking the blame for offensive struggles.

“I think the ability to learn from what we did the first time we played,” Kingsbury said. “I’m on a short week. I mentioned this before, but I had way too much in, and I felt like we played tentative. I didn’t call a very good game. So, now I have the full week process and just see how they played this the first time, try to make the proper adjustments and then see how far we’ve come since then.”

That’s not an excuse from Kingsbury; it’s a reality. Thursday night games are difficult for everyone, which is why we see so many sloppy games. Remember, Washington was coming off a close, physical battle with the Steelers on Sunday. Pittsburgh, like Philadelphia, had one of the NFL’s top defenses.

Something else Kingsbury didn’t mention was Daniels’s health. The rookie passer injured his ribs in a Week 7 win over the Panthers, and the injury lingered for weeks. Daniels has looked more explosive over Washington’s last two games, which is a good sign heading into Sunday.

Unfortunately, the Commanders are more short-handed on offense, with running back Austin Ekeler and Noah Brown on injured reserve. Also, Ertz is in the NFL’s concussion protocol and his status for Week 16 is uncertain.

Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury feared ‘voodoo’ with clock stoppage

Kliff Kingsbury’s hilarious reaction to the officiating mistake in last week’s Washington win.

Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was shocked his team came away victorious in last week’s 20-19 win over the New Orleans Saints.

No, Kingsbury isn’t shocked the Commanders did enough to win. He was shocked Washington came out with the win after the officials mysteriously stopped the clock with under 10 seconds remaining, giving the Saints one more play. New Orleans would score a touchdown on the following play, go for the two-point conversion, and win. However, the pass fell incomplete, and the Commanders escaped with a much-needed win.

Kingsbury discussed the clock stoppage when he met with reporters Thursday.

“I was just watching; I’m like, it looked like he waved to stop it, and I was like, it shouldn’t be stopped,” Kingsbury said. “And then I looked, and it was stopped, and I lived down there for a year, so I know all the voodoo s–t. And so, I was just like, here we go again. So, I was actually shocked we won that game. I’ve lived this before, but yeah, I just waved. I’m like, why would he stop it? And then it actually stopped, and so luckily we’re able to get that win.”

Kingsbury played for the Saints back in 2004.

That’s a hilarious way to describe those events. The officials’ call was unanimously lousy, and even the head referee acknowledged it was a mistake after the game. Of course, the NFL had no further comments regarding the matter this week. 

The Commanders have moved past it and can laugh about it now, but things would certainly be different if the Saints had converted on the two-point play.

Commanders WR K.J. Osborn ready to help immediately

K.J. Osborn immediately jumped in and is ready to help the Commanders.

Commanders’ new addition, wide receiver K.J. Osborn, has arrived and has hit the playbook.

WUSA9 in Washington reported that Osborn communicated he was picked up by the Commanders Wednesday afternoon, caught a flight Wednesday night, arrived around midnight, and was up by 5 a.m., getting to work on his Commanders’ playbook.

Catching only seven passes and one touchdown with the Patriots, who are 3-10, Osborn has a very upbeat attitude after being signed by the Commanders, who are 8-5 and in the seventh-seed NFC Playoff position.

Osborn was at the Commanders’ Ashburn facility for Thursday’s practice. “It’s different. I mean, I think it’s up to me right now to get to learning the playbook, to catch up to these guys. They have put in a lot of work, going back all the way to OTAs. This group has been together.”

Acknowledging that he must take responsibility for working hard and learning the playbook, Osborn believes that current Commanders will accept him if they see his hard work and preparation. He talked of how he needs to be “putting my head down and grinding.”

Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who no doubt misses Noah Brown and Austin Ekeler in his offensive schemes, believes in Osborn.

“He’s a guy who can play inside, outside and give you a lot, and so we got to see how he fits in with us and try to get him up to speed.”

Seeing Brown was in some categories either the second or third leading receiver for the Commanders this season, another injury could make this an urgent situation. Kingsbury added, “From what I’ve seen on tape, he’s definitely a guy that we can use.”

Brown suffered an internal injury, reported to be a kidney injury, against the Titans as the Commanders rolled to a 42-19 victory, raising their record to 8-5 and also snapping their three-game losing streak.

The Texans actually released Brown on the final roster cutdowns to a 53-man roster. The Commanders grabbed Brown quickly, and he made a significant contribution to the Commanders this season.

 

Where does Commanders’ Kliff Kingsbury rank among 2025 head coaching candidates?

Where does Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury rank among 2025 coaching candidates?

There was no hotter assistant coach in the NFL through the first half of this season than Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. Kingsbury helped rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels take the NFL by storm, while Washington’s offense looked unbeatable.

That immediately led to questions about whether Kingsbury would return to Washington in 2025 or receive a second chance to become an NFL head coach. Kingsbury was Arizona’s head coach from 2019 to 22 but was fired after finishing with a 28-37-1 record.

Unfortunately for Washington, the offense struggled at times during a three-game losing streak. This immediately led to talk about the “Kliff Cliff.” The “Kliff Cliff” is supposedly where Kingsbury’s offenses struggle during the second half of the season. However, the research fails to provide proper context for these struggles, such as poor defensive play, college scheduling, and injuries. 

Kingsbury and head coach Dan Quinn dismissed the notion. Former NFL MVP Matt Ryan was adamant that the so-called “Kliff Cliff” was not real. 

So, despite Washington’s recent struggles — the Commanders did get back on track with almost 500 yards of offense in a 42-19 win over Tennessee last week — is Kingsbury still a viable head coaching candidate in 2025?

Dan Graziano of ESPN recently ranked the top 10 coaching candidates for the 2025 carousel. Graziano ranked Kingsbury No. 9. Ben Johnson, Mike Vrabel and Bill Belichick topped the list.

The Bears have an opening. Kingsbury has a good relationship with their rookie quarterback, Caleb Williams. Could Chicago target Kingsbury as Matt Eberflus’ replacement? Don’t bet on it. There’s no way the Bears will allow Williams, who has struggled this season, to pick the next head coach. Also, Chicago interviewed Kingsbury to be the offensive coordinator last offseason and went with Shane Waldron, who was fired weeks ago.

So, yes, Kingsbury is a head coaching candidate, but it’s hard to see a more perfect match than Chicago, and that seems unlikely.

Also, what if Kingsbury wants to stay in Washington for a while and continue working with Daniels? That could help bolster his candidacy in future seasons.

It remains to be seen how many coaching vacancies there will be in 2025. The more that open, the better Kingsbury’s chances. As of now, he doesn’t appear to be at the top of anyone’s list. But remember, it only takes one team.

Former NFL MVP: The Commanders are not on the ‘Kliff Cliff’

Some terrific analysis from a former NFL MVP on Kingsbury, Daniels and the Commanders.

Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has been scrutinized in recent weeks. With Washington’s offense struggling over the past couple of weeks, the “Kliff Cliff” talk made its way back into the news.

What is the “Kliff Cliff?” It’s an unofficial term used to describe how Kingsbury’s offenses struggle in the second half of seasons, from his days as head coach at Texas Tech and during his four seasons as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.

While the stats show some decline, it’s far from an accurate comparison and lacks context. It doesn’t consider college scheduling, which is notoriously weak early in the season, bad defenses, and injuries.

It’s essentially a talking point for many who seem to have an axe to grind with Kingsbury. Those who discuss the “Kliff Cliff” refuse to acknowledge that context exists.

One former NFL quarterback doesn’t believe in the “Kliff Cliff” or that the Commanders are on that proverbial decline.

“I’ve been hearing this narrative all week about the Kliff Kingsbury Cliff,” CBS Sports analyst and former NFL MVP Matt Ryan said on Sunday.

“This narrative of Jayden Daniels hitting the rookie wall. I do not see it. When I watch, I think Kliff Kingsbury is doing an excellent job with Jayden Daniels. One of the things I want to see with a young quarterback is use tempo. Forty-five of their 67 snaps last week were no-huddle. The other thing I like, get him involved in the run game early. Two designed quarterback runs in the first seven plays. Then, take a little bit of pressure off of him. Use some gadgets, on the ninth play of the game, they go with a reverse and it’s a gain of 20-plus yards. I think Kliff Kingsbury has done an excellent job.”

Then, Ryan accurately describes the situation better than anyone.

“The No. 1 factor here, though, is that they’ve exceeded expectations,” Ryan said. “They came into the season; I think nobody thought they’d be in the position. But he has helped put them there. I look at the six first-round picks that the Commanders had prior to Jayden Daniels; not one of them is on their roster. The issue with this team is a lack of depth, and it’s a lack of depth because of the people that were in that building before the guys that are there now. I think they are a year or two away, but I think this guy right here, Jayden Daniels, and this coaching staff has gotten it right.”

This is an excellent analysis from someone who has been in Daniels’ shoes and played for Dan Quinn. Ryan was one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks in the 2010s, and his analysis is much more accurate than someone who has a spreadsheet, an X account, and throws darts at Kingsbury’s picture.

What Jayden Daniels, Kliff Kingsbury said about targeting Terry McLaurin

It’s clear: Terry McLaurin needs the football more.

Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin is off to the best start of his NFL career. A young franchise quarterback (Jayden Daniels) and a creative offensive coordinator (Kliff Kingsbury) have done wonders for McLaurin.

McLaurin has already tied a career-high with seven touchdown receptions and the Commanders have five games left to play.

However, one problem from the past seems to be coming back. Washington hasn’t targeted McLaurin enough, especially earlier in games. The Commanders’ offense operates at a much higher level when McLaurin is involved.

McLaurin is fourth in the NFL in receiving yards. Yet, 27 players have more targets than McLaurin. Over the last four games, Noah Brown, Zach Ertz and Austin Ekeler each have more targets than McLaurin for the Commanders.

That needs to change.

Daniels and Kingsbury understand McLaurin’s importance to the offense.

“I mean, I want to get the guys the ball as much as possible,” Daniels said. “Terry’s a dynamic player, but the defense dictates where the football goes. So, I gotta go out there and do my job.”

Daniels is right. The lack of a surefire No. 2 receiver continues to plague Washington. While Noah and Dyami Brown, rookie Luke McCaffrey and Olamide Zaccheaus are nice offensive pieces, none demand the type of coverage to force defenses to stop double-teaming McLaurin.

“I mean, it’s a fine line,” Daniels reiterated about the balance of forcing the ball to McLaurin or taking what the defense gives him. “If they give me an opportunity, we take it, but if not, we don’t want to put the ball in harm’s way for the defense to be able to make plays on it.”

Kingsbury didn’t dive deep into the subject but made it clear that McLaurin needs the ball more.

“Terry’s the guy we have to get the ball to more, get more targets to throughout the game,” Kingsbury said. “There’s no doubt about that.”

The Commanders are trying to snap a three-game losing streak and face an excellent Tennessee Titans defense on Sunday. Will Kingsbury make it a point to get McLaurin involved early?

 

Jay Gruden examines what’s happened to the Commanders’ offense

The former Washington coach with some excellent analysis on the Commanders’ recent offensive woes.

Jay Gruden said the Commanders didn’t take advantage of their opportunities and, as a result, lost to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at Northwest Stadium.

The former Redskins head coach went back and watched the game a second time in preparation for his Monday appearance on the Grant & Danny Show (106.7 the Fan). Gruden said he is convinced that in the first three quarters, the Commanders had their chances to take control of the game and simply didn’t do it.

“The last few minutes was pretty chaotic on both sides of the ball, but the first three quarters, I think was just a matter of taking advantage of great opportunities, and Washington didn’t do it,” Gruden said via Lou DiPietro of Audacy. 

“They had great field position, opportunities to really jump out on them early and put your foot down and show who’s a better team, and they didn’t do it. They just let Dallas hang around and hang around.”

Gruden was the head coach in Washington for the 2014-2019 regular seasons, and the offensive coordinator for the Benglas (2011-2013) and Jaguars (2020).

“Third downs are bad; they’re 12-for-38 in their last three games, 10 sacks, and time of possession. They’re averaging 24 minutes per game in the last- three games,” Gruden said. “A lot of that has to do with the ability to keep the ball, and they’re not staying on the field on third down. There’s a lot of reasons for it – sometimes it’s pressure related, sometimes Jayden misses a throw or there’s no throw to be had – so there’s a lot of things they can clean up, but the most important thing is they got to do a better job on third down.”

Having been a Division 1 starting quarterback at Louisville and working with NFL quarterbacks for a decade, Gruden is not simplistic. He knows there are various reasons why the Commanders’ offense is struggling.

“A lot of times it’s hard to get off your No. 1 target when feel pressure inside, and you gotta get rid of the ball,” Gruden said. “It’s just hard to point your finger at one thing. Sometimes it’s pressure, sometimes he feels like the guy is open and the defensive back makes a good play, but it’s easy to hold the film on pause, and then when the ball’s gone, let it play again and see somebody come wide open, and say you should have held the ball and thrown it to this guy. That’s not always the case when you have the ball in your hand,d and you’re playing quarterback.”

Jay, unlike his brother Jon, is not overly critical. He exhibits much more empathy and is much more understanding of the pressures of a rookie quarterback.

“There are times I agree he could have maybe held the ball a little bit longer, but that’s easier said than done for a young quarterback.”

Commanders Quinn not buying the narrative about Kingsbury offenses

What Dan Quinn said about the narrative regarding Kliff Kingsbury.

Three weeks ago, the Commanders were 7-2 and were considered one of the best offenses in the NFL.

Three consecutive losses later, the offense is not the only thing struggling; however, fans and local media often want to discuss the offense in general and, in this case, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury in particular.

So it wasn’t all that surprising when Dan Quinn was asked Monday about Kingsbury and his offenses regressing in the second half of the year. What was surprising was that Quinn was even asked if he had given it thought to before hiring Kingsbury.

“Sure, I probably don’t give it as much, and here’s why,” Quinn said. “You’re talking about a different program with different people and different players. And so, I think going into it, and you’re putting in a system together, you want to make sure that you’re featuring the players and the things that they do best and all of that. And so I think Kliff’s done a good job of that, although they’re peaks and valleys and any season that’s going to go. I don’t have a sense of what somebody did you know well before, because the system that was in place there is not the same exact carbon copy as the one here.”

I don’t have much doubt that there will be those who interpret Quinn’s reply as a knee-jerk cop-out, avoiding the subject.

However, there is truth in what Quinn is saying: There is turnover most years on most rosters in the NFL.

Consider Kingsbury, who was the Arizona Cardinals head coach during the 2019-2022 seasons. His first season saw Larry Fitzgerald as his leading receiver, but Fitzgerald retired following the 2020 season. DeAndre Hopkins became the Cardinals’ leading receiver in 2021, but Christian Kirk took over that role in Kingsbury’s last season in Arizona.

Kenyan Drake led the Cardinals in rushing in 2019 and 2020, and James Conner has taken over that rule in recent seasons.

Kyler Murray replaced Josh Rosen from 2018, who had replaced Carson Palmer as the Cardinals’ signal caller.

Whether Kingsbury’s offenses have taken this huge dive downward regressing in the second half would require a deeper dive in research.

The Commanders’ offense first slowed down during the Bears game. Washington could only generate 12 points throughout the game until the ‘Hail Mary’ provided six points on the game’s final play.

But the defense may be just as big a story as the offense. In the last four games, the defense has given up 22 points (Giants), 28 (Steelers), 26 (Eagles), and 34 (Cowboys).

But are we even sure about those numbers? On Sunday, Dallas returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. How is that the defense’s fault?

Of course, many years ago, it was proven that the best defense is a good offense, and the best offense is a good defense.

So, it will take a deeper dive to uncover some real data on the Kingsbury offenses’ continually declining and regressing performance in the second half of seasons.

 

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones sings praises of Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury

Does Jerry Jones have his eye on Kliff Kingsbury?

Does Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones already have his eyes set on his next head coach?

In his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas this week, Jones discussed the Cowboys’ Week 12 opponent, the Washington Commanders. Washington has a new head coach, Dan Quinn, who Jones knows all too well. Quinn spent the past three seasons in Dallas, leading the Cowboys to top-five defensive finishes each season.

Jones is aware of the Commanders’ impressive turnaround and offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury’s role in that turnaround. While Washington finally found a franchise quarterback (Jayden Daniels), Kingsbury has played a pivotal role in his early development.

“Well, Kliff is one of those guys that, if you don’t play him regularly, he’s a tough draw because he’s going to come out of there with some stuff that you might not — it’s a little unconventional,” Jones said via the Dallas Morning News.

Jones then praised Kingsbury — the Texas native and former Texas Tech head coach — further.

“I think a lot of him, he’s a friend,” Jones said of Kingsbury. “I think he’s done an outstanding job every place he’s been. I really think a lot of him and I think that he was ideal in working with the young quarterback. I say that because of all the great quarterbacks that he’s coached, go back [Patrick] Mahomes, you name them. So, yeah, that was a that was a very, very good move for Dan to get Kliff for his [offensive] coordinator.”

There’s a growing belief that Jones will move on from head coach Mike McCarthy. Despite a 45-31 record with the Cowboys, Dallas has failed to have playoff success.

Could he take Kingsbury away from Quinn? Jones doesn’t praise others unless he means it. He’s been watching Kingsbury for a long time. The Commanders would love to keep Kingsbury with Jayden Daniels, but another head coaching opportunity, especially one in his home state, may be too difficult for Kingsbury to pass up.

Washington hosts Dallas on Sunday in the first two meetings this season.