Washington Commanders Notebook: 3 Takeaways From Deflating Loss vs. New York Giants
It was as ugly as ugly could get, and to make matters worse for the Washington Commanders, they were on the wrong side of the ugliness in a 14-7 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Sam Howell was running for his life the entire first half and couldn't capitalize on multiple red-zone opportunities in the second half. The offensive line resembled that of a turnstile. It was a bad performance in a must-win game for Washington with a brutal schedule on the horizon.
Here are three takeaways from Washington's loss to its NFC East rival ...
Defense shows up too little too late:
The Commanders' defense put together a second straight solid outing in the loss. They had four sacks and defensive end Chase Young led the way with two for the first multi-sack game of his career. They also had a pivotal turnover when Daron Payne stripped Saquon Barkley inside the 10-yard line to keep it a one-possession game.
Despite the good performance, the Commanders' defense struggled to stop the explosive plays in the first half. New York, who only had six plays of at least 20 yards through six games and was playing a backup quarterback and missing its starting offensive tackles and center, had seven against the Commanders. Big plays also led to a 15-yard touchdown from Tyrod Taylor to Darren Waller and a 32-yard passing touchdown to Saquon Barkley in the second quarter. In the second half, the Giants only marched into Commanders territory once.
Holding a team to 14 points should be enough if it weren't for an inept offense (we'll get to that in a second), but if the defense was able to string together a solid second quarter, maybe Washington wouldn't have had to dig itself out of a two-touchdown hole in the second half.
Sam Howell and the offensive line were putrid:
Anytime you're being compared to David Carr in his rookie season, it's not a good thing.
Unfortunately for Howell, the parallels are staggering as he continues to find himself under duress thanks to an abysmal offensive line. It was as bad as the stat line looks. Howell was sacked six times and completed 22 of 42 passes for 249 yards and an interception. The Giants didn't has six sacks all season before playing the Commanders.
Howell has been sacked at least four times in each of Washington's seven games. The last time that happened was in Carr's rookie season with the Houston Texans, who were in their first season as an expansion team in 2002. In total, Howell has been sacked 40 times through seven games this season.
Sam Howell has been sacked 40 times this season.
© Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Outside of capitalizing on a muffed punt from Sterling Shepard, with a Brian Robinson four-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter, the Commanders didn't find the end zone. Even in times when they appeared to be building momentum, multiple false starts effectively doused it.
If there aren't any changes to the offensive line by next Sunday, things may get even worse and Howell will be the one who suffers because of it.
Ron Rivera's seat gets hotter:
This was a must-win for the Commanders and they fell short. That falls on Ron Rivera and this isn't the first time the team hasn't played its best when it matters most throughout his four-year run as the head coach, let alone this season.
Whether it was the untimely penalties or Daron Payne not understanding how the play clock works with an injured player at the very end of the game, it was a complete letdown.
Now they're 3-4 and have Philadelphia Eagles next week and teams like the Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers and two games against the Dallas Cowboys on the horizon. If Washington is going to struggle against the Giants and Chicago Bears, it's tough to imagine they'll fare well against those teams.
With no ties to new ownership, Rivera was already on shakey ground. If the team continues to play like they did on Sunday, Josh Harris will have no choice but to clean house and Rivera may be the first one out the door.
