Commanders WR Jamison Crowder Shines for Second-Straight Week Off IR

The Washington Commanders brought Jamison Crowder off injured reserve and he's been shining ever since.

Dec 22, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Jamison Crowder (80) celebrates after catching the game winning touchdown pass against the Philadelphia Eagles in the final seconds during the fourth quarter at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

ASHBURN, Va. --The Washington Commanders needed someone to step up when receiver Noah Brown went down with a rib injury that turned into a kidney injury.

In his place, the Commanders have resorted to moving Terry McLaurin around more but have also gotten other receivers like Dyami Brown and Olamide Zaccheaus more involved in the offense.

One player, receiver Jamison Crowder, has not only gotten involved with Brown off the field but is also doing so by coming off injured reserve himself. With his second-straight key performance since returning, Crowder is our Washington player sustained for the second-straight week.

Dec 22, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Jamison Crowder (80) celebrates after catching the game winning touchdown pass against the Philadelphia Eagles in the final seconds during the fourth quarter at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

3 THINGS TO STASH FROM WEEK 16

VETERAN RISING

Crowder had three touchdown catches over the course of the last three seasons entering 2024 and had two in the last game he played for the Commanders alone.

The most clutch came at the end of the game when he brought in a touchdown pass from quarterback Jayden Daniels that won the contest for Washington over the hated Philadelphia Eagles.

It was a dramatic finish to an emotional game, and in his two games since coming off injured reserve (IR) Crowder has five catches - four on third downs, and the other that game-winner. So you could say his return has been important.

With the playoffs potentially on the line this Sunday night, look for the veteran and the rookie to connect on even more important passes in Week 17.

BIG BRAIN DEFENSIVE PLAY

Linebacker Frankie Luvu is known for his energy, his aggression, and the spark he can give to his team at any moment.

On Sunday, he flexed his football intelligence as well.

With the Eagles up by multiple scores and with the ball facing 2nd and 7 at their own 18 yard line, the Commanders dialed up a Cover-4 look agianst the offense's 11 personnel shotgun group.

At the snap, Philadelphia quarterback Kenny Pickett immediately reads the seam defenders and sees Frankie Luvu kick out with tight end Grant Calcaterra, who is releasing into the flat. What Pickett doesn’t see is cornerback Marshon Lattimore - who starts in off coverage as part of the quarters look - coming up to guard the flat so that safety Quan Martin can pick up receiver A.J. Brown heading up the seam for a hitch route at the sticks and Luvu can read Pickett to decide where his best move is to help defend the play.

With Pickett locked in on hitting Brown, Luvu comes off the flat route and into the throwing lane just as the quarterback is getting into his arm swing and ends up in perfect position to intercept the pass.

The play not only takes the ball away, but sets up the first score of the game for the Commanders.

NO PASSING FAD

Washington is a team that likes to take deep shots and Daniels has proven to be a quarterback capable of leading that type of approach.

However, it has not been one of the better teams in passing yards per game though the offense's passing yards per play ranking is in the top 10 of the NFL.

With the Commanders' rushing offense - outside of Daniels - struggling to establish its dominance over the past two weeks the team has had to rely on more of its passing attack, and the bell has been answered.

So far this season among NFL quarterbacks in the top 32 in pass attempts Daniels is fifth in completion percentage, 10th in touchdown passes, 14th lowest in interceptions and has the ninth-best passer rating.

He also ranks third in fourth-quarter comebacks and is sixth in orchestrating game-winning drives.

Not all of those relied only on the passing game, of course, but after throwing what could have been a game-losing interception against the Eagles, Daniels bounced back a game-clinching touchdown drive. This further demonstrates why Washington made the right decision in April when selecting rookie No. 2 overall in the NFL Draft.

Dec 15, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. (8) catches a pass an is tackled by New Orleans Saints safety Ugo Amadi (0) during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

3 THINGS TO TRASH FROM WEEK 16

ROBINSON STRUGGLES

Running back Brian Robinson Jr. has failed to average four yards per carry in back-to-back games and hit a low 2.4 yards per carry this past weekend against the Eagles.

Of course, Robinson isn't alone in the run-game operation so he shouldn't be alone when discussing what needs to get fixed. However, his two fumbles are squarely on his own shoulders, and is just part of what coach Dan Quinn says the team needs to get fixed to get its ground attack back on track.

“There's always two sides to the pancake and I think going in, we were certainly pleased against Tennessee would probably have been one of the better run fronts that we had played against. So to miss on some opportunities, we were bummed, no question about it, man, over the last two weeks it's really important to us," Quinn said. "We knew from Philadelphia there might be some runs that were not there to allow some play passes to go to get extended that way. But, uh, it is one of the areas that we got to dig in hard on, as we said, when we get to the truth, what's the ones to improve upon? Going into it. That's one of our areas for sure.” 

This week marked the fourth time this season Robinson was held under three yards per carry, a career high, and is something Washington needs to get fixed before even thinking about succeeding in the playoffs.

DELETE THE SCREEN

When it comes to screens and other throws behind the line of scrimmage, the Commanders just haven't been very good at it.

Through 16 weeks Daniels has thrown 20.1 percent of his passes behind the line of scrimmage which ranks fifth-most in the league behind other quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs.

When it comes to targeting receivers behind the line of scrimmage, however, things get dicey. Daniels has completed 49 passes to receivers behind the line of scrimmage this season, and while the team is seventh in yards gained while doing so, they're just 20th in yards per attempt.

That signals that the high ranking in yards produced this way isn't becuase of per-down success, but because of volume.

Daniels' passer rating in these scenarios ranks just 21st as well, showing that having the rookie throw passes behind the line of scrimmage to his receivers simply hasn't worked this year.

LOW HANGING FRUIT

Of the elements of team play we want to trash from Week 16, none stands out more than the five turnovers the Commanders' offense committed against the Eagles.

In the past 85 outings before this one, no team had won a game by turning the ball over that many times while allowing the other side to score over 30 points.

What happened this weekend was a true anomaly, and coach Quinn would likely like to see it never happen again.

---

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.

More Washington Commanders News

• Washington Commanders' Jayden Daniels Nominated For Awards After Win Over Eagles

• Commanders' Jayden Daniels 'Became A Heavy Hitter' In Comeback Win Over Eagles

• Best and Worst Graded Commanders Defensive Players vs. Eagles in Week 16

• Commanders Stun Eagles with Practice-Perfect Game-Winner