The Washington Commanders’ December of discontent has officially arrived: their 31-0 loss at Minnesota officially eliminates the Burgundy and Gold from playoff contention. Washington is one of four teams arriving at the island of misfits this week (along with Atlanta, Cleveland, and the New York Jets).
They’re the only one of the nine teams eliminated at this time to have made the playoffs last year, and the franchise streak of nonconsecutive playoff appearances still stretches back into the early 1990s.
First down: Even though they allowed the Vikings a touchdown on their first possession, the Commanders were in position to tie things up on their initial drive and faced a second and goal at the Minnesota 2-yard-line.
Instead of sticking with the ground game that had gained 31 yards on four carries (plus an 8-yard gain called back because of a hold) they threw three straight incomplete passes, and the Vikings took advantage by driving 98 heartbreaking yards on 19 soul-sucking plays (including 5-5 on third down) over 12:01 minutes to take a 14-0 lead that somehow felt insurmountable.
Second down: Jayden Daniels reinjured his left elbow in the loss, and he wasn’t the only quarterback making an exit on Sunday. Indianapolis starter Daniel Jones appears to be done for the season with a torn Achilles and that puts the Colts’ playoff hopes on the ropes as Indy has lost four of five to slide back in the standings.
Meanwhile, two perennial playoff contenders find their postseason hopes hurting as Baltimore and Kansas City find themselves on the wrong side of .500 after Sunday losses dropped both teams to 6-7.
Third down: Washington moved the chains on 3-10 attempts, with Jayden Daniels completing 2-5 passes for two conversions, while two of his three scrambles resulted in a first down. Marcus Mariota was sacked while his scramble came up short of the marker.
No receiver had more than one pass thrown his way on third down, with Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel each making receptions that moved the chains. The Commanders did benefit from a pair of penalties that turned third downs into first downs in the third quarter.
Yardage breakdown: 1-3 on third and short, 1-4 when needing four to six yards, 1-3 on third and long.
Flag on the play: Washington was penalized four times (two other flags were offsetting) for 34 yards, with one on offense (holding), two on defense (holding and roughing the passer) and one on special teams (holding).
There were no repeat offenders this week but the two special teams/offensive holds give the team 14 of those penalties, which is second most to the 23 false starts this year. None of the penalties were game-changing.
Fourth down: The Commanders had FOX’s No. 3 team of Adam Amin and Drew Brees calling the carnage, and there’s a decent chance they get the pair again next weekend when Washington faces the New York Giants.
Both networks have doubleheaders and the FOX batch is lacking outside of Lions vs. Rams in the 4:25 p.m. window, meaning that Joe Davis and Greg Olsen will draw the top game at 1 p.m. — that’s either Eagles vs. Raiders, Browns vs. Bears or Commanders vs. Giants.
And as bad as the Commanders and Giants are, New York and D.C. remain major markets.
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