Washington's supposedly upgraded offense is simply stuck originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
A plethora of problems on Washington’s offense, which were once again evident in Week 4’s matchup with Dallas, has made one thing clear: The Commanders aren’t running an NFL-level operation on that side of the ball.
The unit, which was supposed to be something between upgraded and transformed after the acquisition of Carson Wentz, drafting of Jahan Dotson, return of Curtis Samuel and contributions from holdovers like Terry McLaurin and Antonio Gibson, is instead resembling a high school-like attack.
Because of iffy-at-best and detrimental-at-worst quarterback play from Wentz as well as near-constant breakdowns from the offensive line — both of which were very evident in Sunday’s 25-10 loss to the Cowboys — Ron Rivera’s club is now 1-3.
Perhaps worse? They aren’t scaring anyone.
A second-straight respectable effort from Jack Del Rio’s defense was wasted at AT&T Stadium because Scott Turner’s group couldn’t sustain much at all when it was on the field.
Aside from a second-quarter drive that concluded with a Jahan Dotson touchdown, Washington sputtered through the afternoon with occasionally encouraging rushes, screens that picked up next to nothing and deeper dropbacks that ended in incompletions, knockdowns of Wentz, sacks of Wentz or, for added variety, intentional groundings from Wentz.
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The signal-caller’s numbers once the final whistle mercifully arrived: 24-41, 170 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions.
Now, much like last week versus the Eagles, the Commanders’ offensive line was largely bludgeoned. This, again, wasn’t all on Wentz.
And, fine, the context up front matters. In this NFC East tilt, the context is that there was a new center in the mix, a rotation at right guard after early struggles by Trai Turner and a couple of tackles who aren’t at full strength.
Regardless, what transpired in what was damn close to a must-win affair for the visitors can’t be excused or explained away. The film from this outing will divvy up the blame between Wentz, his O-line and his coordinator. However, no rewatch is needed to realize that the overall enterprise is flat-out broken.
In the 2022 opener, Washington racked up 28 points on four passing touchdowns to top the Jaguars. Dotson, McLaurin and Samuel all visited the end zone, Gibson and Logan Thomas chipped in and Wentz was, mostly, the capable leader in charge of the triumph.
Since then, the offense has completely, totally, bafflingly and sadly regressed. That’s why it feels necessary to issue a correction for an earlier statement.
This bunch is scaring a chunk of people, actually: Those who are associated with it, invested in it or care about it.
