Two encouraging parts of Commanders' discouraging win vs. Bears originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Fear not, Commanders fans: The NFL did in fact reward Washington with a victory following the club’s visit to Chicago. The result of the Thursday night game that was aired on Amazon can’t be shipped back or returned for something else, meaning the squad is now 2-4.
And yes, there actually were parts from the team’s win that were promising.
The 2-for-11 performance on third down was miserable. The seven penalties — including two for having 12 men on the field, one of which still ended in a Bears touchdown — were maddening. Carson Wentz throwing for 99 yards on 22 attempts was more evidence that he’s not worth keeping in 2023.
Those aspects of the matchup — plus Chicago’s Buffalo wing orange uniforms — are not what this story’s about, even though they all matter and (minus the saucy-but-not-saucy-in-that-way jerseys) speak to why Ron Rivera’s outfit probably isn’t going to be a factor for much longer.
Instead, this piece exists to highlight the rushing attack, particularly in the third and fourth quarters, as well as the pass rush.
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After 30 minutes of the Week 6 meeting at Solider Field, the Commanders had tallied 44 rushing yards on 10 tries. Brian Robinson Jr. logged seven carries for 19 yards, J.D. McKissic picked up 20 on his two handoffs and Terry McLaurin contributed five on a sweep play.
On its second possession following the break, Washington turned to Antonio Gibson, who ceded the starting gig to Robinson on Thursday. Gibson sure ran like a top option, though, during the 13-play, 65-yard march that ended in a field goal, as he converted his three totes into gains of 18, 3 and 9 yards. He also chipped in with two receptions for 13 yards.
Gibson being inserted into the rotation appeared to have quite an effect on Robinson, too. Upon coming out of the locker room, he was able to churn up 41 yards on his 10 attempts.
Understandably, Rivera would prefer for that approach to continue in future outings.
“I’d like to see the mix that we used in the second half,” Rivera said in a Friday presser. “We got a little bit away from Antonio, and that’s something that I’m going to put on us coaches. … When we brought Antonio in on the second series of the second half, we saw a change-of-pace guy come in and how that became a couple of explosives.”
To Rivera, the different styles of his two primary backs can combine into one effective method for moving the ball.
“That’s where we’ve got to get to,” Rivera said. “All of the sudden they go from getting this guy between the tackles to now getting this guy off tackle, we’re getting this guy around the end, we’re getting this guy into the routes, then you come back and pound it a little more, and now all of a sudden it’s a little softer.”
What wasn’t soft, meanwhile, were the types of hits the Commanders’ defensive line were delivering to the body of Justin Fields.
On the Bears’ fifth snap of the evening, Efe Obada tracked down Fields for a sack. Fields would ultimately be dropped behind the line of scrimmage on four other occasions and was also popped aplenty on non-sacks.
Overall, Washington’s defense has registered 19 sacks through six games, a number that’s already halfway to the 38 the unit generated for all of 2021. During his Friday session with reporters, Rivera referenced a stat that lauds the line for creating the most pressure in the sport without blitzing.
“This is the kind of stuff that I want our guys to be praised for, I want our guys to understand that this is cool,” Rivera said, noting that Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne especially are stepping up.
Few, if any, fans will give much credence to a diverse running offense and an at-last menacing front four considering how mediocre (is that too complimentary?) Wentz is or how many explosive sequences the defense insists on allowing or how Rivera remains incapable of instilling into his players the importance of vital details. Nor should they, really.
But at least there are a pair of positives to monitor in the future, beginning next Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. For a bunch that can’t fully grasp how many guys are supposed to be in the huddle for a given rep, that’ll have to do.
