Will Sunday’s 18-15 Washington Commanders win over Chicago go down as the day previous ghosts were exorcised?
The 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass from Jayden Daniels to Noah Brown after time expired was the first time Washington had won a game on a last-second touchdown since at least the 1970 merger, and was easily the most fantastic finish at the field formerly known as FedEx.
There’s the immediate and then the big picture to think of here: The win turns the Commanders from “having a surprising start” territory to “leading the division halfway through the year” land (even though eight games is now 47% of the schedule, 43 years of easy math dies hard).
And does this mark a turning point in the fortunes of a franchise that has dealt with disaster over the last three decades?
I can think of a handful of key play moments that seemed to mark turning points in team’s fortunes long-term, but all were in the playoffs: New England’s “Tuck Rule.” San Francisco’s “The Catch.” Pittsburgh’s “Immaculate Reception.”
Fantastic finishes in the regular season? I go to “The Miracle at the Meadowlands,” when the Eagles return of a Giants fumble sparked four-straight playoff appearances after Philly hadn’t made the postseason in 18 years.
But no matter where and when this season ends, what a gift the weekend before Halloween. A few more of the ghosts of FedEx Past are no more.
First Down: It wasn’t just the game-winning throw I would like to highlight, but the set-up passes that got them in position. Daniels found Zach Ertz for 11 yards and Terry McLaurin for 13, to make things a little bit more manageable.
And even though they allowed the go-ahead touchdown with under a minute to play in regulation, the defense held the Bears scoreless in the first half and recovered a fumble at the goal line. But a perfect ending does not make a perfect game and both units have plenty to clean up.
Washington left points on the board multiple times in the first half, settling for field goals. And the defense allowed the Bears multiple drives in the fourth quarter, where a stop was needed. A rough win like this is great for coaches because there will be plenty of film to chew as they try to make this team better for next Sunday.
Second Down: Washington owns the second-best record in the NFC behind Detroit. Man, the Lions look good — especially after blasting Tennessee 52-14. And if you think you have waited a long time for the Burgundy and Gold to return to its former glory days, Detroit’s coming out of a run through the wilderness that dates to the 1970’s.
Washington remains one-half game ahead of Philadelphia, whose rout of Cincinnati was necessary because of the Bengals all-white uniforms (let the record show if the Burgundy and Gold had worn burgundy and gold instead of black, they would have won by two touchdowns).
Dallas (3-4) continues to dip, while the New York Giants (2-6) are in last place after Monday night’s loss to Pittsburgh.
Washington plays all three of its divisional foes over the next four weeks (with the AFC North-leading Steelers thrown in for good measure). The NFC East may take on quite a different shape than the one we’re used to seeing Thanksgiving week by then.
Third Down: Washington moved the chains on 5 of 15 attempts, with 14 called passes and one run (a loss of five for Jayden Daniels). Daniels completed 3 of 10 third down passes for three conversions while getting sacked once, although he did scramble for the first down twice in three attempts.
His top option was Ertz, who caught one of his four targets while the most productive option was Terry McLaurin who caught two of three passes headed his way on third down.
Yardage breakdown: 1-5 on third and short, 2-5 when needing four to six yards, 2-5 on third and long. For comparison, the defense held Chicago to 2-12 on the money down-including a late first half sack that pushed the Bears out of field goal range.
Flag on the Play: Five accepted penalties on seven whistles against Washington, with five infractions on offense, one on defense, and one on special teams (delay of game in punt formation declined).
The one defensive flag was a big one: Pass interference on Brian St. Juste that set up the Bears go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. The accepted offensive penalties were two ineligible downfield passes (Nick Allegretti and Sam Cosmi) and two false starts (both on Trent Scott).
Cosmi’s penalty gives him a team-high five on the season, while the false start is the most popular infraction (13 through eight games).
Most costly penalties? The PI on St. Juste gave the Bears the ball at the Washington 1-yard line, while Scott’s fourth quarter false start pushed them back five yards before Tyler Seibert missed a 51-yard field goal.
Fourth Down: After getting the No. 1 or No. 2 team from CBS the past three weeks (the last two in the 4:05-4:25 p.m. window, it’s back to FOX and 1 p.m. kickoffs.
Chris Myers (No. 5 on the FOX roster) will be calling a Washington game for the third time this season, while Matt Sanchez (No. 3) will be in the booth to see the Burgundy and Gold for the first time this fall.
Life is strange when the CBS No. 1 team has called as many Washington games as the No. 5 guy on FOX.
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