We woke up at 9:30 a.m. for that? There wasn’t enough Zing Zang to make Sunday’s 16-13 Washington Commanders loss to the Miami Dolphins digestible.
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If the multiple missed field goals, fumbled fourth quarter punt or failed fourth and goal were not enough to deliver the Dolphins’ victory in Madrid, Marcus Mariota’s interception on the first play of overtime did the trick. For the first time in a while, we finally have something worth looking forward to: a weekend without the Commanders playing.
First down: Dan Quinn took over the defense this past week, and for the first time since week five the D showed some teeth by holding Miami to one touchdown while also making a stop on fourth and goal. What was Mike McDaniel doing there going for it with 1:44 left in regulation?
That made even less sense than Washington deciding to eschew a short field goal with 6:06 remaining. And about field goals: Will the bye week see some competition at kicker after Matt Gay missed field goals of 51 and 56 yards?
Second down: Philadelphia (9-2) is likely going to end a 20-year stretch of NFC East winners failing to repeat the following season, as the Eagles’ 16-9 Sunday night win over Detroit puts Philly four games ahead of Dallas before the Cowboys’ Monday Night Football game in Las Vegas.
The New York Giants (2-9) may have a new coach and were sporting the beautiful Lawrence Taylor uniforms, but still offer up the same disappointment in a come-from-ahead 27-20 loss to Green Bay.
Meanwhile, the biggest game of the day saw Denver defeat Kansas City 22-19, giving the Broncos the best record in the AFC (9-2) while dropping the Chiefs to 5-5, with all five losses coming in one-possession games.
The most intriguing game saw Buffalo beat Tampa Bay 44-32, delivering us a little Scorigami, as that’s the first time we’ve seen that final score in NFL history.
Third down: Washington moved the chains on 6-13 attempts, with seven called runs and six called passes. Marcus Mariota completed 3-4 passes for two conversions while taking a sack and scrambling for a first down. His four passes were thrown to four different receivers.
Chris Rodriguez Jr. was the top option on the ground, converting 2-4 third down carries. Mariota was held short of the marker on his planned run, Deebo Samuel ran for the first down out of the Wildcat formation and Jeremy McNichols had a seven-yard gain on a third and 15.
Yardage breakdown: 3-6 on short-yardage, 1-1 when needing four to six yards, 2-6 on third and long.
Flag on the play: Six accepted penalties on nine total flags (one was offsetting and two more were declined) with three false starts, giving the team 21 on the season. Javon Kinlaw was the only one to draw multiple flags (defensive holding, offsides) and his holding call was negated by a Miami hold.
The costliest penalty? Chris Rodriguez Jr.’s false start moved a fourth and two from the three back five yards and forced a field goal in a game that was tied after four quarters.
Fourth down: The NFL Network brought in FOX’s No. 4 team of Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma as that duo called consecutive Commanders games. I always find it interesting that the NFL Network will have Rich Eisen and Kurt Warner announce some of the international games, but not all of them. You may as well keep these guys over there, for heaven’s sake, or as the saying goes, “In for a cent, in for a Euro.”
As of Monday morning, there’s been no announcement of whether they’ll flex Washington’s Nov. 30 game with Denver out of prime time, but with a 3-8 team likely minus its most marketable and best player, there’s a good reason to bring the Burgundy and Gold back to the daylight hours.
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