The rally from a 28-7 deficit came up short but was impressive enough to raise more questions about the team’s future as it dropped to 4-10 and was officially eliminated from playoff contention.
What now for Howell, the young quarterback Coach Ron Rivera has stood staunchly behind throughout the season? Rivera assured he remains the starter, even though the offense was inept much of the game. And what about the injuries that cropped up in the loss? Defensive tackle John Ridgeway suffered a foot injury in warmups but played through it; left tackle Charles Leno Jr. (calf), center Tyler Larsen (knee) and running back Jonathan Williams (concussion) were ruled out early; and punter Tress Way was nearly taken out while scrambling to recover a botched snap.
More significant: What is actually salvageable from Sunday’s loss — and for this team after its fifth consecutive defeat? Here are three thoughts:
The defense is still a mess.
Washington’s defense remains confounding. On Sunday, it gave up nine explosive plays (defined as runs of at least 12 yards or passes of at least 16 yards), including a 62-yard touchdown reception by wide receiver Cooper Kupp, and it allowed the Rams to collect 445 yards. Washington has given up more than 400 yards to four of its past five opponents and has allowed a 53 percent or better conversion rate on third down in each of its past three games.
In the first half Sunday, the Commanders held the Rams to one touchdown on three trips to the red zone and forced two fumbles. Yet they let the Rams convert 7 of 9 third-down attempts in that span. So while they stepped up late in drives, they were a mess early.
The issue continued into the third quarter, when Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford capitalized on a busted coverage for the long touchdown to Kupp only 53 seconds into the half.
Taking a page from the Miami Dolphins, who put Tyreek Hill in motion before sending him outside for a touchdown in Week 13, Stafford went deep to Kupp after he crossed the formation and ran a go route down the sideline. Cornerback Benjamin St-Juste shifted inside on wide receiver Demarcus Robinson, and safety Kam Curl hung back, perhaps thinking he had help over the top — but deep safety Percy Butler had moved inside and was in no position to sprint back to the outside and cover Kupp. As the Rams (7-7) celebrated, Butler stood at the goal line with his arms raised as if to say, “What just happened?”
“We just have to switch the receivers, so it was kind of like a miscommunication,” St-Juste explained. “We have two different ways of playing it, and we couldn’t get on the same page at that time. Those types of plays, we just have to completely eliminate those.”
Washington’s secondary cleaned up its play from there, allowing the Rams to convert just 2 of 7 third-down attempts in the half. St-Juste and fellow cornerback Kendall Fuller said that improvement was tied at least in part to a tweak in the scheme.
“I think early on we were running more zone, and when you have a smart quarterback in Matthew Stafford, a smart receiver in Cooper Kupp, they’re able to find the weak spots in the zones,” Fuller said. “… Once we kind of realized that, we realized we had to go to more man coverage.”
But the defensive backs have been out of sync for much of the season, and despite Rivera’s attempt to simplify the defense after firing coordinator Jack Del Rio, the same issues persist.
“We just got to be more disciplined,” Fuller said.
But the offense with Howell was worse.
The defense gave Washington chances by forcing two fumbles. But the offense went three-and-out after each and was a disaster for most of the first three quarters. It wasn’t until Howell sat in the fourth — a decision Rivera said was made in an effort “to take care of him a little bit” — that the offense moved the ball.
In the first half, the Commanders went 1 for 7 on third down and had just 83 yards (44 passing) compared with the Rams’ 242. Washington mustered three first downs in that span as the Rams collected 14.
Worse: The Commanders had four three-and-outs in the first half and squandered their lone trip to the red zone. They made it to the Los Angeles 12-yard line late in the first quarter, but Howell’s pass to tight end Logan Thomas on fourth and one was batted away.
Washington finally got on the board in the third quarter, when Howell threw a 19-yard dart to Samuel. But the Commanders went three-and-out on their subsequent drive, and the Rams padded their lead before Rivera pulled Howell.
“Just kind of how the game was going,” Howell said. “… I got to play better.”
The second-year quarterback has flashed enough potential to maybe warrant a longer look in 2024. But amid the Commanders’ spiral over the past six weeks, his consistency has taken a hit.
Early against the Rams, he appeared to miss at least two opportunities to connect on deep plays — McLaurin seemed to have his defender beaten on Washington’s opening drive, and Williams was open another time. Howell also has thrown at least one interception in four consecutive games; he tossed one Sunday in the fourth quarter when he sailed a pass to McLaurin that the wide receiver tipped before the ball landed in the arms of safety John Johnson III.
When Howell came out in the fourth quarter, the offense started to roll. Brissett quickly connected with McLaurin for the 29-yard score, then found Samuel for another touchdown to pull the Commanders within eight with 1:46 left. The Rams sealed their win by notching a first down after an onside kick went awry.
“Football is football no matter what scheme you’re in, so he understands leverages, he understands where he needs to release the ball,” McLaurin said of Brissett. “… I think with myself being a vet, him being a vet, we just have one of those connections where he feels like he’s comfortable with where I’m going to be and I know how he’s going to place the ball up in the air.”
Howell finished 11 for 26 (42.3 percent) for 102 yards and a 50.5 passer rating. He took one sack (his 59th of the season) and ran for 22 yards. Brissett racked up 124 yards and two touchdowns on 8-for-10 passing. He finished with a 157.9 passer rating — not bad for his first real action of the season.
“I’ve been in the league for a little bit, and you kind of know what it looks like,” McLaurin said of his connection with Brissett. “Obviously we’ve continued to help Sam grow and develop, but you can’t beat the experience [Brissett has] had. … He’s been a starter in multiple places, he’s played in big games, he’s come in and been a backup and came in for Cleveland — he’s basically seen it all. What I like about him most is he’s always ready for his opportunity. He’s like a coach out there. He’s been a great mentor for Sam, and he’s been a great leader for our locker room.”
Asked postgame what has gone wrong with the offense, Rivera said he needs to watch the tape.
“We’re just going to go and evaluate it,” he said.
Long snapping is a major issue.
The good news is that Way is fine. Or, at least, he was good enough to finish the game after getting clobbered late in the second quarter. Long snapper Camaron Cheeseman, who has been inconsistent since training camp, botched his snap so badly that the ball bounced to Way. As he scrambled to cover it, Rams linebacker Troy Reeder came down hard on him.
Way was evaluated for a concussion and a back injury, prompting kicker (and emergency punter) Joey Slye to begin taking snaps from Cheeseman on the sideline at halftime to prepare for the worst-case scenario. But when the Commanders returned, Washington announced that Way was cleared to play, and to quash any doubt he dropped a punt at the Los Angeles 8-yard line minutes later.
Washington averted a crisis but has to decide what to do for the season’s final three games.
The botched snap was the second bad one by Cheeseman in the first half but not his last on the day. He added a third on the extra-point attempt in the third quarter and a fourth in the final two minutes, leading to Slye’s try being blocked.
The issues that hindered Cheeseman in training camp are clearly still there — and now they’re putting one of Washington’s best players at risk.
“That’s not good enough, and we’re going to evaluate that,” Rivera said.
Asked if he’s worried about losing his job, Cheeseman said: “I mean, I’ve been worried all year. I haven’t been performing the way I’ve been wanting to. Most places, I probably wouldn’t be around still.”
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