Dan Quinn’s era with the Washington Commanders got off to an inauspicious start with a 37-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While Jayden Daniels’ first game had some positives, there were many more concerns.
The Commanders’ offense consisted of little more than Daniel’s competitive spirit for much of the game. Washington hasn’t solved its kicker problem. But most concerning is that the biggest bugbear of 2023 – their abysmal third-down defense – hasn’t been fixed yet.
The Commanders’ defense made a lot of big plays, but always failed when it mattered most. And the results showed it.
They conceded 37 points to an offense that averaged 20 points last year. In 2023, the Buccaneers averaged 313 yards per game. In Week 1, they managed nearly 400. Until a few kneel-downs at the end, Tampa Bay averaged 6.7 yards per play. Last year, they averaged 5.1.
All in all, it was a dismal day for the defense.
It was most evident on third down. Tampa Bay converted nine of 13 third downs. That’s an astonishing number. Almost 70 percent. In 2023, the Commanders were the fifth-worst defense in the league on third down, allowing opponents about 42 percent of their attempts. That was awful. And if I remember my high school math correctly, 70 percent is a lot worse than 42 percent.
As it turned out, the very first third down attempt set the tone. The Commanders got lucky when Baker Mayfield threw over an open receiver, but a hands-to-the-face call on Clelin Ferrell still gave Tampa Bay a first down. Washington kept the quarterback on the field and he answered with the first field goal of the game.
They allowed another third-down conversion on their second drive when another penalty got the Buccaneers out of a third-and-11 and gave them a third-and-6. Mike Evans hit Jeremy Chinn and Quan Martin on the following play to secure another easy first down.
That continued throughout the game. Mayfield escaped a blitz and converted a third-and-7 attempt on the next drive with a throw to Chris Godwin. The prolific pass-catchers also converted three more third downs, beating Emmanuel Forbes Jr. and Mike Sainsristil with relative ease.
Forbes committed not one but two penalties on the next third attempt, setting up another touchdown for Tampa Bay. He was benched immediately afterward.
The Commanders finally prevented a third-down attempt with a blitz that led to their first sack of the game midway through the third quarter. This also led to Tampa Bay’s first and only punt of the game.
Jalen McMillan made a 32-yard touchdown catch from Chinn and Sainristil on third-and-7 that essentially ended the game. And then, on Tampa Bay’s last real drive, things got downright ridiculous.
Washington continued to make good plays on the first few attempts, but made terrible ones on the third. They conceded three more conversions, the last of which was a touchdown for Evans. The first, however, was the worst. On third-and-18, Godwin made a small screen pass and rushed past just about everyone on the Washington defense, including both linebackers, for a 24-yard gain.
Allowing a third down is demoralizing. It’s exhausting. It keeps the offense on the sidelines. It’s the sign of a weak defense. Bad coverage. Bad tackling. Last season, Washington showed all of those tendencies and it cost defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio his job.
What was particularly frustrating about this performance was that many of the new players – the ones brought in to fix this problem – were the main culprits. Bobby Wagner is still great in the trenches against the run, but he’s a liability in pass coverage. Frankie Luvu looked much the same. Chinn and Sainristil, back-end players who are supposed to eliminate breakdowns on third and long, repeatedly failed to do so.
Add to that returning cornerbacks Forbes and Benjamin St-Juste, who were repeatedly beaten in crucial moments by Tampa Bay’s admittedly excellent receivers, and it was a recipe for disaster.
It’s just one game. Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. will certainly make adjustments to fix this problem. But if they can’t fix it, it’s going to be a very long season.
The Commanders made many average offenses look like world-class players last year. They made Mayfield look like an All-Pro entering the 2024 season — mostly because they just couldn’t get him off the field on third downs.
