The Washington Commanders are at a point in the season of “must win” territory. The excuses must be replaced by action that turns into wins. The team is back at FedEx Field with a 1-3 record as they take on the Tennessee Titans and their 2-2 record.
There is no telling what we will see today as the team is without three key players who are inactives due to injury. Sam Cosmi from the O-line, Jahan Dotson the rookie wide receiver, and tight end Logan Thomas are all out. They join Chase Young who is recovering from his ACL knee surgery, and rookie DT Phidarian Mathis (meniscus) on the sidelines today. Back in action is running back Brian Robinson who was out due to a gunshot wound to his leg.
You hope that the return of Wes Schweitzer to the line will help more than losing Cosmi in the give and takes you have with NFL injuries. The main thing is having better line protection for quarterback Carson Wentz who has to improve his game.
“Yeah, I mean that, those are all things that when you think about, you’ve gotta be sure because it is a long season and if you make a knee jerk reaction to something and it doesn’t pan out, now you’ve gotta correct it and fix it. So, you know, a lot of decisions that I go through and think about, talk about and listen to and discuss and decide with those things in mind. I mean, because of the ramifications and how it’s going to impact the player, the players, the team and the organization you have to consider everything.”
— head coach Ron Rivera
The defense has to show more improvement from the linebackers and secondary and stop these pass interference penalties that have plagued them. The Commanders are second-to-worst in the NFL in turnover differential at a -6. Wentz has thrown 5 interceptions but the defense has only capitalized on one interception. That is not good at all. The defense has to be more opportunistic.
The math for today is kind of simple for a win today as the Commanders are desperate for a win on this Sunday.
ODDS: Washington is a +1.0 underdogs on the points spread after opening at -1.5 to -1.0 with the Over/Under at 43 points
GAME TIME: Sunday, October 9, 2022 at 1 p.m. ET
LOCATION: FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland
TV: CBS, WUSA-9 in the DC market with Andrew Catalon (play-by-play), James Lofton (analyst) and Amanda Renner (sideline)
