Talk Commanders

The next eleven days will help define the trajectory of the Washington football franchise this year. It’s Mid-term exam time. And, there will not be a grading curve. First up are the always disciplined Steelers. This one promises to be a challenge. Coach Mike Tomlin is bringing his team to a game after a Bye week for the 18th time. His record is 13-4 with the last 7 games all being wins. Then the team gets the dubious honor of being a road team for the Thursday night offering. Road teams on the Thursday night games are 4-5 for the season. But, the last three weeks have all been home team wins. Recovery takes longer as the season progresses. Philadelphia has been under-achieving for nearly a year. They have had some good games. But, they’ve had even more that were marginal. Last week they struggled against a reeling Jacksonville team. And, their Head Coach is a bit of a strange act, to say the least. A split of these two games would be a fine outcome. Losing both will likely put Washington a win behind Philly for the Division. But, winning both…ah, now that would be something.

Be honest: How many times have you watched IT? Dozens? Hundreds? Have you memorized, however involuntarily Jim Nance‘s call? “It comes down to one last play. And, it’s going to be…getting longer by the second. All the way back to the 30-yard line. Now you can step into it. Here comes the Hail Mary with the game on the line…AND THE BALL IS CAUGHT! IT’S A MIRACLE! Noah Brown. OH MY GOODNESS! AND, THIS TOWN IS GOING CRAZY! Just a madhouse in Landover, Maryland.” Tony Romo then added, “He did it!” It’s a great call of a remarkable moment. The entire football world was watching. Choose whatever moniker you want to give this play: Candidates include, The Raise Hail Mary, Hail Maryland, and many others. The Chicago radio team called it, “The gut punch of gut punches.” Sure was fun, eh? Not to be a killjoy, but to slightly alter a baseball phrase; you don’t win this week’s games with last week’s highlights.

The great ones have that “It Factor” that goes beyond what the other players have in tangible tools. We knew that Tom Brady had it. We know that Patrick Mahomes has it. In a different sport, Derek Jeter had it. They have that “clutch gene” that allows them to step up in the biggest spots and highest leverage moments. They are leaders on their team. And they lead to victory. Right now, you have to be thinking that Jayden Daniels has that gene.

There were a few miracles on display during Sunday’s game for the Washington Commanders. The first miracle began with Jayden Daniels starting and finishing the game that few expected him to play in after he injured his rib(s) the week before in the first quarter. The second miracle was the Hail Mary throw by Daniels with no time remaining in the game to give the Commanders the walk-off win by a final score of 18-15 over the Chicago Bears.

Normally a 40-7 drubbing of the opposition would be a cause for hearty celebration. Not this one last week against a dreadful Carolina team. The injury to Jayden Daniels on the game’s first play cast a pall over an otherwise stellar outing. Brandon Coleman also entered the League’s Concussion Protocol. Both are probably out this week and next. It’s a mistake to evaluate a team based solely on the Starting 22-players. Teams need to be evaluated by “Position Rooms.” Who is the backup? Who is the backup to the backup? In a sport where the injury rate is touted as being 100% it’s nearly a given that the depth of the position rooms is going to be tested. The biggest takeaway from last week’s game is that Marcus Mariota came into the game and excelled.

Normally, we would be in full celebration mode on a Victory Monday with the Washington Commanders in first place. The team completed a blowout 40-7 victory against Carolina to improve to 5-2 on this season. However, there is some trepidation as QB1, Jayden Daniels, is nursing sore ribs and was pulled in the first quarter of the game on Sunday.

The team has ordered an MRI for Monday to get more information on Daniels’ ribs, and to check for any micro-fractures and/or cartilage damage. With Daniels returning to the sidelines in the second half in sweats, smiles, and thumbs up, the fans certainly seemed to feel better with hopes that the injury was nothing serious.

Last week the Washington football hype train hit a speed bump when it encountered the Baltimore Ravens. Six weeks of increasing achievement hit against the reality of a real Super Bowl contender. For decades the Ravens were everything the WFT was not; A strong and efficient organization that consistently fielded competitive teams. Their Head Coach has been there for 17-years. Washington meanwhile was an Owner-driven hot mess. The franchise famously received new ownership, gutted the organization, and came as close to starting over as practical. Coming into the matchup Dan Quinn said frankly, “The Ravens are where we want to get to.” So, it should not have been a surprise that the nascent Burgundy and Gold squad left Baltimore with a loss, albeit a hard-fought one. They also left town with a season-ending injury to standout Defensive Tackle Jonathan Allen. When reality hits it usually punches hard.