We all have memories of the middle school bully. The bully would find the smallest kid in the grade and proceed to beat them into the ground. The bully would feel like a big man being able to manhandle the smaller kid. However, we also have memories of when the smaller kid’s big brother from the nearby high school would show up at the junior high school. First, the sound of a V8 rumble from a Camaro IROC-Z would fill the bully’s ears. Then out would step the football player big brother complete with a mullet and mustache. The big brother would proceed to give the bully a reality check by giving him a humbling beating.
Well, this young NFL season has given us the small kid in the grade in the New York Giants. The bully in the Washington Commanders. And the big brother in the Green Bay Packers. And what a beating the Commies got on Thursday night in a huge primetime game.
There is no reason to mince words. The Commies were not up to the test at all. Many Commies fans were feeling chesty after seeing the Commies defensive line and offensive line completely bully and dominate the toothless New York Giants. Commies fans felt that Adam Peters had unlocked the Commies defense with additions like Javon Kinlaw, Von Miller, Eddie Goldman, Deatrich Wise, Will Harris, and Trey Amos. That Joe Whitt, Jr. was ready to deliver as Defensive Coordinator. Finally, the Commies were going to have a stout defense to compliment what was an excellent offense last year.
Whelp. Reality comes to fans fast as it turns out that the Commies’ strong performance against the New York Giants was far more about the Giants than it was the Commies. The NY Giants offense is simply putrid. Russell Wilson is a backup quarterback at best these days. Outside of Malik Nabors, the Giants have zero offensive weapons.
Reality came in the form of the Jordon Love led Packers beating the Commies’ defense into submission. The score was not even remotely indicative of what a one-sided smackdown that the game was on Thursday night. Whether it was Love carving up the Commies’ secondary like a Thanksgiving Day turkey or if it was Love looking like prime John Riggins and trucking Amos for extra yards, the fact was that the Commies defense was completely hapless and clueless.
The big Thursday night primetime class between the Green Bay Packers and the Commies was supposed to be a preview of two of the best teams in the NFC. Many thought this could even be a preview of an NFC Championship game. To be sure, Commies fans felt this was a game that would show the NFL world that the Commies were ready to stand toe-to-toe with the best teams in the NFC in the Packers and the Eagles.
Instead, the lights were too bright for the Commanders as they threw up all over themselves. And it was not just the defense that was embarrassing. The Commies offense decided to join in on the fiasco and deliver a pathetic performance as well.
The numbers are not pretty. The Packers rolled up 135 rushing yards and 269 net passing yards for a total of 404 yards of offense. The Commies defense offered no resistance at all. It was the Packers themselves who stopped the Packers offense with ten penalties for 77 yards. If the Packers had brought their A-game and played more cleanly then the score would have been even more lopsided.
The Commies offense sputtered all game long. The Commies offensive line was overwhelmed by the Packers’ pass rush. The Commies passing game was disrupted by the unrelenting pass rush and brought to a halt by impressively sticky pass coverage by the Packers. The Commies running game was non-existent. The Commies only managed 51 yards rushing and 179 net pass yards for a total of 230 yards of offense.
The Commies offensive line got whipped by the Packers defensive line which rarely brought more than four pass rushers at a time. Nick Allegretti and rookie tackle Josh Conerly Jr. stood out as the worst of the entire offensive line as they were stunningly inept in trying to stop the Green Bay pass rush.
Austin Ekeler was a nonfactor before his unfortunate injury. Ekeler rushed 8 times for 17 yards for an average of 2.1 yards per carry. Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt rushed 4 times for 17 yards for an average of 4.2 yards per carry.
However, the biggest surprise was Jayden Daniels. Last year, when the Washington defense was constantly crumbling and allowing points and the Washington offense was unable to generate any running game at all, Daniels was able to strap the team to his back and power them to a win.
That did not happen on Thursday night. Daniels went 23/42 for 200 yards. That is a pedestrian 4.8 yards per pass and just a 54% completion percentage. Even more alarming is that Daniels rushed 7 times for just 17 yards for an average of paltry 2.4 yards per carry. Daniels’ legs have been his deadliest weapons. However, Green Bay had no problem keeping Daniels penned in all night long. Daniels looked uncomfortable and hesitant all game long. Daniels looked mortal.
Washington fans had gotten used to seeing Daniels step into the phone book put on his cape and step out as Superman and save the day for the Commies despite their lack of a running game and an awful defense. Thursday night? Daniels stepped into the phone booth, put on his cape and stepped out as Captain Checkdown. Washington fans must have thought they were seeing 2018 Alex Smith out there against the Packers.
The Commies coaches deserve a ton of the blame for the Commies poor performance against the Packers. The Commies looked completely unprepared for this game. The offensive game plan from Kliff Kingsbury was far too soft. Once Kingsbury realized that the Commies offensive line had zero hope of stopping the pass rush, Kingsbury should have started running the ball more. Along that line of thinking, it made no sense that Kingsbury did not use Bill more in the running game.
Joe Whitt, Jr. got completely pantsed by Matt LaFleur. Whitt played a way too soft defense in the first half of the game. Whitt appeared to have no clue as to how to stop LaFleur’s offense. Whitt did not impress me last year and this year is not doing much to change my opinion so far.
Dan Quinn looked like he did not have his team even close to being prepared for the primetime heavy weight fight. Quinn continued his trend of being embarrassed by LaFleur as Quinn is now 0-4 as a head coach or defensive coordinator against LaFleur. I guess Dan Quinn can take solace in the fact that this game was the first time Quinn’s team was able to hold a LaFleur offense to under 30 points.
To make matters even worse, the Commies sustained multiple injuries during this embarrassing defeat. Austin Ekeler sustained an Achilles injury. Deatrich Wise sustained a quadriceps injury. These are serious injuries that could cost these players as much as the entire remainder of the season.
This is the type of game that resets expectations and brings a heavy dose of reality to a football team. All Washington fans can hope for is that the Commies use this mini-bye week of ten days off to regroup and put this embarrassing effort behind them. It is still a long season with 15 games to go. Both the coaches and players need to shake this off and dedicate themselves to improving upon their many mistakes. Because, with the schedule ahead of them there are plenty of elite quarterbacks and good teams left for the Commies to play.
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