Studs n duds Washington

[Cornelius Weems]

Studs: Defense was very good, it may have been a home game, but they played very well. Nixon IMO had his best defensive game.
Tucker Kraft was unstoppable, possible injury, well I'll come back stronger, try to take me down, your going to get shrugged off.
Duds: I can't say that anyone was really a "did, but Love was really bad under pressure. You can get away with that early in the season, but if this persists , then team will definitely take advantage of that. I mean just look at Sam Darnold last season, as soon as teams nee he could be flustered, they took advantage, and I think that's part of why he's not the starting QB for the queens anymore. That being said, it still very early.
All in all, glad to see that the defense is good, as it's an old but IMO true cliche, defense wins championships.

 

[gopkrs]

They need 3 scores regardless so they were going for the straight up win if they managed a miracle rather than push it to overtime.

With an extra point they are down 10. If they miss the 2 pointer; then they need a TD with a 2 pointer just to tie (with a field goal). And if they had made it (like they did); then a field goal could win it. So I guess it's not as stupid as I thought but I would have gone for the easier way to tie it. jmo. I wonder what the two point bible book says?

 

[Thirteen Below]

I think this tables any "Trade Doubs" discussion.

For tghe short term, anyway. We'll have Walker back by the trade deadline (11/4), Golden will be more comfortable in his role, we'll still have Wicks and the two tight ends, Williams may be contributing by then, and who knows if Heath steps up in the next couple of months? If we got the right offer in Week 9, it may make sense. And we'd still probably have Reed back for the stretch run and the playoffs.

I can't help wondering if they decide to just go ahead and operate on his Jones fracture now. If they have to operate on his clavicle anyway, maybe that changes their thinking on the foot.

STUDS

Love with a QB rating of 113.7, played a hell of a first half

Jacobs - moved the chains to keep drives alive, and kept the defense honest whenever it was necessary. Also became only the 4th NFL player since 2000 to score a rushing touchdown in 11 consecutive games - along with Ladainian Tomlinson, Priest Holmes, and Jonathan Taylor. Next week he may tie Tomlinson's record of 12 straight games.

Parsons again. 4 hits on Daniels, half a sack, probably a good 4 or 5 hurries, and was a big reason Daniels was hit 12 times and pressured 21 times - 66% of his dropbacks. The man was a human tornado on every snap; set the tone for the entire game.

Kraft - 124 yards and a touchdown, averaged over 20 yards a catch

Honorable mention to Sorrell - played well and got his first QB hit and half sack


DUDS

I see we're back to our old habits with penalties - 10, twice as many as Washington. That holding call on McKinney in the end zone was heartbreaking

4th quarter pass defense - what the hell? Give credit to Washington for finally switching up their playcalling and going to quick-hitters with 2-second dropbacks, but Green Bay had no answer for it. When the Commanders negated the DL pressure, the secondary was exposed. More than half of Daniels' passing yardage in the game came in the 4th quarter, and if they'd figured that out sooner, it might have been a different outcome.

 

[gopkrs]

back by the trade deadline (11/4), Golden will be more comfortable in his role, we'll still have Wicks and the two tight ends, Williams may be contributing by then, and who knows if Heath steps up in the next couple of months? If we got the right offer in Week 9, it may make sense.

That's just cold.

 

[milani]

Hoping somehow Reed has a minor injury. That TD catch he made (called back) was a thing of beauty.

STUD: ENTIRE DEFENSE
had you told me after 2 games we’d held Detroit and Washington to a Rushing average of 48.5 yards per game and 2.35 per carry? I wouldn’t believe you.

Rodgers had the first collarbone in 2013. He missed about 10 weeks. Reed will be similar unless the fracture is somewhat less.

 

[milani]

For tghe short term, anyway. We'll have Walker back by the trade deadline (11/4), Golden will be more comfortable in his role, we'll still have Wicks and the two tight ends, Williams may be contributing by then, and who knows if Heath steps up in the next couple of months? If we got the right offer in Week 9, it may make sense. And we'd still probably have Reed back for the stretch run and the playoffs.

I can't help wondering if they decide to just go ahead and operate on his Jones fracture now. If they have to operate on his clavicle anyway, maybe that changes their thinking on the foot.

STUDS

Love with a QB rating of 113.7, played a hell of a first half

Jacobs - moved the chains to keep drives alive, and kept the defense honest whenever it was necessary. Also became only the 4th NFL player since 2000 to score a rushing touchdown in 11 consecutive games - along with Ladainian Tomlinson, Priest Holmes, and Jonathan Taylor. Next week he may tie Tomlinson's record of 12 straight games.

Parsons again. 4 hits on Daniels, half a sack, probably a good 4 or 5 hurries, and was a big reason Daniels was hit 12 times and pressured 21 times - 66% of his dropbacks. The man was a human tornado on every snap; set the tone for the entire game.

Kraft - 124 yards and a touchdown, averaged over 20 yards a catch

Honorable mention to Sorrell - played well and got his first QB hit and half sack


DUDS

I see we're back to our old habits with penalties - 10, twice as many as Washington. That holding call on McKinney in the end zone was heartbreaking

4th quarter pass defense - what the hell? Give credit to Washington for finally switching up their playcalling and going to quick-hitters with 2-second dropbacks, but Green Bay had no answer for it. When the Commanders negated the DL pressure, the secondary was exposed. More than half of Daniels' passing yardage in the game came in the 4th quarter, and if they'd figured that out sooner, it might have been a different outcome.

Love is seeing the field better than he ever has. He appears to know where his receivers will be and where not to go with the throw. He and Golden just need some time.

 

[milani]

That's just cold.

With Reed gone now we will need Wicks. And I would expect another one of our receivers to get banged up in the next 6 weeks.

 

[gopkrs]

You never know when there will be an injury and to trade someone 10 weeks in, who has been a valuable teammate, and you are on a Superbowl run, for draft picks, is just cold.

 

[Voyageur]

Some interesting stats. The kind that says little things about the way your team played.

Love was sacked twice. There were only 4 QB hits on him, and 2 TFL situations. To be fair, they were both coverage sacks, and the Commanders did play defense with the intent of stopping Jacobs from beating them between the tackles. Love had a lot of time back there to throw the ball, but nobody got open enough to risk it. I thought that was impressive considering we had two of our 5 offensive linemen who start not even suiting up on a 4-day swing between games. It tells me that the Packers' coaching staff is working with their players exceptionally well, and they seem to have the right people in place for "next man up."

Josh Jacobs got 84 of the toughest yards I've seen in quite some time. The Commanders were intent on stopping him, and even though he only averaged 3.7 YPC, he was getting those yards in the teeth of a defense poised to stop him. He scored again. He's gone from a guy who couldn't find the end zone no matter how well he did to a guy who finds it no matter what. One more game with a TD and I think he ties the record? Not sure here but that would be an awesome record to get a piece of or even get close to. He keeps defenses honest, and I'd venture a guess that makes Love extremely happy.

Tucker Kraft played a solid game. He ran his routes and because of the design of the offense, he found himself open and Love got him the ball. The guy is a bull when it comes to YAC. He just plain whups guys trying to take him down. He just might be an All Pro this year. He's working on it.

Malik Heath. What can I say. That was the ultimate toe-tap TD. It should be on every tape teaching how it's done. I thought it was a completion in real time, and startled my wife when I blurted out, "Challenge it! Challenge it! He got his feet in!" She put my bottle of cognac back in the cabinet and told me she thought I'd had enough. I guess I was pretty loud. It looked like a ballerina in action to me in real time. That's the stuff that kept him on this roster.

Romeo Doubs. Two really nice catches. He's a chain mover. He was facing over and under coverage and running in traffic most of the night. They can't ease up on his coverage and they know it. If they do, Love will hit him with a dart and it's going to be a long-gain play.

Savion Williams appears to be faster now than he was in college. Where'd that extra gear come from? At times he looks better than Golden who may not have been a factor but was covered with their better DBs on every play he was in there. That keeps the stud defenders off others like Wicks who played well.

WR blocking. Awesome! I like where this is going with them. It will result in a lot of yards they wouldn't have had on offense over the course of a year.

McManus missed a FG. Doink! He corrected his aim and nailed one from 56-yards. He's going to be a difference maker. Please note, the Commanders had a "doink" too.

Whelan's punts. He averaged 53.3 yards over 4 punts. His longest was 55 yards. The consistency is there. Consider that one of his punts was a touchback so that also shows the depth of his punts. He kicks so long that our coverage is just a little short of nailing return men for no gain. He's definitely someone we need to keep on our roster.

On defense, all I can say is that this was a monumental job and a clinic on how you shut down a team that has a QB who can carve you up with his runs. Daniels had 17 yards rushing, and as a team they had 51 total yards rushing. With only 200 yards in the air, and most of that coming from the middle of the third quarter on and we're talking total domination by the Packers until they reached a point that they took their foot off the pedal and eased up playing a vanilla defense the rest of the game.

This is two games in a row where the defense showed everyone exactly what they have in the tank and if I was an NFL offensive coordinator, I'd be asking myself what I need to do to break the strangle hold these guys have on their opponents.

Believe it or not, my only real complaint was in regard to missed tackles. We have to stop letting them slip away.

 

[weeds]

I'm just latching onto that defense. Washington hadn't generated 100 yards of total offense until the very end of the 3rd. THAT is domination.

 

[tynimiller]

I'm just latching onto that defense. Washington hadn't generated 100 yards of total offense until the very end of the 3rd. THAT is domination.

If you separate out fourth quarter I’m betting we have to be the best team defensively in the first three quarters by a lot in the league when week 2 closes…I’ll be shocked if not

 

[AmishMafia]

Not much I can add. It was another statement win. Commanders were #6 on the power rankings (Packers are #4) and we dominated them.

Worth mentioning:

Jayden Daniels. What a stud. Under intense pressure all game but kept his poise and never gave up. Probably my favorite non Packer in the NFL. I nearly jumped out of my seat when he was being chased by Parsons and Bullard came up to flatten him. I yelled "get down!" I don't want to see anyone get hurt. Anyway, the slow motion showed he was looking back over his shoulder. Landed on his head but appeared to be okay. Commanders fans have to be excited about his future.

DoYouRant. For spelling out Wicks first name. Not sure its right, but just the attempt is impressive.

Dudish

Enegbare gets a dud for running out on the field when Love wanted to run a quick 4th down play catching the Commanders short of breath and not aligned. Refs allowed the Commanders to do a substitution as well giving them 10 seconds to get organized. Surprised we still ran it.

Short passing game. Seems we can hold the LBs a bit deeper and give Jacobs a bit more room to work with if we attack the short passing lanes.

Jacobs' beating. Jacobs is taking a beating in there. I know he is tough, but you can only expect so much. Get this guy some rest with Wilson getting some touches.

 

[DoURant]

If you separate out fourth quarter I’m betting we have to be the best team defensively in the first three quarters by a lot in the league when week 2 closes…I’ll be shocked if not

In the 4th, Enagbare and Sorrell were getting quite a few snaps, vs the constant rotation of Van Ness, Gary, and Parsons. Both played decent, Sorrell even ended up with a half sack in his first real action. McDuffie was playing quite a bit more, also, giving Coop and Walker some breathers. There was no reason for the starters to be playing a ton at this point of the game.

Overall, the Defense has given up (2) 4th quarter TD'S in two games, however, both after having a 3 score lead. They are playing everything in front of them, not to give up the long play, and I have no issue with that. It feels good to have a dominant Defense, I wasn't worried that Washington was going to catch us after the score went to 24-10, prior years, I sure would have been.

 

[DoURant]

DoYouRant. For spelling out Wicks first name. Not sure its right, but just the attempt is impressive.

I did much better than you did on mine

 

[rmontro]

Not much I can add. It was another statement win. Commanders were #6 on the power rankings (Packers are #4) and we dominated them.

We were #1 on the Herd Hierarchy though.

 

[tynimiller]

In the 4th, Enagbare and Sorrell were getting quite a few snaps, vs the constant rotation of Van Ness, Gary, and Parsons. Both played decent, Sorrell even ended up with a half sack in his first real action. McDuffie was playing quite a bit more, also, giving Coop and Walker some breathers. There was no reason for the starters to be playing a ton at this point of the game.

Overall, the Defense has given up (2) 4th quarter TD'S in two games, however, both after having a 3 score lead. They are playing everything in front of them, not to give up the long play, and I have no issue with that. It feels good to have a dominant Defense, I wasn't worried that Washington was going to catch us after the score went to 24-10, prior years, I sure would have been.

The calls became more conservative too as they should and could as well

 

[El Guapo]

Stud: the crowd for chanting “Thank you Jerry” after the game. Priceless

 

[tynimiller]

Oh and for everyone that has somewhat hated on Gary or been critical….pay attention to when he is wrecking stuff….it is often times when Parsons is on the sideline. The narrative if he has a good season will be spun incorrect

 

[Magooch]

Oh and for everyone that has somewhat hated on Gary or been critical….pay attention to when he is wrecking stuff….it is often times when Parsons is on the sideline. The narrative if he has a good season will be spun incorrect

That was the biggest thing I noticed last week. Him and LVN (and the DL as a whole) played great with Parsons on the field BUT also played great when he was off of it, too

 

[OldSchool101]

good points across the thread.

2 guys stuck out above a great team effort.

Tucker Kraft. Tonight was the first time I saw this but it just was obvious. Tucker has got Travis Kelce written all over him. He might erase 3-4 bad 3RD draft selections, he’s that good.
Very similar movement and skill level to Kelce imo.


Keisean Nixon
Just a dominant performance. He literally played like peak JA Thursday night. Almost had an INT. He’s a superior athlete in short spaces. What he lacks in true “high end” cover skills he makes up for in instinctive style and reading QB cues. It’s on large sample size now, as seen by his 90’s PFF grade (All Pro Elite) RUN Defense last year. Our disruptive D pass rush makes Nixon style of play a perfect fit.

 

[tynimiller]

good points across the thread.

2 guys stuck out above a great team effort.

Tucker Kraft. Tonight was the first time I saw this but it just was obvious. Tucker has got Travis Kelce written all over him. He might erase 3-4 bad 3RD draft selections, he’s that good.
Very similar movement and skill level to Kelce imo.

Just a dominant performance. He literally played like peak JA Thursday night. Almost had an INT. He’s a superior athlete in short spaces. What he lacks in true cover skills he makes up for in instinctive style. It’s on large sample size now, as seen by his 90’s PFF grade (All Pro Elite) RUN Defense last year. Our disruptive D pass rush makes Nixon style of play a perfect fit.

Keisean Nixon

At this point on day one of the 2026 league year when the first time they legally could extend Kraft having his third season completed as a rookie - sign him to a four year extension. I would argue he is more valuable than any WR that will see their contract expire with him.

 

[Pkrjones]

12 QB Hits tonight on Daniels, he gonna be sore for a few days.

Rolled his left ankle on a 2nd half sack, & Bullard seriously drilled him on a run to the left, also. A few more games like last night & Daniels will have a short career, imho.

 

[OldSchool101]

Duds:
Teams Flags. We have to clean up discipline issues. You can’t be face masking for 3 seconds straight and expect to not get caught.

This might be nitpicking a little. That was a dominant Win. Yet I’m seeing a Running game at C- to expectation. I’m seeing disciplinary stuff at D+ to expectation. I’m seeing the Deep threat execution C grade to expectation. Had the Packers Offense put together a complete game like the Defense? It’s 38-10 against a Top 5 NFC opponent. I’m not down on GB, so don’t take my critique that way at all. I’m up on out Offense because I expect 30pts a game once they get in a groove. This Washington D was not very good. Maybe Top 11-20, not bad just not good. We will play #2 rated Defenses and this O will suffer unless they clean up the small details. Running up the gut 2X for 0 yards? inside our own 20 with 18:00 minutes left? Washington sold out to stop Jacobs in the RUN game and we still didn’t make the connection. Thankfully Matt alluded to some play calling issues so he might’ve regretted that.

If we’re going to be a Champion? we have to critique each play as such. Playing “good” is no longer an option. Unless we want to go 12-5 and early exit postseason. We need to be thinking 14-15 Wins and home games throughout Postseason. I don’t see more than 1 or 2 teams across our first 8.9 games that lose a serious problem. I’m expecting 8-0,7-1,6-2 type start. We have a brutal schedule down the stretch. Might even be thinking working a mid tier trade before deadline to even strengthen our Roster more.

 

[gopkrs]

Rolled his left ankle on a 2nd half sack, & Bullard seriously drilled him on a run to the left, also. A few more games like last night & Daniels will have a short career, imho.

Yeah, we pretty much forced him to escape up the middle where we were waiting for him.

 

[Poppa San]

ucker Kraft played a solid game. He ran his routes and because of the design of the offense, he found himself open and Love got him the ball. The guy is a bull when it comes to YAC. He just plain whups guys trying to take him down. He just might be an All Pro this year. He's working on it.

I noticed he didn't hurdle the defender on his run down the sidelines. I recall he tweaked something a season back doing that. Good he learned he's not on a track in shorts.