Commanders Vs. Eagles (Game Two) – Studs and Duds

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. That may indeed have been the case when the Commanders traveled to Philly to take on the undefeated Eagles in PrimeTime Monday night.

There were two key turnovers; one where Jamin Davis had an obvious facemask that wasn’t called on a fumble that he ended up recovering, and a deep ball where Watkins beat St-Juste badly, but the second-year corner stayed on the play and popped the ball out (which was recovered by Darrick Forrest) when Watkins got back to his feet and tried to advance the ball.

Regardless, the Commanders are now .500 on the season, and may have just gotten their biggest win of the Ron Rivera era last evening at the Linc.

Below are my Studs and Duds followed by some Notes and Players of the Game.

Studs:

Joey Slye – Slye was perfect on the evening on both field goals (44, 58, 32 and 55), and extra points. His two long attempts from over 50 were clutch, and we more-than-likely won this game on his leg.

Darrick Forrest – Darrick Forrest had 6 tackles on the evening, but it was his amazing interception off a deep pass by Hurts, and timely fumble recovery on a St-Juste forced fumble, that really stood out.

Brian Robinson Jr. – Robinson ran hard, racking up 86 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. Watch the effort below, as he refused to be denied!

Terry McLaurin – F1 led the team with eight receptions on 11 targets for 128 yards and a long of 41. He was excellent in the intermediate game Monday night.

Scott Turner – Turner called a heck of a football game offensively for the Commanders. I wrote an article Sunday morning saying we needed to see more 12 personnel, and that is exactly what Turner did Monday night. The two-tight end sets kept the Eagles defense off-balance and helped move the chains on third down. Even more impressive was his commitment to the run (46 attempts for 150 yards) and the quick pass to offset the Eagles’ fierce pass rush.

Commanders Defense – Del Rio’s unit wasn’t perfect, but they did a really good job shutting down the Eagles run game (especially Hurts) and forced some key turnovers. They held Philly to just 264 total yards.

Duds:

Cornelious Lucas – Lucas is becoming a regular on the Duds list for his poor pass protection. He was responsible for 4 pressures and yet another sack on the evening while sharing time with Sam Cosmi (who was MUCH better). He also had a false start penalty called against him.

Bobby McCain – McCain was out of position more than he was in position at safety, often playing flat-footed and not being decisive in coverage. He did play in the slot a bit and looked better there.

Notes:

– Kendall Fuller played an excellent game in coverage Monday evening, locking down his receivers and defending two passes.

– Jamin Davis was all around the football Monday night, leading the team in tackles (9), and recovering a fumble that Ridgeway knocked loose that set up a 55 yard field goal from Slye. He did, however, get lucky on that play, as the refs missed a pretty blatant facemask.

– Benjamin St-Juste had a very up and down evening. He was flagged for a pass interference penalty where he had perfect coverage, but just threw his off-hand on the receiver (which he did not need to do). I didn’t agree with the call, however he seems to have a reputation around the league; and that will draw attention. He had some really nice coverage plays and solid tackles but was also beaten deep badly – a play he recovered on however, and ended up forcing a fumble.

– The Eagles focused a LOT of attention on Montez Sweat throughout the game, both chipping and keeping in a tight end to max protect. Sweat still registered 3 pressures and a sack on the evening.

– The Larsen snap over Heinicke’s head – that Taylor amazingly had the presence to gather himself, get outside the tackle-box, and thrown the ball away, may have been the play of the game.

– Leno started off horribly (just as he did in the first Eagles game), allowing a strip-sack that was recovered by Philly, however he rebounded nicely and played solid down the stretch – which kept him off the Duds list despite the very poor play.

Offensive Player of the Game: Joey Slye

Defensive Player of the Game: Darrick Forrest