Washington Commanders Vs. Atlanta Falcons – Studs and Duds

In a very entertaining game, the Commanders held on to get their third win of the season on the road in Atlanta. The offense scored just 24 points, but unlike previous weeks, the defense only allowed 16 points and made some key plays when the game hung in the balance.

With 10 days to prepare, Rivera and company looked like they had the team much better prepared than their previous contests, and despite some new faces to the lineup, the units seemed to gel pretty well.

Now sitting at 3-3 on the season, Washington will look to build on some defensive success and try to keep the momentum rolling over the next two weeks when they have back-to-back division games against the Giants and Eagles.

Below are my Studs and Duds of the game, followed by some notes.

Studs:

Sam Howell – Yes he did hold the ball a bit on a few drop-backs which resulted in some sacks, but aside from that, Howell was very impressive on the afternoon. He was an efficient 14-23 for 151 yards and three touchdowns and took a read-option for a key first down. We are always talking about Sam taking what the defense gives him, and he did that yesterday.

Terry McLaurin – Despite not making it into the endzone, McLaurin led all Commanders receivers with six catches for 81 yards and showed some nice RAC ability. He was targeted 11 times on the afternoon.

Brian Robinson – Robinson only averaged three yards on the ground, but he showed reliable hands and explosive running in the open field, taking a screen pass 24 yards for a touchdown.

Kam Curl – Curl was a BEAST on the afternoon, showing up all over the field. He had 11 tackles, eight solo, two passes defended and multiple big hits.

Kendall Fuller – Fuller had a very nice interception where he jumped in front of a Desmond Ridder pass and made a sure-handed catch. He should have had another one that he just missed a series earlier.

Jamin Davis – Yes, Jamin Davis sealed the win with his interception in front of Bijan Robinson with under two minutes to play in the game, but even before that, he was playing well. He recorded eight tackles, one for a loss, a sack, the interception and had a pass defended.

Casey Toohill – Toohill had two sacks, a tackle for a loss, and a big pressure that forced an intentional grounding call on the afternoon in reserve action.

Jamison Crowder – Crowder’s electric 61-yard punt return early in the second quarter was huge!

Duds:

Jahan Dotson – The second-year receiver is off to a horrible start to begin the season. His drop on a beautifully thrown ball from Howell was inexcusable. His targets have decreased dramatically, and I have to assume some of these uncharacteristic drops are the reason why.

Benjamin St-Juste – St-Juste had the first interception of his career in the endzone, but it was a very easy ball that most of those on this board could have caught. The bad news – he was not good in coverage, being matched up against Drake London on a lot of targets. He was also called for a pass interference on the two-point conversion, but Khaleke Hudson bailed him out on the next play.

Notes:

-I have to start this off by saying my prayers go out to the Leno family for their loss.

-For the first time this year, I thought the offensive line played pretty well as a collective unit. I understand we have set the bar incredibly low, but I must give credit where credit is due… the line looked decent yesterday.

-Curtis Samuel had a nice game, hauling in four receptions for 41 yards and a touchdown.

-Logan Thomas had a very quiet game, grabbing just one catch for two yards.

-After a few games where we didn’t hear his name called very much, Jon Allen played pretty well Sunday afternoon, collecting six tackles and some pressures.

-The Falcons really focused on neutralizing Chase Young. He only recorded one tackle but did have a few pressures and just missed a sack.

-Cody Barton needs to come a long way to earn himself Stud status, however he did have a much better game (his best of the season by far) against the Falcons, recording a team-high 14 tackles (5 solo) with one for a loss. He did struggle a bit in coverage and had a roughing the passer that gave the Falcons a new set of downs.

-First round draft pick Emmanuel Forbes did not play against Atlanta, however second round pick Quan Martin did (a little).

-Khaleke Hudson did get some snaps against Atlanta, and he made the most of his limited opportunities. I hope we see more of him as the season goes on.