The Washington Commanders' Week 12 win over the Atlanta Falcons wasn’t the prettiest victory of the season, but it was a huge one. The win, coupled with the Seattle Seahawks loss, put the hottest team in the NFL right now into the playoffs, and just a half-game behind the New York Giants in the NFC East. There were some white-knuckle moments in this week’s Commanders-Falcons matchup. However, the team came away with the win, and that’s all that matters. Here are the Commanders' grades for Week 12.
Passing Offense
The passing offense in the Commanders' Week 12 win wasn’t pretty. Taylor Heinicke was 14-of-23 for 138 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Terry McLaurin led the team with four catches for 48 yards, which isn’t great.
Despite the overall struggles, Heinicke did what he usually does and made completions when it matters, even when the rest of the game isn’t great. When the competition gets harder, the Commanders’ passing game will have to be better — and it can be. For now, though, the Commanders' grade for this game can't rise above a C+.
Grade: C+
Rushing Offense
The rushing offense was the star of the game in the Commanders' Week 12 victory. Brian Robinson Jr. had his first 100-yard day on the ground and wore a giant hat in the locker room to celebrate, which was simply awesome.
Antonio Gibson, Curtis Samuel, and Jonathan Williams added 67 yards on 17 carries, and that allowed the Commanders to beat the Falcons at their own game and win this matchup to move into the NFC playoffs.
Grade: A
Passing Defense
The Commanders passing defense held Marcus Mariota and company to 15-of-25 for 174 yards with a touchdown, an interception, and a sack. Holding the Falcons’ passing attack down — especially without Kyle Pitts — isn’t anything to brag about, but the Commanders secondary and pass rush did their job.
The biggest deal for the Commanders' pass defense is that Chase Young, who was rumored to be coming back this game, sat out another game. This may be frustrating to some fans, but in the end, the glass-half-full takeaway is that the pass D is already pretty good, and with Young, it could easily go to the next level.
Grade: B+
Rushing Defense
While the Falcons’ pass game might not be scary, their rushing attack is. The Commanders' Week 12 bend-don’t-break approach to stopping the run worked well overall. Atlanta put up a solid rushing day overall, with 167 yards on the ground. However, Washington didn’t give up a single run of more than 21 yards, and they held each individual runner to relatively pedestrian days.
In fact, all three main runners for the Falcons had remarkably similar stat lines. Neither Marcus Mariota (six carries, 49 yards), Tyler Allgeier (11 carries, 54 yards), nor Cordarrelle Patterson (11 carries, 52 yards) had massive days, and that’s a win for the D, and the reason this Commanders’ grade is a B+.
Grade: B+
Special Teams
Special teams was a mixed bag in the Commanders-Falcons game. Antonio Gibson had two kick returns for 51 yards, which is solid, and the team held the dynamic Patterson to just one return for nine yards.
On the other hand, while kicker Joey Slye made two big field goals, he also missed an extra point. That miss would have allowed the Falcons to win the game in the end instead of tie if the Commanders D didn’t take care of business.
Grade: B-
Coaching
Ron Rivera and his crew put in a good game plan to slow down the Falcons' rushing attack, and that is ultimately what won the game for his team. There were also no outlandish “Riverboat Ron” moments, as the Commanders only went for it once on fourth down and converted.
This team continues to play hard for the inspiring Rivera, and he deserves a lot of credit for that. The biggest reason for the solid Commanders' grade is that Rivera has resisted any temptation to go back to Carson Wentz or sow any doubt that Taylor Heinicke is the guy.
For that, Rivera starts each game with a C+, and in the Commanders' Week 12 matchup, he went up from there.
Grade: B+
Overall Bengals Grade: B+
After starting the season 1-4, the Commanders are 6-1 in their last seven. Would it have been nice if Washington blew out a bottom-of-the-standings foe? Sure. However, as the back stretch of the season starts in earnest, all that matters is wins.
The question moving forward is, after excelling at being the chaser this season, can the Commanders protect their playoff position now? That’s a question for another day, though. For now, the team won, and that’s why the Week 12 Commanders' grade is a B+.
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