Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn noted the thing that hurt about Sunday’s Week 10 loss to the Steelers, and Mike Tomlin reminded the Commanders what they don’t yet have in Jayden Daniels. And here are the Commanders most to blame for the Week 10 loss to the Steelers, including Zach Ertz.
A plainly obvious problem surfaced in this game. Either the Commanders’ receivers need a ton more practice, or they simply don’t have enough talent to make this team fly. Critical pass drops seemed to be the main culprit in Sunday’s 28-27 loss.
Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson hit trade-deadline pickup Mike Williams for a 32-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter and Steelers hung on for the come-from-behind win.
Commanders TE Zach Ertz failed twice
Ertz can't claim a good day at the office and perhaps he may be winding down after a distinguished 12-year career. The first mistake came from the physical variety. On second-and-11 from the Steelers’ 30-yard, late in the third quarter, Ertz dropped a perfect throw from quarterback Jayden Daniels that would have been a first down. The Commanders could have eaten more clock, and a touchdown would have restored a 10-point second-half lead.
The second mistake by Ertz came on fourth-and-10 from the 50-yard line with a little over a minute left in the game. A first down would have put the Commanders in desperation field goal range for a game-winning attempt. And they would have been a few yards away from a more realistic attempt. Plus, they could have drained the clock and not left the Steelers time for rebuttal.
A 12-year NFL veteran should know how to run a route. Ertz should have gotten enough depth that a completion guaranteed a first down. Instead, Ertz caught the ball, went to a knee, and couldn’t turn and extend the ball before getting touched down. There’s no excuse.
Stop whining about the referee's spot?
There's a reason why Commanders fans should ignore the noise about the spot. Ertz needs to run one-yard deeper route. It’s the little things the produce NFL wins. Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said he hopes the team grows from this, according to yahoo.com.
“I would hope that the missed opportunities are the lesson to apply,” Quinn said. “Because I thought it was just maybe a little uncharacteristic. I thought maybe a few drops, maybe a few plays that weren't quite like us. I love that we are in this kind of fight. These are the kind of ones that you need to build some resilience and some resolve, but we are establishing that kind of toughness and identity that we want to be about.”
Ertz didn’t live in the dropped-pass room by himself. Dyami Brown dropped a perfect pass in the end zone. Luke McCaffrey dropped a pass that hit him square in the hands. And before the Ertz play, Noah Brown dropped a catchable pass near the sideline. However, Brown’s catch had a higher degree of difficulty than the other three drops.
Dan Quinn said he’s still encouraged.
“I said I love what they stand for, for one another,” Quinn said. “And I don't know if I learned that, but it was confirmed again, and so I was hurting for them. That locker room's hurting. But there's also these lessons that we have to apply to know that we do have to learn from them and go on. And this just happens to be that lesson comes back quickly, as we get into our next game.”
DT Jer'Zhan Newton jumped offsides
Follow closely here. This is the NFL, so the scrutiny level is higher than any other American sport. Because of this, Newton has to take his share of the blame.
First, he’s a rookie. And rookies make mistakes. But with Washington getting a chance to get the ball back, and the Steelers almost certainly trying to draw them offsides instead of running a play, Newton ended the game by jumping offsides. Yes, it happened at the end of the game and made it glaring. But in the NFL, players get more blame when something happens at the end of game. Newton needs to accept it, and move on.
Daniels tried to soothe the situation, saying, “Yeah, it's not, it's not all on him (Newton). That's what everybody's gonna see, just that one big play. But it's not all on him, and we're all together. No matter what people outside the building are saying, are thinking, man, it doesn't matter. What matters is what's in the building and how we love each other, how we support each other. We have each other's backs.”
DB Benjamin St-Juste couldn’t cover Mike Williams
With just over two minutes left in the game, the first thought needs to be: I can’t let the receiver get behind me. St-Juste lined up about eight yards off the ball, but he stood flat-footed until Williams got within two yards of him. So Williams is running full speed while St-Juste is trying to turn. In that situation, it’s inexcusable to play defense like that. Guard the deep ball first. If Williams runs an out or a post, adjust, make the tackle, and keep the lead intact.
St-Juste said, “Sometimes I get caught up in trying to make the play so much that I try to guard everything. In those situations, you’ve got to pick and choose, and you’ve got to pick the right option.”
The right option is cover the deep ball and prevent the touchdown. Every time. The Commanders need Marshon Lattimore on the field as soon as possible.
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