The Washington Commanders suffered yet another defeat in Week 15 at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams. The 28-20 final score makes the game look close, but that would not be rooted in reality.
The Rams jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the second quarter and then reestablished a 28-7 lead in the fourth. This was despite the Rams losing the turnover battle 2-1 thanks to a couple of fumbles from breakout running back Kyren Williams.
A couple of Commanders touchdowns late in the fourth quarter made the final score close, but that's all those scores did. The Rams controlled this game. They outgained the Commanders 445-297 and used up roughly 36 of the available 60 minutes of game clock. How did this happen? Who is to blame for yet another disappointing Commanders loss? Two areas in particular, stand out.
Sam Howell
Sam Howell has had a solid season for the Commanders in his first season as a starter in the NFL. Howell is seventh in the NFL in passing yards. Howell also ranks third in the NFL in air yards, second in money throws, and third in pressured completion percentage, via playerprofiler.
But, Howell also ranks just 25th in yards per attempt, first in interceptable passes, and fourth in danger plays. Howell has 25 passes that are deemed interceptable and has gotten picked off 15 times. He got picked off again yesterday.
Howell was a bit unlucky on that play, but he did put the ball in harm's way. More things could go wrong on that play than they could go right, and they went wrong there. Howell got benched for the rest of that game with the game out of hand in the fourth quarter.
He finished just 11-26 for 102 yards with a touchdown and that one interception. Jacoby Brissett came in and immediately led two touchdown drives, including this dime to Terry McLaurin in the fourth quarter.
Sam Howell has had a fine season. Growing pains were expected for a second-year player entering his first season as a starter. But he didn't hold up his end of the bargain on Sunday, and it cost the Commanders dearly.
The Commanders' Secondary
Washington's secondary is nowhere near depleted. They have good players in the back end of their defense, most notably safety Kam Curl. Washington drafted cornerback Emmanuel Forbes in the first round out of Mississippi State, but he has not lived up to expectations so far. But hardly anybody else in that secondary has either.
They entered this game against the Rams by allowing the highest EPA per dropback in the NFL. That number only grew after what the Rams did to them.
Matthew Stafford went 25-33 for 258 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. His two touchdowns could not have been any easier. No one was around Cooper Kupp when he broke free for a 62-yard touchdown early in the third quarter.
DeMarcus Robinson wasn't as open as Kupp was on his touchdown in the fourth quarter which effectively iced the game, but he was also very open without a Commander near him to deter him from the ball.
The Commanders continue to get diced up through the air defensively, and coincidentally, they continue to keep losing. The Commanders have given up at least 28 points in six of their last seven games and have won the only game they didn't relinquish that many points. But that was against the hapless New England Patriots. Their secondary is a major problem and has to get addressed in the offseason.
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