Game Recap: Washington Commanders at Detroit Lions

September 19, 2022

By Noonefromtampa

First Half

Washington won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. The Commanders defense started the game off strong, forcing a three and out on the Lions’ first series. After backing the Lions up to second and 12 due to a false start on Penei Sewell, William Jackson III broke up a pass to T.J. Hockenson with a hard hit. Then, Jamin Davis sacked Jared Goff on third down for a 12 yard loss out a twist stunt.

On their first possession, Washington could not find any rhythm and also went three and out. On the next Detroit series, a miscommunication between Benjamin St-Juste and Jackson led to Amon-Ra St. Brown getting open for a 49 yard completion to the Washington 24 yard line. However, the Lions were only able to pick up 7 more yards, so they had to settle for 35 yard field goal from Austin Seibert.

Washington’s next series was not any better.  The Lions’ defensive line was able to put consistent pressure on Carson Wentz.  He was called for intentional grounding, which led to a second and 22 at the Washington 16 yard line. The Commanders were unable to pick up the first down and Tress Way had to punt again.

With Detroit starting at its own 43 yard line, D’Andre Swift took a handoff and ran for 50 yards on a trap play up the middle of the defense to the Commanders 7 yard line. Only Bobby McCain, who took a good angle, prevented him from scoring a touchdown. The Washington defense was then able to hold the defense to only 4 additional yards and forced a turnover on downs after the Lions elected not to kick a field goal on fourth down.

Washington’s offensive ineptitude continued on the next series, with Wentz fumbling out of the end zone while getting sacked for a Lions safety. On the free kick by Way, Kalif Raymond returned the kick 52 yards, with Jeremy Reaves making the touchdown-saving tackle. Not that it mattered much, because after a 13 yard completion to Craig Reynolds and a 5 yard run by Jamaal Williams, Goff hit St. Brown for a 13 yard touchdown pass.

After another Washington three and out, the Lions picked up 23 yards on a Goff to Josh Reynolds completion. The Lions only picked up five yards after that, but converted a 48 yard field goal.

With a relentless pass rush by the Lions, Wentz was sacked again on the next series.  Washington only got 13 yards on a third and sixteen situation to force yet another Way punt.

On their next series, the Lions were able to drive 77 yards in 9 plays against an overwhelmed Washington defense. The drive featured an excellent mixture of runs and passes with 5 different Lions players touching the ball. Josh Reynolds caught the 3 yard touchdown from Goff.

Washington actually got a first down on the next series, but that glimmer of hope was short lived, as a second first down not coming and the Commanders were forced to punt. The good news was that Washington forced the Lions into a three and out on the subsequent possession. The bad news was that St-Juste dropped a interception on third that he should have caught.

Washington was able to pick up another first down on their next series, but Washington failed to convert and was forced to punt again after a Wentz sack for a 9 yard loss. The Lions then had another three and out when Goff missed an open DJ Chark on third down, just overthrowing him on a deep route that possibly could have been another touchdown. Washington got the ball back on offense with 5 seconds left but didn’t do anything with it.

Lions 22, Washington 0

Second Half

Washington opened the second half with a short gain by Antonio Gibson.  Wentz then hit Jahan Dotson for a 40 yard completion. After a short completion to Terry McLaurin, Wentz hit Curtis Samuel for a 15 yard touchdown. The Washington defense continued to hold the Lions and forced its third straight three and out to get Washington the ball back quickly.

On the next series, Wentz hit McLaurin for 18 yard gain and Gibson picked up 8 yards on a carry. The Lions then intercepted a pass tipped by Logon Thomas to stop that drive. The Lions were able to pick a first down on the next series, but were stopped and forced to punt. The punt left Washington backed up on their own six yard line.

Washington then was able to drive 94 yards down then field and score another touchdown. Dotson got a first down on a 9 yard catch, after which Wentz hit McLaurin for a 35 yard gain. The next four plays were a short run by Gibson, 27 yard completion to Samuel, a short gain by Gibson, and a 20 yard touchdown catch by Logan Thomas. Dotson caught the ball on the successful two-point conversion attempt to cut the lead to 22-15.

The next series, St. Brown picked up 58 yards on a jet sweep that caught the defense flatfooted. After a sack and an incompletion, Goff hit Swift for a short completion on third and fifteen and Swift outraced the defense to the end zone.

Washington came up short on third and two on the next series but elected to go for it on fourth down. McLaurin picked up 7 yards on a jet sweep. John Bates caught his first pass of the season for 9 yards.  Then, one play later McLaurin picked up a 17 yard completion on a third and three. This was followed up by a 21 yard run by Samuel on a reverse. J.D. McKissic caught a 10 yard pass and Gibson followed that up with an 11 yard reception down to the one yard line. Next play saw Gibson stretch to get the ball across the goal line.  For reasons known only to Ron Rivera, the Commanders went for the two-point again, which failed, leaving Washington trailing 29-21.

Detroit was able to respond on the next series. The Lions went 70 yards for a touchdown in only six plays. The four plays were key to the drive, including an 18 yard completion to Hockenson, an 8 yard completion to St. Brown, a 25 yard reception by tight end Brock Wright, and an 11 yard touchdown pass to St. Brown.

On the following drive, Washington was able to drive 76 yards in 14 plays for another touchdown, but time was quickly running out on the Commanders. The big play was an 18 yard scramble by Wentz along with McKissic catching 3 passes for 25 yards on the drive. Joey Slye missed the extra point.

Detroit almost converted on fourth down on the next series, but Kendall Fuller knocked the ball out of St. Brown’s hands. The Commanders got the ball back with about 90 seconds to go and trailing by 9 points. As a fitting end to the game, Wentz was sacked for the 6^th time on fourth down. The Lions then ran out the clock.

Detroit 36, Washington 27

Game Thoughts

• Horrible offensive game plan to start the game.
• Terrible offensive line play through most of the game. Wentz had little time to throw on most downs, especially on obvious passing downs.
• The team gave up too many big plays on defense and special teams, which let the Lions score a bunch of points.
• The game management by the entire coaching staff was dismal.
• Jahan Dotson is living up to being a first round draft pick.
• Darrick Forrest didn’t have as good a game as week 1, but still put in some highlight plays.