Washington Commanders at Atlanta Falcons – Week 6

October 15, 2023

By Noonefromtampa

Washington Wins on the Road in Atlanta 24-16

First Quarter

Atlanta won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half.  The offense featured a lot of passing and few runs on the first drive, plus a number of third and long situations. Howell hit Curtis Samuel on third and nine for a first down. Terry McLaurin picked up 10 yards on a pass and then three plays later had one for 22 yards. After a first down sack where Howell held the ball too long, Samuel caught a 10 yard pass on third and 16, forcing a 37 yard field goal by Joey Slye. Commanders 3, Falcons 0.

After the touchback, the Falcons were able to pretty much march done the field at will. Desmond Ridder hit Kyle Pitts for nine yards on third and eight. Two plays later, Ridder hit Drake London for 20 yards. That was followed by a 16 yard catch and run by Mack Hollins. After a sack on second down, Ridder hit London for 11 yards on third and eight.  After a 6 yard run by Tyler Allgeier, Ridder hit Pitts for a 9 yard touchdown. Falcons 7, Commanders 3.

The Commanders were able to pick up a first down on a 13 yard pass to McLaurin, but a holding call on Nick Gates during a 14 yard screen to Brian Robinson put Washington into a hole. Washington was unable to convert after starting with a first and nineteen to go.

Second Quarter

After Tress Way‘s punt, the Commanders defense held the Falcons to a three and out. Jamison Crowder returned the punt 61 yards to the Falcons 11 yard line. Samuel then picked up 9 yards on a shovel pass, and two plays later, Howell hit a wide-open Antonio Gibson for a 1 yard touchdown pass on a tremendous play action fake. Commanders 10, Falcons 7.

On Atlanta’s next drive, after picking up first downs on passes to London and Cordarrelle Patterson, Bijan Robinson picked up 7 yards on a pitch play run to the right. After that, the Falcons failed to gain any more yards on three straight plays, forcing a turnover on downs.

On the following possession, Jahan Dotson dropped a pass wide open about 20 yards up field. Robinson then picked up 9 yards on second down. After no gain on third down, Howell ran the ball on a run-pass option play to pick up the first down. Gibson then gained 9 yards and McLaurin had an 18 yard catch on a play action fake. Howell then hit Samuel for a 7 yard touchdown. Slye converted the extra point. Commanders 17, Falcons 7.

After the touchback, the Washington defense gave up several big plays to Atlanta on third down. The first was a 19 yard pass to Pitts on third and five. The second was a 22 yard pass to Robinson on third and 7. Ridder was called for intentional grounding, which set up up a second and 26. Ridder hit London for 11 yards on third down to put Atlanta back in field goal range. Younghoe Koo hit a 47 yard field goal. Commanders 17, Falcons 10.

Washington got the ball back with 1:31 left on the clock and no timeouts. Howell took consecutive sacks on first and second down. After a third down incompletion, Way punted the ball away.

Atlanta started with a false start and picked up only 4 yards in three plays, forcing a Bradley Pinion punt. Washington ran out the clock at that point.

Third Quarter

On the Falcons’ first drive of the second half, after starting with an incompletion, Ridder then hit London for 17 yards. Atlanta then ran two times for 3 yards. On third and 7, Kendall Fuller intercepted Ridder and returned it 23 yards to the Atlanta 27 yard line.

On Washington’s first possession, Robinson ran for three yards over the left guard and then caught a 24 yard screen pass for a touchdown, bowling over a Falcons defender at the goal line. Slye converted the extra point. Commanders 24, Falcons, 10.

Atlanta was able to get a first down on a Ridder scramble, when the quarterback eluded Chase Young‘s grasp. On third and three, Allgeier then rushed for 7 yards on two plays. Casey Toohill then sacked Ridder on third and three for an 11 yard loss.

After the punt, Chris Rodriguez ran two straight times for 7 and 13 yards, picking up a first down. The next two plays netted two yards and a third down sack of Howell for a 7 yard loss, bringing on Way for another punt.

The Falcons drive opened with a 13 yard scramble by Ridder.  After a short run by Allgeier, Ridder hit Jonnu Smith on consecutive plays for 13 yards and 17 yards. Three plays later, Danny Johnson was called for defensive pass interference on third down against Pitts.

Fourth Quarter

Allgeier ran for 9 yards on two plays. On third and short, James Smith-Williams and Cody Barton tackled Robinson for a three yard loss. On fourth down, Ridder hit Hollins for 7 yards and the first down.  Two plays later, Smith caught the two yard touchdown pass. The Falcons went for a two-point attempt. On the first attempt, Benjamin St-Juste was called for defensive pass interference, which gave the Falcons another attempt. On the second try, Khaleke Hudson stopped Allgeier short of the goal line. Commanders 24, Falcons 16.

On Washington’s next drive, Howell started off by hitting McLaurin on a crossing route for 18 yards. After that, the offense picked up only 3 yards, forcing another Way punt.

The Falcons opened with a 32 yard completion to London over St-Juste. Atlanta mixed runs with a few passes, moving the ball 26 more yards. On third and nine, Jartavius Martin strip-sacked Ridder but Barton was called for roughing the passer, which gave Atlanta a first down. The Falcons were then able to move the ball down to the Washington two yard line. After a delay of game penalty, Ridder threw an ill-advised pass which was intercepted by St-Juste in the end zone.

Washington then went three and out with another sack on Howell. Atlanta turned the ball over on downs after gaining 2 yards in four plays. Washington also gained two yards before punting it away, with Way putting inside the 10 at the Atlanta 7 yard line.

Atlanta then went to the two-minute offense and completed five straight passes, including 12 yards to London, 11 yards to London, 9 yards to Robinson, 18 yards to Hollins, and 9 yards to MyCole Pruitt. Atlanta then had a strange sequence. Ridder spiked the ball after the Pruitt catch, followed by them having to take a timeout when the play clock ran low. After the timeout, they tried a short throw to Robinson which was intercepted by Jamin Davis. Washington then ran out the clock.

Thoughts

Eric Bieniemy’s play calling is uneven over the course of the game. He made deep passing calls when he should have called running draws or screens to take pressure off of Howell. He needs to call more crossing or rub plays to free players up on intermediate routes.

Sam Howell is going to have a short career taking beatings like this every week.