Week 3 Recap – Washington Commanders at Cincinnati Bengals

Washington Wins a Monday Night Football Game 38-33

September 24, 2024

By Noonefromtampa

First Quarter

The Commanders kicked off to the Bengals to start the game. It took the Bengals six plays to score the first touchdown of the game. Joe Burrow threw to Ja’Marr Chase for one yard on the first play and then hit Andrei Iosivas for seven yards to set up a third and 2. Burrows scrambled four yards for a first down and two play later Zack Moss ran around the end for 15 yards putting the ball at Washington’s 41 yard line. Burrow then threw a perfect deep pass over Mike Sainristil to Chase for the touchdown. Evan McPherson converted the extra point.

After the touchback, Austin Ekeler ran off right tackle for 8 yards and then caught a pass for another 8 yards to move the ball to the Washington 46. Brian Robinson ran for no gain on the next play, but then Ekeler picked up another 14 yards on a screen. Jayden Daniels scrambled for 7 yards, but the offense netted only one more yard on the next two plays. On fourth and two, Daniels hit Luke McCaffrey on a crosser in the seam for a 30 yard reception down to the Bengals two yard line. Robinson scored from the one yard line two plays later, Austin Seibert converted the extra point to tie the game.

Chase Brown started the next Bengals drive with a 7 yard run and picked up two more yards on the next play. Moss ran for three yards and the first down.  Chase caught a 16 yard pass from Burrow to move the ball into Washington territory. The Bengals were able to move the ball to the Washington 30 yard line on a 14 yard pass to Tee Higgins, but the Washington defense held at that point. McPherson missed a 48 yard field goal attempt at the start of the second quarter.

Second Quarter

With good starting field position, Washington was able to quickly move the ball down the field. Robinson picked up 7 yards on first down and Daniels scrambled for the first down. Two plays later, Daniels hit Noah Brown for 16 yards. After an incompletion, where Daniels missed a wide-open Terry McLaurin for a touchdown, McCaffrey caught an 11 yard reception for the first down. Ekeler ran off the left side behind several great blocks for the 24-yard touchdown. Seibert converted the extra point to give Washington a 14-7 lead.

Washington’s defense continued to give up big chunks of yardage on the following drive. Moss caught a 9 yards pass, Brown had a 14 yard run and 8 yard catch, and Mike Gesicki caught a 17 yard pass to put the ball at the Washington 8 yard line. Washington’s defense then made stops when it counted. Dante Fowler Jr. sacked Burrow for a six yard loss, held Moss to 5 yards on a draw and forced an incompletion on third down. McPherson made a 28 yard field goal to make the score 14-10.

Washington was able to score in six plays on their next drive. After picking up 5 yards or less on four straight plays, Daniels threw a bomb to McLaurin for 55 yards to put the ball at the Bengals’ 4 yard line. Daniels walked in for the touchdown on the next play on a run option play. Seibert kicked the extra point to give Washington a 21-10 lead.

Getting the ball back just before the two-minute warning, Burrow was able to move the offense quickly down the field. Brown ran for 10 yards, Chase caught a 22 yard pass and Moss ran for 11 yards. Two plays later Erick All Jr. caught an 8 yard pass for a first down. Moss ran for 4 yards but the Washington defense forced incompletions on the next two plays. This forced the Bengals to settle for a 31 yard McPherson field goal to make the score 21-13.

Washington took a knee to end the half.

Third Quarter

Ekeler returned the second half kickoff 62 yards to the Cincinnati 33 yard line. Robinson ran for 5 yards and Zach Ertz caught a 4 yard pass to set up third and short. Daniels ran for the first down on a ran-pass option. Washington picked up 4 yards on two plays, but the Bengals were called for Illegal Use of Hand giving Washington a first down at the 17. After an Ekeler 3 yard run, Daniels hit Brown for a first down at the goal line. Two plays later, Daniels threw a short pass to a wide-open Trent Scott who has reported in as an eligible player for the touchdown. Seibert converted the extra point to give Washington a 28-13 lead.

Brown started Cincinnati’s next drive with a 16 yard run. Javontae Jean-Baptiste sacked Burrows for a 6 yard loss. All caught a 6 yard pass to put the Bengals at third and 10. Chase caught a 16 yard pass over the middle for the first down. The Washington defense kept giving up chunk plays, including a 9 yard reception to Higgins, an 11 yard pass to Moss and a 12 yard run to Brown. The Bengals moved the ball down the two yard line, and on fourth down Iosivas caught a touchdown pass from Burrow at the goal line. McPherson made the extra point to cut Washington’s lead to 28-20.

The Commanders opened the next drive with a 14 yard completion to McLaurin. After stopping Robinson for no gain, Ertz caught a nine yard pass, and then Daniels ran for the first down, even sliding to end the play. Jeremy McNichols subbed in for Ekeler, who went out with a concussion, and ran for one yard.

Fourth Quarter

Washington then gained 9 yards on three plays to give them a fourth and short.  Daniels ran for four yards on an option run play for the first down.  After Robinson ran for one yard and caught a pass for 4 yards, the Bengals blitzed on third down. As a result, Daniels missed an open McLaurin with the pass going wide out of bounds in the end zone. Seibert made a 42 yard field goal to give Washington a 31-20 lead.

The Bengals scored quickly again in only 5 plays on their next drive. Moss ran for 5 yards, and Gesicki caught a pass for 7 yards. A pass for 16 yards went to Iosivas and then back to Gesicki for 11 yards. Burrow then found Chase deep, again past Benjamin St-Juste for a 31 yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, cutting the lead to 31-26.

Washington started the next drive with their penalty of the game for a false start. Ertz caught two consecutive passes for 6 yards and 12 yards to get the first down. After picking up 8 yards on two running plays, McLaurin caught a 4 yard pass for a first down. Washington then had a penalty and sack on the next two plays for a second and twenty. Dyami Brown caught consecutive 8 yard passes and Ertz picked up the first down with a 9 yard catch on fourth down. Robinson ran twice for 3 yards, setting up a third and seven with less than three minutes left in the game. After a Washington timeout, McLaurin caught a 27 yard touchdown in one-on-one coverage, with a great throw by Daniels. Seibert converted the extra point for 38-26 lead. More importantly, the drive took seven and half minutes off the clock.

The Bengals got the ball back with 2:10 left on the clock. They were able to march down the field quickly again, with a 12 yard pass to Gesicki, a 13 yard pass to Moss and two 13 yard passes to Iosivas. Noah Igbinoghene was called for defensive pass interference in the end zone to give the Bengals a first down at the goal line. Moss scored two plays later and McPherson nailed the extra point attempt.

The onside kick failed, and Washington took one final play to end the game.

Thoughts

The Washington defense gives up way too many 10+ yard plays and still has trouble getting off the field on third down.

Jayden Daniels had his coming out party on Monday Night Football in front of a national TV audience with a nearly flawless performance.  Tress Way did not have to punt the entire night. Daniels finished 21 for 23 for 254 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions.

Kliff Kingsbury called an excellent game. Austin Ekeler will be missed if he is out for any extended time. He brings versatility to the offense.

Austin Seibert has been an excellent find at the kicker position.

Washington will need to draft an edge rusher or cornerback early in the draft next year. The defense needs a lot of help.