Week 15 Game Recap – Washington Commanders at New Orleans Saints

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Commanders Hold On to Beat Saints 20-19

December 16, 2024

By Noonefromtampa

First Quarter

Washington won the coin toss and elected to defer to the second half. Kendre Miller returned the kickoff 35 yards to start the game. Alvin Kamara ran for three yards on first down and Marquez Valdes-Scantling gained 4 yards on an end around. Third down brought a hold call on the Saints offensive line and the Commanders sacked Jake Haener on the repeat of third down. Jamison Crowder returned the punt 9 yards out to the Washington 44 yard line.

Jayden Daniels scrambled for one yard and then threw 8 yards to Terry McLaurin on second down. Brian Robinson picked up the first down with a 1 yard run. Robinson then ran for 9 yards and followed up with a 5 yard run for another first down. After a 1 yard run by Daniels and a penalty the Commanders found themselves in a third and nine. Crowder only picked up 5 yards on his catch. Greg Joseph hit the 45 yard field goal, but the Saints were called for a personal foul giving Washington a first down at the Saints 13. Then can a bizarre series of plays which saw Washington get penalized twice, one nullifying an Olamide Zaccheaus touchdown catch and a fumble by Daniels which Jeremy McNichols recovered. On a scramble from the Saints 16 yard line, Daniels found an open McLaurin for a touchdown giving Washington a 7-0 after a successful extra point.

After the Miller returned the kickoff 25 yards, he was stuffed for a 1 yard loss by Jeremy Chinn. Kamara caught a pass over the middle and ran for 29 yards breaking several tackles. Dorance Armstrong sacked Haener for a 9 yard loss on the next play. Bobby Wagner stuffed Kamara for a 3 yard loss and then Haener scrambled for 7 yards on third down and 22 to go. Crowder fair caught the punt at the Commanders 8 yard line.

Robinson gained two yards on first down and Zach Ertz caught a pass for 6 yards over the middle. McLaurin caught an out route for 5 yards and the first down to end the first quarter.

Second Quarter

Dyami Brown took a shuttle pass around the right end for 16 yards. Daniels was sacked by Chase Young for a 4 yard loss. Robinson caught a pass for 6 yards. McLaurin picked up the first down, but Brown was called for holding. Cameron Jordan sacked Daniels for a 7 yard loss forcing a Tress Way punt.

The Saints started at their own 26 and Kamara ran for 6 yards on first down. Valdes-Scantling missed a pass intended for him which went through his hands. Haener was chased out of the pocket on the next play, and he threw an ill-timed pass which was intercepted by Mike Sainristil at the Washington 47 yard line.

Daniels scrambled for no gain on first down and Robinson was called for holding on second down. Daniels then hit a pair of 12 yard receptions, first to Brown and then to Crowder for the first down. After McNichols lost a yard on first down, Zaccheaus caught a screen and ran for 9 yards. Daniels scrambled for 2 yards and the first down. Robinson ran around the left end for 7 yards, but a second down pass was batted down. On third down and three, Daniels hit Ertz for 19 yards down to the Saints three-yard line. Ertz was injured on the play. Daniels hit McLaurin for his second touchdown on a crosser in the end zone. Joseph converted the extra point for a 14-0 lead.

The Saints went three and out ending with a nine yard sack by Chinn after the Saints gained 5 yards on the first two downs.

Starting on their own 29, Robinson gained 1 yard on first down. Robin then caught a pass for 8 yards over the middle. Washington took a timeout just before the two-minute warning.  On what looked like a broken play, Daniels broke a tackle to elude a sack and gained two yards for the first down. After gaining no yards on the first two downs, Daniels was sacked for a 14 yard loss. Way punted it for 50 yards and the Saints returned in 5 yards to their 29 yard line.

The Saints started off with an incompletion and a 5 yard pass to Kamara. On third and five, Haener hit Dante Pettis who had Sainristil turned around. The Washington defense then forced three straight incompletions with Sainristil almost picking off another pass. The Saints were able to down the ball at the Washington two-yard line on a great special teams play.

Washington weirdly ran out the clock while trying to gain yardage to end the half.

Third Quarter

Robinson ran for three yards and Daniels scrambled for 6 yards up the middle. Daniels picked up 5 yards on an option play on third down. Zaccheaus caught a short pass and ran for 14 yards. Daniels hit Robinson on a quick screen which was ruled a lateral and he ran for 20 yards. Robinson ran for 1 yard and then Daniels scrambled for 10 yards down to the Saints 9 yard line. Robinson ran twice for 4 yards down to the one. On third down, the Commanders tried a trick play to throw the ball, but the Saints sacked Daniels instead. Joseph converted the 23-yard field goal to extend the lead to 17-0.

Spenser Rattler replaced Haener at quarterback. After two incompletions, Rattler connected with Pettis for 12 yards and a first down. Kamara then ran for 4 yards. After a Saints false start, Valdes-Scantling caught a 39 yard pass where Chinn thought he had the interception. Then Rattler lateralled to Cedrick Wilson Jr.  who hit Kamara for a 21-yard touchdown down the right side past Frankie Luvu. The extra point was good, cutting the lead to 17-7.

After the kickoff return out to the Washington 32, Robinson lost a yard on first down. Daniels then hit McLaurin for 25 yards on an out route down the left sideline. Robinson ran twice for a total of 4 yards lost. On third down and 14, Daniels scrambled for 24 yards to the Saints 24-yard line. After Robinson gained 1 yard on first down, the Commanders picked up a false start and lost 5 yards. Young then sacked Daniels for a 5 yard loss. On third and 19, Crowder caught a 10 yard pass from Daniels. Joseph missed the 41 yard field goal apparently, but the quarter ended before the ball was snapped.

Fourth Quarter

The second try from Joseph was good, putting the lead at 20-7.

After the kickoff return to the Saints 26, the Washington defense stopped them on all three downs but Benjamin St-Juste was called for an illegal use of hand penalty giving the Saints a first down. Miller ran for 8 yards Fabian Moreau caught a 12 yard pass from Rattler and then Miller ran for 17 yards. Dante Fowler was called for roughing the passer giving the Saints 15 more yards.  Fowler then stuffed Miller for a 6 yard loss. After two incompletions, the Saints kicked the 41 yard field goal to cut the lead to 20-10.

Luke McCaffrey returned the kickoff 34 yards. Robinson caught a 9-yards pass and ran for 2 yards. Daniels then just overthrew McLaurin on a deep shot over the middle. After a 2 yard run and a sack, Washington was forced to punt again, The Saints were called for holding on the return, which backed them up to their own 16-yard line.

Moreau had a 19 yard reception which was compounded with another 15 yard roughing the passer call on Fowler. Rattler then hit Valdes-Scantling for 25 yards, but Darrick Forrest hit him and Chinn so hard it knocked both players out of the game. Miller dropped a pass and Luvu dropped an interception on the next two plays. A strong pass rush forced Rattler to throw it away. The 51 yard field goal attempt by Blake Grupe was good. The lead was now down to 20-13.

After the kickoff return, Brown caught another shuttle pass for 2 yards and was injured on the play but left under his own power. McLaurin dropped a sure touchdown pass when left uncovered up the right sideline.  Ben Sinnott caught a 7 yard pass to put the Commanders in fourth and 1 at their own 45 yard line. Daniels dove for the first down on the keeper. Washington took another deep shot to McLaurin who appeared to be interfered with but there was no call. Robinson ran for 7 yards and John Bates caught a 6-yard pass for the first down. Robinson lost 2 yards, but Zaccheaus caught a rifle shot on an in route for 13 yards and another first down with 2:48 left on the clock. Robinson lost 3 yards on the next play, but the Saints had to burn a timeout to stop the clock. Daniels hit Brown for 23 yards, but it was negated by a holding penalty by Nick Allegretti. After an incompletion, Robin ran for 7 yards on third down. Joseph missed a 54 yard field goal wide right.

Miller ran for 12 yards on first down. Juwan Johnson caught a 3 yard pass and Miller ran for 6 yards. Rattler hit Kevin Austin for 8 yards and the first down. Miller ran for 12 yards but lost 2 on the next play. Johnson caught a pass for 9 yards and two plays later caught Moreau 7 yard first down pass to the Washington 1 yard line. Rattler spiked the ball to stop the clock. He hit Moreau for the touchdown on the next play with no time remaining. The Saints elected to go for the two point conversion to win the game, but Rattler had no open players and missed on the throw to Johnson to end the game

Thoughts

Michael Dieter got the start at center since Tyler Biadasz was a late scratch due to illness. The offensive line and Jayden Daniels gave up a lot of sacks, eight, in this game.

The Commanders missed several plays to Terry McLaurin that would have put the game out of reach and not have had such a heart-stopping finish.

The officiating was very inconsistent in the game, especially in the second half. Dante Fowler was called on a second roughing the passer call on a very legitimate tackle of the quarterback. McLaurin appeared to be interfered with on a deep pass play but no call was made. Several offensive holding calls against the Saints appeared to have been missed, including one where a pass rusher was more or less tackled. Then there was the clock “error” at the end of the game.

 

Dan Quinn made several questionable calls during the game. First, not electing to just run the clock out at the end of the first half. The biggest one was the 54 yard field goal late in the fourth quarter versus a pooch punt to back the Saints up at the end of the game.

Kliff Kingsbury had some inspired calls and some really dumb calls in the game. His inability to sustain the running game and pass protect should have forced some adjustments in the offense but they seemed inconsistent in use.

The Commanders made too many mental mistakes and penalties against an inferior opponent and allowed them back into the game.

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