Jaguars @ Commanders
Final Score: Commanders 28, Jaguars 22
Writer: Justin Herrera (@Semtexmex93 on Twitter)
Week 1 in the NFL and Jacksonville Jaguars visited the nation’s capital to play the Commanders. The Commanders got off to an early lead in a battle of two revamped teams, but two picks in the second half helped the Jaguars take over. It took some big plays from the Commanders’ receiving core to get them the win on Sunday and with some help from their newest first-round pick Jahan Dotson. The most relevant inactive in the game was Brian Robinson, who is recovering well after suffering multiple gunshot wounds in an attempted carjacking. The game result was the Washington Commanders 28, Jacksonville Jaguars 22.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Quarterback
Trevor Lawrence: 24/42, 275 yards, TD, INT | 2 carries, 4 yards
Trevor Lawrence with a 3-yard TD pass on the move to James Robinson.
— #ClemsonNFL (@ClemsonPros) September 11, 2022
Trevor Lawrence might be free of Urban Meyer, but he still has a lot of work to do as a quarterback. He missed quite a few throws high and had a touchdown dropped on more than one drive. Lawrence started out going two for four and 40 yards on his first drive leading his team to a field goal and the first points of the game. The Jags went four straight drives without points, and the first drive of the second half is when Lawrence found Christian Kirk for 62 yards on two catches and eventually turned in a three-yard TD to James Robinson. Lawrence would get into a groove on the next drive, completing four of six for 35 yards, helping set the Jags up in field goal range. Then coming off an interception, Lawrence would take to the field and throw for 29 yards on two completions to set up a go-ahead field goal. This drive could’ve had a different outcome if Lawrence hadn’t gotten intentional grounding on the first down. On the last drive of the game, T-Law completed two of four for 12 yards and wildly underthrew Christian Kirk and was intercepted to end the game.
Overall, Lawrence seems like he’s still got a lot of work to do with coach Pederson. I think there’s still a lot to be excited about, as he now has weapons at every field level. Getting more accurate downfield is going to help him and I’d like to see him utilize his legs a little bit more as well.
Running Back
James Robinson: 11 carries, 66 yards, TD| 2 targets, 1 reception, 3 yards, TD
Travis Etienne Jr: 4 carries, 47 yards | 4 targets, 2 receptions, 18 yards
James Robinson is back, baby! I think he looked fast, agile, and decisive in his running on Sunday. He ran the ball 11 times for 66 yards and two touchdowns (one receiving, one rushing). Robinson got going early with a 22-yard run on the opening drive. He would stay consistent throughout the game, with his biggest play coming off a Wentz pick; Robinson found a lane for an 11-yard TD. Robinson would also tack on a three-yard receiving TD early on in the game.
Travis Etienne, the team’s 2021 first-round pick, was also explosive in this game. He broke off runs for 27 and 16 yards to the outside and reeled in a 23-yard pass. overall, and he finished with 65 total yards. Look for this team to shuffle these guys going forward, and both looked explosive for coming off their respective injuries.
Has anyone ever considered that James Robinson is just good at football?
Maybe stop finding excuses to fade players & accept what’s right in front of your eyes
— Anthony Cervino (@therealNFLguru) September 11, 2022
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Christian Kirk: 12 targets, 6 receptions, 117 yards
Zay Jones: 9 targets, 6 receptions, 65 yards
Marvin Jones Jr: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 38 yards
Evan Engram: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 28 yards
Jamal Agnew: 1 target, 1 reception, 6 yards | 1 carry, 6 yards
JAMES ROBINSON IS BACK🔥
pic.twitter.com/q924rSUNHO— PFF Fantasy & Betting (@PFF_Fantasy) September 11, 2022
So far, Christian Kirk is worth his money, going for six catches and 117 yards on 12 targets. The second half is when Kirk came alive, catching four passes for 83 yards, anchored by a 49-yard deep ball to start the drive. Followed by a 13-yard catch that was almost a TD if Kirk had kept himself in bounds, but this eventually set up a three-yard TD catch by James Robinson.
Zay Jones is another guy who earned his money, collecting six passes for 65 yards on Sunday. Jones started his day with a 15-yard catch and run, helping to set up a field goal attempt. Zay was used underneath and short throughout the game, collecting passes of 15 and 18 yards while moving the chains on both receptions. Marvin Jones Jr, usually the team’s perimeter weapon, couldn’t quite get on the same page with Lawrence in this game, missing both his deep targets. While he still produced, not being able to exploit a weaker secondary held back the Jags in this game. Evan Engram caught all four of his targets for 28 yards but wasn’t a bigger factor in this game.
Washington Commanders
Quarterback
Carson Wentz: 27/41, 313 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT | 6 carries, 12 yards
This is the most Carson Wentz game ever pic.twitter.com/T9GBRaAiFC
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) September 11, 2022
Carson Wentz is going to Carson Wentz. What do I mean by that? Well, he’s going to look awesome at times and absolutely like the worst at times. That being said, Wentz pulled his head out of his butt in this game. Wentz started off excellent on the first drive connecting on four of five passes for 65 yards, including a 26-yarder to Antonio Gibson. Setting up a three-yard flat route to Curtis Samuel for the first touchdown of the Commanders’ season. He followed that drive up with another TD drive, and he went eight of 12 for 58 yards and a seven-yard score to Jahan Dotson. Then there was a lull period for the Commanders’ with them punting on three of their next five drives.
This leads us to the other side of Wentz; as the Jags climbed back into this game, the Commanders needed to score to build back up a lead. Wentz, with one minute left in the third, threw two interceptions (one called back), and the one that stuck was terrible on his part. As he didn’t see the defender glued onto his receiver’s dig route. The second interception was a mixture of Wentz trying to hard to make a play and rookie Travon Walker being a freak athlete. The full circle moment of this game came on the next drive as Wentz led his team to back-to-back touchdowns, one 49-yarder to Terry McLaurin. Then he would lead the final drive by completing five of seven for 59 yards and a 24-yarder to Dotson for a game-winning TD.
Running Back
Antonio Gibson: 14 carries, 58 yards | 8 targets, 7 receptions, 72 yards
J.D. McKissic: 3 carries, 8 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 20 yards
Did anybody know that Antonio Gibson mostly played wide receiver in college?pic.twitter.com/kVLOIz4Wui
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) September 11, 2022
Antonio Gibson looked comfortable in this game, rushing for 58 yards and going for 72 receiving yards. He had a big game for his confidence, breaking off runs of 13 and 11 yards. He also caught two passes for 25 yards each, almost turning the first one into a touchdown. J.D. McKissic wasn’t as active in this game because Gibson was successful in the run-and-passing game. He still reeled in all three targets for 20 yards and carried the ball three times for eight yards.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Terry McLaurin: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 58 yards, TD
Curtis Samuel: 11 targets, 8 receptions, 55 yards, TD | 4 carries, 17 yards
Logan Thomas: 6 targets, 3 receptions, 45 yards
Jahan Dotson: 5 targets, 3 receptions, 40 yards, 2 TDs
Armani Rogers: 1 target, 1 reception, 23 yards
CARSON WENTZ 🚀 TERRY MCLAURIN
pic.twitter.com/H0HCoO2AUp— PFF (@PFF) September 11, 2022
Jahan Dotson was my favorite receiver in this game; not only was this the first game of his NFL career, but he caught two TDs. And he caught the touchdown that put the Commanders in the driver’s seat, with a hell of a catch at the end. Terry McLaurin was almost a complete non-factor in this game until the second to last drive, where he scored on a 49-yard deep ball to pull within two of the lead. Curtis Samuel was used all over the field in this game, rushing for 17 yards while catching eight receptions for 55 yards as the team’s primary underneath guy. Samuel also caught a three-yard touchdown. Logan Thomas was back, fresh off an ACL tear, and caught three of six targets for 45 yards, including a 27-yard reception that led to a McLaurin TD. Armani Rogers also caught a 23-yarder on the first drive to set up the team’s first TD.