Commanders @ Cardinals
Final Score: WAS 42 – ARI 14
Writer: Chris Helle (@ChrisHelleQBL on Twitter)
Watch out folks – this Commanders’ team is earning more and more respect with each passing week. In a faceoff between two red-hot mobile quarterbacks, Kyler Murray’s opening drive was capped off by a Marvin Harrison Jr. touchdown. The Commanders responded with a heavily run-oriented attack as Brian Robinson went for 38 yards on five carries with a touchdown to boot. Arizona’s offense went stagnant as it was plagued by penalties and sacks, resulting in three straight punts and a turnover on downs for the remainder of the half. Filling in for Austin Ekeler, Jeremy McNichols raised some eyebrows as he broke off a 27-yard touchdown. That touchdown was the start of a 20-point run that went unanswered by the Cardinals. Jayden Daniels was a machine: scoring on the ground, setting up a field goal as the first half expired, and then connecting with Terry McLaurin on a 10-yard strike. James Conner led an efficient drive for a touchdown to close out the third quarter, but another McNichols touchdown and a fumble from Michael Wilson midway through the fourth put this blowout to bed.
Two Up
- Jayden Daniels – This kid continues to impress. He may have thrown his first interception of the season, but he has turned this offense into one of the most efficient offenses in the league converting seven of nine drives into points.
- Jeremy McNichols – Robinson is the featured back without question, but averaging over eight yards per carry with two touchdowns is an awesome day. He may have earned himself some more snaps moving forward.
One Down
- Emari DeMarcado – Fumbled on the kickoff but was luckily recovered by Deejay Dallas. He was plain and simply inefficient in his few opportunities. Trey Benson, who saw only two snaps last week, came in on the game’s final drive and had eight carries for 44 yards. It may have been garbage time, but these two are fighting for Conner’s scraps.
Washington Commanders
Quarterback
Jayden Daniels: 26/30 233 Yards, 1 TD, 1 INT | 8 Attempts, 47 Yards, 1 TD
You wouldn’t know he’s a rookie with how calm and collected Daniels runs this offense. He’s obviously a talented runner and works through his progressions like a seasoned vet. The one kink in his armor is some inaccurate throws when he goes for the long ball, but you have to respect his confidence in not shying away from doing so. All three shots of over 25 yards were overthrown, the first of which was intercepted, but that didn’t phase him. That interception and one punt were the only drives that failed to put points on the board. Leading this team to 3-1, he’s on a fast track for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Running Back
Austin Ekeler: DNP
Brian Robinson: 21 Attempts, 101 Yards, 1 TD | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 12 Yards
McNichols’ production was a pleasant surprise for Washington but make no mistake, this is Robinson’s backfield. He was on the field for the entire first quarter, getting all five of the rush attempts (including one out of wildcat) for 38 yards and a touchdown on the first drive. Two of his receptions came on check-downs, and the third was a designed bubble screen. He’s a highly efficient runner and the plays designed around getting him the ball are a great sign for his continued volume moving forward.
Jeremy McNichols: 8 Attempts, 68 Yards, 2 TDs | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 6 Yards
With Ekeler sidelined due to an injury, McNichols got his opportunity to earn a bigger role and he made the most of it. He broke off a 27-yard touchdown run in the early second quarter, and another seven-yarder on the last drive of the game. Unironically, his build and running style is fairly similar to Ekeler’s. He may have earned more field time moving forward, though he and Ekeler will be scavenging between the snaps that Robinson is out for.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Terry McLaurin: 10 Targets, 7 Receptions, 52 Yards, 1 TD
Two of the three targets that failed to connect were deep shots down the field that were overthrown, and the other was a bubble screen he simply dropped. Nonetheless, McLaurin must be living the high life now that he’s found a quarterback who can get him the ball on his intermediate-level routes. He is in no danger of being overtaken in target share by the rest of the receiving corps and it will be exciting to watch if Daniels can figure out his deep balls.
Olamide Zaccheaus: 6 Targets, 6 Receptions, 85 Yards
Zaccheaus got his turn as the #2 receiver behind McLaurin showing off his YAC ability. Outside of a few out routes and slants, 41 of his yards came from a jet motion pop-pass in the backfield and a screen caught at the line of scrimmage. His only blemish on the day doesn’t go on the stat sheet as he drew a taunting penalty following the 14 gain on the pop-pass, resulting in -1 yards in field position.
Noah Brown: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 26 Yards
Another incompletion that didn’t go on the stat sheet was an overthrown ball from Jayden that could’ve been a 30+ yard touchdown, but the tandem was bailed out by a DPI call. Each of his receptions was in the 5-12 yard range, with the lone incompletion coming from Jayden over-leading him on a shallow crosser.
Zach Ertz: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 22 Yards
Ertz’s first catch of the day was up the seam to set up a 45-yard field goal right before the half. He also was the recipient of a two-point conversion, but it was a relatively quiet day for the veteran TE as Washington was moving the ball on the ground with ease.
Luke McCaffery: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 17 Yards
John Bates: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards
Dyami Brown: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 4 Yards
Arizona Cardinals
Quarterback
Kyler Murray: 16/22 142 Yards, 1 TD | 1 Attempt, 3 Yards
Kyler doesn’t deserve all the blame for the lack of production. He was sacked four times throughout the game, a few passes were broken up by good plays from the secondary, and penalties put the Cardinals behind the sticks. With that said, Kyler was more indecisive than usual and a few of his passes were off the mark. After the opening drive touchdown, five straight drives resulted in only 51 yards and five punts. The only other touchdown came from a drive led by their rushing game.
Running Back
James Conner: 18 Attempts, 104 Yards, 1 TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards
Much of this offense lies on Conner’s shoulders. The passing game went cold for almost half the game before turning back to Conner, and then he went for 45 yards on five carries to score his lone touchdown of the day. Demarcado took most of the snaps that he was off the field for, but Conner is and will always be (while healthy) the bell-cow of this backfield.
Trey Benson: 9 Attempts, 50 Yards
Trey had one carry for six yards in the second quarter. The remaining eight carries for 44 yards were consecutively on the game’s final drive as the Cardinals were practically calling mercy being down 42-14. Demercado saw most of the snap share through most of the game when it was still semi-competitive.
Emari Demercado: 4 Attempts, 24 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 0 Yards
Getting time in on special teams, Demercado fumbled the opening kickoff and was lucky that Deejay Dallas was there to recover it. This near disaster to start the game didn’t phase the coaching staff as he was used as the second-string running back behind Conner for most of the game and continued to return kicks. He was inefficient on most of his opportunities, with half of his yards on the ground coming from one run. Benson was thrown in as the sacrificial lamb to close out the game but may have done enough to split some time with Demercado moving forward.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Trey McBride: DNP
Marvin Harrison Jr.: 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 45 Yards, 1 TD
The first-rounder started hot, bringing in both targets for 11 yards and a touchdown on the opening drive. On the next drive, he caught a 12-yard comeback but then failed to bring in an attempted one-hander on a shallow crosser thrown behind him, but then it was radio silence. Harrison went four straight drives, nearly two full quarters, without a single target. Two more catches on a drive late in the third, including a clutch conversion on a 4th-and-12, contributed to a touchdown drive. There will likely be questions as to why he wasn’t more involved, and whether that had a role in the offense’s ineffectiveness.
Michael Wilson: 7 Targets, 3 Receptions, 38 Yards, fumble
Wilson outpaced Harrison in targets, though two of them were on deep balls overthrown by Murray. He dropped a simple slant route and had another pass broken up by the defender. The pass breakup was more of an impressive play by the corner, but Wilson’s fumble in the fourth quarter snuffed any chance of a miracle comeback. This felt like it could have been a big day for him, especially with Trey McBride being out, but nothing seemed to be clicking.
Greg Dortch: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 38 Yards
Elijah Higgins: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 12 Yards