Commanders Vs. Eagles (Game Two) - Studs and Duds (by @Tiller56)

Washington’s season ended just as it started – with a victory over a division rival. And although this one really didn’t mean much for the Commanders, they “could” have made the Eagles road to the Super Bowl just a tad bit harder by dropping them to the number three overall seed and having them face a dangerous 49ers team in the first round of the playoff.

The Eagles sat most of their starters and still thought they would beat this Commanders squad with nothing left to play for but pride. Well, in the end, pride won out, and Nick Sirianni was booed by Eagles “fans” as he left the field after losing 24-17.

THANK GOODNESS this miserable season has finally come to an end! It’s now onto a LONG offseason for Washington, who has many decisions to make and a lot of holes to fill on this football team.

Below are my Studs and Duds of the game, followed by some notes.

Studs:

• Bobby Wagner: I know the veteran didn’t have a great game by any stretch of the imagination, but he got five total tackles (one solo) against the Eagles, which put him at 2000 for his career. He’s one of three in this exclusive club joining Ray Lewis and London Fletcher, and for that, he’s a STUD! Congrats on a Hall of Fame career, Bobby.

• Jeremy Reaves: Reaves looked like a camp body trying to make the final 53-man roster in the season finally – and I LOVE it! He tied for the team lead in total tackles with seven (six solo), had an interception and two passes defended.

• Daron Payne: Fans have been hard on Payne this season, but I don’t think the 28-year-old has played as poorly as some would suggest. He was surrounded by JAGS on defense which made his job all that much harder but still was ranked in the top five of all defensive tackles in run stop win rate. For the game he had four tackles (three solo), one for a loss, a sack and four pressures.

• Chris Rodriguez: CRod ran hard, averaging 4.1 yards per carry and scored a one-yard touchdown. He also caught a pass for 18 yards.

• Tress Way: Way had a remarkable 53-yard average, with a long of 71, on three punts!

Duds:

• Ben Sinnott: Sinnott collected two catches for a whopping three yards. What landed him on the Duds list, however, are the two false start penalties down at the goal line. This team desperately needs a go-to tight end this offseason.
• Quan Martin: As usual, Quan Martin continues to make bad plays in our secondary. As usual, he continues to show up on the Duds list. He’s been a dud most of the season and is looking more and more like a draft bust. He was credited with one assisted tackle in a game where he saw his snap count decrease significantly.

Notes:

• Josh Johnson made some really good plays during the game, including a rushing touchdown where he made Kelee Ringo turn his back and run away from him (I don’t think I’ve seen that dumb of a play by a defender in years) on his way to an easy score. He also made some bone-headed ones, including a bad interception and a fumbled snap where he just took his eyes off the ball.

• Terry McLaurin would have had a career day if it wasn’t for Ringo constantly interfering with him. He still managed to haul in four catches for 57 yards.
• Mike Sainristil had a nice pass defended, but he was giving up WAY too much cushion to the Eagles’ backup receivers. After seeing what I saw from him this season, I have no idea where the staff should play him next year. Hopefully a new defensive coordinator can help turn him around.
• Jake Moody missed his first field goal as a Commander – as 24-yard chip-shot in the first quarter, then proceeded to drill a 56-yarder in the second quarter.

• Von Miller only had two tackles during the game but one of them was a sack, giving him nine total on the year (which lead Washington). In what will likely be his last season in the NFL, he was pretty productive.
• Despite missing a tackle on Bigsby that went for a long gain, Jordan Magee actually played pretty well. He showed good speed and awareness, and with a competent group surrounding him next season, he should have a much greater impact.