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No one saw this coming. If you say you did, you’re lying.
The Washington Commanders’ three wins in four weeks, led by a rookie quarterback with a remarkable 82.1% pass completion rate, is a feat that no one could have foreseen.
Daniels is the headline story. He has a quarterback rating of 107.4 and a QBR of 73.3. He didn’t throw his first interception until week four. Daniels has a fan base who finally got out of the grips of one of the worst sports owners in history believing that change is finally here.
Offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury schemed up a game plan that has helped Brian Robinson rush for over 100 yards in two of the last three weeks.
The defense is the weak link. They gave up 37 points to Tampa Bay and 33 to the Cincinnati Bengals, but they showed life last week, holding a good Arizona Cardinals offense to 14 points. Perhaps nothing was more important than the defense’s holding the Cardinals to 4 of 11 on third-down conversions. Couple that with the pressure the offense is putting on the opponent, and it’s not surprising that the Commanders left Arizona with a 42-14 win.
Here’s the next stage for Washington. How does the team respond when everyone is pouring love on you?
We will learn a lot this week with the Cleveland Browns coming to town. The Commanders are a three-point home favorite.
Cleveland is coming off a loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. Mind you, the Raiders were coming off a loss to the Carolina Panthers, and they were without Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby. The Browns made a grave mistake at quarterback. When Cleveland acquired Deshaun Watson, the organization knew what type of disaster he was off the field. Watson has brought a high level of disaster to the field.
The big task for the Browns defense will be to get Kingsbury’s game plan out of rhythm, which will start preventing Daniels from getting the ball out of his hands on time.
If that happens, Cleveland’s next task would be to take away the running game, which is good enough to serve as a safety blanket.
On the other side of the ball, Cleveland’s third down conversion rate will loom large. Extending drives will keep the Commanders’ offense off the field.
All signs point to this as an easy game for Washington, but this is the NFL. Each week is an opportunity to keep your job so no one is lying down, especially in week five. The Browns still have expectations, and Washington now has a level of expectation that no one foresaw before the season started.
Last week, the Browns were against a Raiders team that lost to the Carolina Panthers. Now Washington is facing the team that lost to the Raiders.
Are the Commanders mature enough to win a home game they are supposed to win?
Time will tell.
