That point differential ranked dead last in the league, beating the only team with a worse W-L record by 9 points. The 2023 Commanders were outscored by their opponents by 189 points. While it is conventional to measure a team’s season record in terms of wins and losses, another way to look at it is point differential. Through the final 8 games of the season, Howell averaged 166 passing yards per game, while throwing just 4 TDs to 12 INTs.įor any Commanders fans taking solace that their team is not the worst in the NFL, don’t be so sure of that. Then something happened to cause his play to crater. Through the first 10 games, of the season, he delivered and averaged 278 passing yards per game, while throwing 17 TDs to 9 INTs. With no help from the defense, and Eric Bieniemy calling the most passing plays (636 attempts) and the highest proportion of passing plays (63.9%) in the NFL, the Commanders’ fortunes rose and fell with the performance of first year starting QB Sam Howell. Their yardage total dropped by 298 yards, falling from 5,615 in 2022 to 5,317 in 2023, which corresponded to a drop in the league ranking from 20 th to 24 th place. At the conclusion of the season, the Commanders had improved on their 2022 scoring total by 8 points (329 vs 321) while dropping from 24 th to 25 th in the league in scoring. Washington’s defense was responsible for four of those games Patriots 4.3%, vs Dolphins 4.2%, vs 49ers 3.4%, vs Cowboys 0%).Īt the start of the season, Commanders fans looked forward to significant improvements on offense with Eric Bieniemy replace Scott Turner at offensive coordinator and Sam Howell replacing Carson Wentz and Taylor Heinicke at QB. There have only been 20 games in which a QB playing over 50% of snaps experienced a pressure rate lower than 5% of dropbacks. This season, there have only been three games in which a QB who played more than 50% of offensive snaps was not pressured. Those numbers represent a precipitous fall from last season when they ranked 7 th in points allowed and 3 rd in yardage allowed.Īccording to Pro Football Reference, the Commanders did not pressure Dak Prescott once in the game. With this game in the books, the Commanders finished the regular season ranked last in the league in points allowed (518) and total yardage allowed (6,612). They even committed fewer penalties with just 2 flags for 20 yds to the Commanders’ 4 for 39. The Cowboys were three times more efficient than Washington on third downs, with a 60% conversion rate to the Commanders’ 20%. They made three takeaways on defense, while only turning the ball over once on offense. They outgained Washington in the air, throwing for 309 yards and 4 TDs to the Commanders’ 157 yards and 1 TD. The Cowboys outgained Washington on the ground, rushing for 131 yards and 1 TD to the Commanders’ 50 yards. They outgained the Commanders 440 total yards to 180. They gained 31 first downs to the Commanders’ 12. The Cowboys dominated time of possession 33:55 to 26:05. Like last week, and really most of the last 7 games, this was a comprehensive loss in every facet of the game. It wasn’t pretty, but for those Commanders with a morbid sense of curiosity, here is a statistical view of Riverboat Ron’s final act in Washington. The final stat line was a display of total dominance in every facet of the game. Following a Joey Slye field goal to give Washington the lead with 7 minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Cowboys took control of the game and scored 24 unanswered points. The Commanders’ blow-out was their 8 th loss in a row and their 7 th consecutive disappointing performance, starting with the Week 11 loss to the Giants. The next day, Rivera was fired as expected, in a move that signalled the real end of the Dan Snyder era in Washington and the promise of a fresh start with a new front office and coaching staff. On Sunday, Ron Rivera’s tenure as head coach of the Washington Commanders reached its natural conclusion with a 38-10 home loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
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