The Washington Commanders dropped their sixth consecutive game Sunday, a 30-28 loss to the New York Jets. Washington trailed 27-7 midway through the fourth quarter when head coach Ron Rivera benched quarterback Sam Howell for the second consecutive week.
Suddenly, behind Jacoby Brissett, the Commanders scored three consecutive touchdowns to somehow take a 28-27 lead. However, the Jets did enough to get into field-goal range for kicker Greg Zuerlein’s 54-yard game-winner with five seconds remaining.
One of the storylines heading into the Week 16 game for Washington was the lack of playing time for first-round cornerback Emmanuel Forbes. A healthy Forbes played six snaps in the Week 15 loss to the Rams.
Here’s a look at Washington’s snap counts from its Week 16 loss to the Jets.
Offense
Cornelius Lucas stepped in for Charles Leno at left tackle and played every snap. Lucas has been a reliable backup/starter in four seasons with Washington. Nick Gates returned to the starting lineup and played every snap in place of the injured Tyler Larsen.
Right tackle Andrew Wylie left the game with a hyperextended elbow, leading to Trent Scott replacing him for 35 snaps.
At quarterback, Howell played 34 snaps, while Brissett played 27.
At running back, Antonio Gibson led the way with 27 snaps, with Chris Rodriguez right behind at 24. Derrick Gore also played seven snaps.
Defense
Cornerback Benjamin St-Juste left the game with a concussion, which meant Emmanuel Forbes replaced him. St-Juste played in 60 of Washington’s 90 defense snaps, while Forbes played 29 snaps. St-Juste hasn’t exactly been stellar this season, making it even more concerning/frustrating that coaches do not play him regularly.
Fellow rookie Quan Martin played 69% of the Commanders’ defensive snaps, as did DE James Smith-Williams in his return from injury. Safety Percy Butler and defensive tackle Daron Payne were among the others who left the game at times with injuries. Payne was fine, though.
Rookie K.J. Henry played 39 snaps at defensive end with Smith-Williams back and Casey Toohill remaining in the starting lineup.
