The Washington Commanders won their first game since Week 2 Sunday with a 24-16 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. The Commanders took a 10-7 lead in the second quarter and never looked back. It wasn’t easy, though, as Washington managed less than 60 total yards in the second half.
Quarterback Sam Howell had his first career game with three passing touchdowns, and Washington’s defense picked off Atlanta QB Desmond Ridder three times in the second half.
In the win, the Commanders managed just 51 offensive plays — a season low — while the defense was on the field for 83 snaps.
Who played the most snaps? Who didn’t play?
Here are the Week 7 snap counts for the Commanders.
Offense
It was a weird day for Washington. The offense was rolling in the first half but did nothing in the second half. The Commanders had six second-half possessions, with four ending in a punt and one with a kneel-down. As expected, Howell and the offensive line were the only offensive players to play 100% of the snaps. Rookie Chris Rodriguez saw some time in the backfield and was impressive. Don’t be surprised if his snaps increase moving forward. Brian Robinson Jr. led the running backs with 27 snaps, with Antonio Gibson behind him with 20.
Defense
The Commanders used their “Cinco” package with five defensive linemen, which led DT John Ridgeway to play 33 snaps. Chase Young led all linemen with 75 snaps. Casey Toohill played 18 snaps with Montez Sweat sidelined a bit and took advantage of his reps, recording two sacks and another pressure.
Three things stood out here: First, rookie cornerback Emmanuel Forbes did not play one snap. Perhaps he was truly benched, or Washington didn’t like the matchups with Atlanta’s bigger wideouts. Secondly, linebacker Khaleke Hudson finally played on defense, recording 10 snaps and, like Toohill, made them count.
Finally, rookie DB Quan Martin played seven snaps, his first action on defense.
