The Washington Commanders fell to 3-5 after Sunday’s 38-31 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Washington had second-half leads on the Eagles in both games this season but came up short each time.
Quarterback Sam Howell had his best performance, completing 39 of 52 passes for 397 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. Howell certainly played well enough to win, if not for the defense allowing 38 points. Perhaps, most importantly, Howell only took one sack in the loss.
Washington had two new starters on the offensive line. Who replaced Cody Barton’s snaps at linebacker?
Here is our analysis of the snap counts for Week 8.
Offense
The new starting offensive line played every snap. Chris Paul made his second career start at left guard and had some good moments. Tyler Larsen was back in the starting lineup at center and proved to be an upgrade over Nick Gates.
Curtis Samuel only played 14 snaps as he left the game with an injury. Jamison Crowder had the third-most snaps at wide receiver, catching seven passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. Dyami Brown played 22 snaps, with Byron Pringle playing seven snaps. Alex Armah played six snaps. The Commanders just added Armah back to the roster, as he can play fullback or tight end.
Antonio Gibson led the running backs with 37 snaps, and Brian Robinson Jr. was right behind him at 35.
Defense
Percy Butler, Kendall Fuller, Jamin Davis, Benjamin St-Juste and Kamren Curl all played every snap. Davis doesn’t usually play every defensive snap, but with Barton out, he did. David Mayo filled in for Barton, participating in 55 snaps. Khaleke Hudson played 10 snaps.
Daron Payne led all defensive linemen with 52 snaps, with Chase Young right behind him at 50. Jonathan Allen played 47 snaps, with Montez Sweat at 42 snaps.
Last week, first-round pick Emmanuel Forbes played five snaps. He played five snaps again vs. Philadelphia. And, strangely enough, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio lined Forbes up opposite A.J. Brown when Forbes was in the game. What is Del Rio thinking? Fellow rookie Quan Martin also played five snaps again vs. the Eagles.
What’s with each rookie playing five snaps each? This coaching staff continues to do questionable things.
