The Washington Commanders got back on track after a three-game losing streak on Sunday, crushing to a 42-19 victory.
After a hot start to the 2024 NFL season where offensive coordinator’s Kliff Kingsbury’s offense was ranked atop of the league in almost every major category, Washington sputtered over the last few weeks and there were legitimate concerns if the Commanders could get back on track.
On Sunday, Washington silenced the critics in a major way. The Commanders finished the game with 463 yards of total offense while averaging six yards per play. They converted 9-of-14 attempts on third down and their only fourth down attempt.
They scored 40-plus points for the third time this season, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished since the 1991 season, which resulted in Washington’s third Super Bowl victory.
The connection between rookie QB Jayden Daniels and veteran WR Terry McLaurin was on full display, which has been potent at points this season and absent at others.
McLaurin finished the game with eight catches for 73 yards and two touchdowns.
He now has his ninth touchdown this season. McLaurin (34) has now passed TE Chris Cooley (33) and has moved into sole possession of No. 9 in franchise history in touchdown receptions. McLaurin now has four career-games with two or more touchdowns, three of them coming this season.
During the team’s offensive skid, a narrative emerged about the predictability of Kingsbury’s offense and his lack of finding creative ways to get McLaurin — who is viewed as a top ten WR in the NFL — creative ways to get the football.
After the game, McLaurin revealed he had a conversation with head coach Dan Quinn and Kingsbury ahead of the Week 14 matchup and it paid off in a major way.
Here’s the excerpt from Commanders’ beat reporter Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post:
Over the previous three weeks, as Washington’s offense struggled after its prolific start, part of the criticism centered on McLaurin’s usage. In the first five years of his career, he had been used all over: outside; left and right; the slot; and sometimes even the backfield. But offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury had McLaurin line up almost exclusively on the left side for the first 12 weeks, and during the team’s losing streak, the Commanders struggled to get McLaurin the ball.
McLaurin said he spoke with Quinn and Kingsbury this past week, and the coaches said they wanted to get him the ball earlier and use him in multiple ways. The tweaks spoke volumes.
“You definitely got to give them credit for that,” McLaurin said. “When you get to this part of the season, a lot of your playbook is out there. … For them to be able to move me around a little bit — in the slot, to the right — I think it says a lot about the offensive staff just trying to put me in the best situation to be successful.”
