Commanders Report Card: Two Troubling Grades Expose Why Washington Fell Short vs. 49ers

The Washington Commanders' last three weeks of winless football have provided far more pockets of hope than the results would imply, just enough to continually suck the fan base back into this frustrating product.

When the squad looked its most haggard, having relied on the rookie arm of Athan Kaliakmanis just earlier this month, in came Jayden Daniels to save the season the very next week. He was cleared for Week 5 against the New York Giants, and while he did tally a pair of rushing touchdowns in a loud return to action, his miscommunication that doomed Washington to a humiliating tie instantly overshadowed any good he contributed.

Again, this time on a primetime Monday Night Football slate, his group fell short of a last-second win. At least now, it was against a proper contender in the San Francisco 49ers, who improved to 6-0, and the ending wasn't quite as uniquely hare-brained. It did, however, include some of the squad's wildest swings in consistency; had the uncoordinated offense and leaking defense managed to seize any momentum before the second half, this latest collapse folded within a comeback attempt wouldn't have been quite so dramatically necessary.

Quarterbacks Grade: B-

Count this as another week in which Daniels' loudest mental lapses overshadowed his winning contributions. Had it not been for another joint brain cramp on fourth down suffered alongside similarly confused head coach Dan Quinn, he could have made something of one red zone trip in what eventually went down as a one-score finish.

If anything, his intentional grounding in that roaring final minute hurt their odds of winning far more than any first-half gaffe, but he still produced an overall positive outing. 300 yards and two touchdowns on 29-of-40 passing convinced fans who stuck through that sleepy first half that winning was never out of the question, with the gifted Daniels uniting the offensive front.

While decision-making remains a concern, especially off the heels of what promises to go down as an infamous final-moment blunder last week, he's still far from this situation's fall guy.

Running Backs Grade: C

This is as hard a position group to grade as any. Had Chris Paul not been called for a facemask hold in the final minutes of the Commanders' rally, Jeremy McNichols' mad dash to the finish line would have stood as the go-ahead score.

Without that chunk play, McNichols, Rachaad White, and Austin Ekeler totaled 43 yards. Jacory Croskey-Merritt was missed after being placed on injured reserve yesterday, though it's hard to feel like this is a remotely contending running back room, even when healthy.

Wide Receivers Grade: A-

I'm granting a bit of grace here, given how brutal of a loss this particular group was faced with early in the outing.

Terry McLaurin left the game early on the medical cart after sustaining what looked to be a knee injury. His leg gave out mid-route, and early reactions to the longtime Commander's exit didn't sound optimistic.

That certainly stung the receiver room's depth, though they rallied well without him. Stefon Diggs caught a touchdown on one of his six receptions, Treylon Burks continued his breakout as a reliable deep-ball weapon, and Antonio Williams remained viable in the clutch, leaving Daniels with very few drops to reckon with. And it's a good thing the threesome performed admirably when they did; assuming the 31-year-old McLaurin misses extended time, this is the A-team wideout corps that fans should start coming to expect.

Tight Ends Grade: B

Count it: two straight weeks of 60+ yards for Chig Okonkwo. He and the Commanders' coaching staff seem to have found their stride in finding the best role for the jumbo receiver, as he has to be mentioned as helping to support Daniels' passing attack following a 69-yard outing.

Outside of Okonkwo, there's little to say regarding memorable tight end play. John Bates got his government-mandated reception early in the game as a reward for his blocking, while Ben Sinnott and Colson Yankoff combined for zero targets.

Offensive Line Grade: D+

This isn't even an indictment of their pure blocking prowess. Several of these protectors, specifically Sam Cosmi, Chris Paul, and Josh Conerly Jr., actually held their ground over the course of the season and much of this specific 49ers matchup, but the never-ending slew of errors has to fall on the position group that can't keep their hands out of the cookie jar.

Penalties couldn't stop the Commanders from getting upfield, with five infractions falling on the offensive line. But with the game on the line, halfway up the field and outnumbering San Francisco's rushers six to three, Washington made time for one punctuating blocking error, allowing all three sack threats to collectively take Daniels down before he could fire any game-winning shot.

We didn't learn anything new from this result, at least pertaining to the offensive line. As underappreciated as their roles are in football's social media highlight culture, Daniels can't survive and run a functioning scheme while the spot-starters and overtasked stabilizers sustain this level of clumsiness.

Defensive Front Seven Grade: C

This group looked much more spirited after halftime, once the 49ers finally slowed down, but the pace they set at the game's electric start made the Commanders' front defensive line look as futile as it has been all year. They had absolutely no answers for Christian McCaffrey in the first half, whose 64 yards do little to illustrate the smoothness with which he located holes between the bodies, and Brock Purdy looked plenty comfortable quickly firing over the top when he was armed with his favorite targets.

Fans can still walk away with another Sonny Styles highlight as a disruptive in-coverage stopper, as he notched a second straight game with 13 tackles. Odafe Oweh and Shy Tuttle each got their sacks. If anything, though, fans will remember this particular defensive effort as uneven, with their varying effort and attention to detail against the 49ers' short-passing attack largely explaining the deep hole the Commanders fell into.

Secondary Grade: C-

The defensive backs and safeties have been held to a high standard since Amik Robertson and Rasul Douglas started shining as starting-caliber deterrents, and Trey Amos' long-awaited return raised the stakes on their collective challenge to hold 49ers star Mike Evans down in the backfield.

Evans looked spry at first, grabbing a few balls over the middle in the lengthy matchup nightmare Washington fans feared, though he wouldn't remain in the game for long. His Achilles tendon soreness flared up, sparing the defense the task of guarding Purdy's top gun.

The deep-ball magnet pulled a few defenders out of the flat, but the secondary pieces, usually excellent at blowing up settling checkdowns, looked helpless against Purdy's dinking and dunking. Again, the intermediate section around the first-down markers seemed regularly unmanned, with few initial adjustments to boot.

Add this group to the list of positional rooms that need some consistency when the Commanders return from their bye.

Special Teams Grade: B-

This group wandered way too close to a flunking grade when Luke McCaffrey required video replay to prove that he didn't muff a fourth-quarter punt, a successful review that spared the return man from what could have been a fate-sealing call, that is, before the Commanders inflicted a few more wounds upon themselves with the offense actually on the field over the next few minutes.

They felt eternally shaky in the in-between game. Those who made the difference with their feet still did their job; Drew Stevens made his only field-goal attempt and both extra points, while Tress Way spent most of the night pinning San Francisco within their own 20. Not many meteoric positives to note, but things could have been much worse.

Coaching Staff Grade: D

There's something to be said about the staff's ability to finally wake the guys up and put together an attack capable of slowing the once-rolling Niners. But among the many questions this game produced, it's fair to ask: "Where was the fire throughout the first half? Why can't this team stop putting its own feet in its mouth with the touchy penalties? Did Quinn really not know that Daniels' strange throwaway to turn the ball over on downs was, indeed, on fourth down?"

For what it's worth, he's already taken the podium to defend himself on that final question, leaving other doubts about the Commanders' coordination that haven't stopped brewing through the winless streak. The talent's clearly there, as the foiled comeback march showed; they just don't have the men up top to sustain that level of continuity and motivation over a full 60-minute sequence.

Despite the coach's endless shuffling of the blocking options at center, Daniels still finds himself under duress more than a player of his stature should. He, too, has seen some decision-making tail off, and it's only natural to wonder how that connects to the sideline voices in his earpiece. The penalties that result in called-back highlights, the stagnating scoring options, the clutch mistakes, everything has led to this strangely symmetrical 1-4-1 record, a six-week sample size lined with almost as many peeks at potential as we've seen devastating setbacks in less-timely situations.

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