RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from CBS Sports — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 2 sources
OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- If a neutral observer only saw the tail end of the Washington Commanders ' joint practice with the Baltimore Ravens , they would have said Washington more than held its own.
In the final drill, both teams got one possession, trailing by four with under a minute left. The Commanders' defense got a fourth-down stop when Mike Sainristil intercepted Lamar Jackson . The Commanders' offense followed that up with Jayden Daniels fading away from heavy pressure and lofting a beautiful pass to Antonio Williams for a touchdown. The Commanders' sideline erupted and stormed the end zone.
But if said observer had watched the entire two-hour session, they might have thought the two teams didn't even belong on the same field. Baltimore's thorough dominance was both eye-opening and telling of where both teams stand with the regular season two and a half weeks away.
Training camp and the preseason deliver us a lot of information at once. Some of it proves to be overreaction, but some of it proves prescient. As such, let's play a game of "fact or fiction" from Wednesday's developments.
Yes, Washington was without three starting offensive linemen -- LT Laremy Tunsil (torn triceps) will miss extended time, if not the whole season; C Nick Allegretti (calf) continues to miss much of training camp; and RG Sam Cosmi (illness) was also out -- and its top two running backs, Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Rachaad White .
But at a time when teams are supposed to be building and evaluating depth, Washington looked in disarray. As longtime Commanders beat writer Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic posted ...
This is the worst I’ve ever seen the Commanders’ offense in years. Inoperable offensive line.
There were multiple miscues on snaps, the most basic aspect of football at any level, as fifth-round rookie center Matt Gulbin got first-team reps. Julian Good-Jones , who had been working at center in Allegretti's absence, shifted to right guard with Cosmi out but hardly fared any better. Tanoa Togiai also worked in with the first team.
If the day could be summed up in one play, it was Daniels being forced to field a wayward snap, only to throw an interception to Kyle Hamilton on a play doomed from the start.
"I feel like we were just out of sync, a little bit, with our combos," RT Josh Conerly Jr . said . "There was a little bit of a mixup in the lineup as well, so there were some guys next to each other that haven't worked next to each other all camp."
Daniels found Terry McLaurin for one chunk gain but otherwise was limited mainly to underneath throws, scrambles and would-be sacks.
"Not the best day that I thought we could have had, all-around, from myself to everybody else, but these are the opportunities that you get to learn from," Daniels said. "Good thing about it, man, it's August."
He's right. It is August. But August is slowly slipping away, and not in the right direction. In preseason Week 2 -- the only preseason action the starters got -- Daniels was heavily pressured on his first play and sacked on his second. Washington ran a draw on third down to escape any further damage and punted. As such, this joint practice seemed to be a crucial one, and it did not go well.
The offensive line is, plainly, a mess. The Commanders were never anticipating Gulbin playing significant snaps (and he still might not). Good-Jones has played two NFL snaps, back in the 2023 season finale. Togiai is an undrafted rookie. They are back-of-roster or practice-squad players.
"I gotta do my job at the end of the day," Daniels said. "They have to do their job. I'm never one to go out there and complain about X, Y and Z, because at the end of the day, I can [only] control what I can control. ... Julian, Matt, they're doing a tremendous job up front with the situation that they're in."
The situation they're in, though, is the issue. The entire operation can't just fall apart when backups are called upon. Injuries happen and, in fact, already have. There are limited ways to improve substantively this late in the preseason, but whether it's via free agency, waivers or trade, Washington must do so.
The season is by no means over. To say that would be ridiculous. But the past week -- the awful cameo against the Lions and the rough extended performance today -- shows Adam Peters and Dan Quinn that they desperately need to add up front. They've added five journeyman veterans since training camp opened, but much more significant work needs to be done. They are behind the eight ball, but they're not doomed to stay there.
The goal is for new offensive coordinator David Blough's schematic changes to make the sum greater than its parts. It will all be for naught, though, if the offensive line gives him no chance to do so. Here's one example: Blough drew up a beautiful play-action look for Daniels against the Lions, but John Bates -- a good blocking tight end who had missed significant time earlier in training camp -- got beat. Does Washington have the players to execute what could be a promising scheme?
The dots don’t lie. Burks wide open on the PA but … pressure/sack. pic.twitter.com/pYY7GhmaoP
If one were to look on the bright side, they'd see that Daniels himself has been terrific throughout training camp. Allegretti has been a quality backup (and sometimes starter) throughout his career, and the Commanders are bullish on what he provides at center, even though he has made only two starts there in his career. Cosmi is an excellent tackle, and while the falloff from him shouldn't be as steep as it is, this was a one-day absence for him. Coleman has looked mostly solid taking over for Tunsil at left tackle, though he, like most Commanders, was none too happy .
Croskey-Merritt and White could be a better running back tandem than most are giving them credit for, as Croskey-Merritt was ninth in the entire NFL in rush yards over expected per carry . McLaurin and Stefon Diggs form by far the best receiver duo Daniels ...
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.