Washington Commanders Vs. Cleveland Browns – Studs and Duds

The Browns came to visit Landover and the Commanders laid an absolute THUMPING on them running away with a 34-13 victory. This game was so out of hand that the coaches pulled Jayden Daniels in favor of Marcus Mariota early in the fourth quarter. It was an absolutely GLORIOUS day to be a Commanders fan!

Again, much like last week, all three phases of the game were working for Dan Quinn’s squad. And although the box-score gazers may assume this was a near-perfect game for Washington, that wasn’t quite the case. Daniels and company could have put even more points on the board if it wasn’t for some mistakes (interception at the two yard line) and some missed opportunities. At least these will give the coaches something to actually coach up this week during practice.

Washington is indeed on a roll, and we should all be soaking this in!

Below are my Studs of the game, followed by some Notes.

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Studs:

Frankie Luvu – Luvu was completely UNSTOPPABLE against Cleveland. He literally did it all on defense, leading the team in tackles with seven, including two for a loss, two-and-a-half sacks, three QB hits, four pressures and a fumble recovery.

Jayden Daniels – This wasn’t Jayden’s best game, but that just goes to show how good the rookie is. He did throw an interception at the goal line and had some uncharacteristic over-throws, but his 14 receptions went for 238 yards and a touchdown (he should have had two if not for McLaurin dropping a beautifully thrown ball in the endzone), and he added 82 rushing yards in just over three quarters of play. He really is something special this early in his young career.

Bobby Wagner – The veteran leader of this defense had a very good game against the Browns. He recorded six tackles, one for a loss, one-and-a-half sacks and multiple pressures on the afternoon.

Commanders Offensive Line – Yes, you are reading this correctly. This is the second week in a row where the entire Commanders offensive line gets Stud status from me. For the most part, they controlled the line of scrimmage against a good Browns defensive front, gave Daniels pretty clean pockets to operate from, and showed good athleticism getting to second-level defenders and making blocks downfield in the screen game. Shout out to the tight ends, running backs and wide receivers throwing blocks as well!

Austin Ekeler – Ekeler returned to action this week after missing a game with a concussion and didn’t miss a beat. He racked up 143 yards from scrimmage and threw some nice blocks in pass protection. He’s truly a weapon in the passing game, as a runner and in the return game.

Jonathan Allen – Jon Allen had his 2024 breakout games against the Browns. He was having a very pedestrian season up until this game, but his motor seemed to be running on high all afternoon. He had four tackles (all solo), one for a loss, a sack and multiple pressures.

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Duds:

For the second week in a row, I have no Duds!

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Notes:

• Terry McLaurin didn’t have his best game. he did have four receptions for 112 yards (which both led the team), but he also lost a fumble and dropped a would-be touchdown on a perfectly thrown pass by Daniels.

• It was nice to see Dyami Brown finally get in on the action, collecting two receptions including a nice deep ball for a touchdown.

• Mike Sainristil is starting to make the big plays we were all waiting for.

• Even Big Phil Mathis showed up today!

• Jeremy McNichols scored a rushing touchdown while averaging 6.3 yards per carry and showing well in pass protection.

• This secondary is starting to play a bit better. The communication looks a lot better than it did to start the season. St-Juste, Noah Igbinoghene, Mike Sainristil, Quan Martin and Jeremy Chinn look to be on the same page.

• Dorance Armstrong is starting to string together a few nice games in a row. He now has three sacks and a forced fumble on the young season.

• Austin Seibert remains perfect on the season.

• Kliff Kingsbury continues to stay a step ahead of opposing defenses.