Dan Quinn won’t blame Commanders’ loss on one factor, but it’s a serious concern with no timetable for a fix
One glaring issue needs to be resolved for the Commanders.
The Washington Commanders suffered another loss against the Dallas Cowboys, and there’s a long list of issues with this team.
It feels like the season is getting away from the Commanders with a tough schedule ahead. Plus, the team is dealing with one of the worst defenses in the league and a ton of injuries. Quarterback Jayden Daniels suffered a hamstring injury, and he is just one of many injured players.
Head coach Dan Quinn won’t blame injuries for the loss, and he shouldn’t, but the injuries to the wide receiver room are a real issue now.
Dan Quinn says injuries aren’t to blame
Of course, any coach will say that injuries aren’t a reason to lose a game, with many other teams around the league finding a way to win, but the Commanders didn’t help themselves at all.
“Big topic I’ll hit with you, and one I also hit with the team, injuries are not the reason that we lost,” Quinn said. “Others may talk about who we did have and didn’t have today, and I’m here to say it doesn’t matter who you have or who is out when you don’t give yourself a real chance at it. From turnover margin to penalties to missed tackles and drops, Dallas beat us, and we did too. We beat ourselves as well, and we’re the ones that got ourselves into the hole.”
The Commanders need wide receivers back
Just about every team in the league is dealing with injuries, but being without your top-3 wide receivers isn’t ideal for your quarterback and offense. Terry McLaurin was supposed to return this week, but he didn’t even practice at the end of the week and has now missed his fourth game. Daniels hasn’t played with McLaurin since Week 2, and we’re going into Week 8.
Deebo Samuel has been playing through a bruised heel in the last few games, but he missed the Cowboys game. Samuel has been the team’s top receiver ever since training camp, with McLaurin being absent, and now during the season with his injury.
Noah Brown has also been injured since the end of last season, and the writing was on the wall that he wouldn’t stay healthy. Now, he’s on IR and will miss the next three games at least. The Commanders need depth guys to step up as well, but the whole McLaurin contract negotiation process all offseason is growing more impactful by the week, and bringing back Brown to be WR3 was a clear mistake.
You can only expect so much from a wide receiver room of Chris Moore, Luke McCaffrey, and Jaylin Lane, even though the youth of the roster is a big factor that the team needs to lean into. Players need to come back for this season, but there’s no telling when McLaurin will return, and Samuel’s bruised heel can linger for a while. The position needs to be heavily addressed this offseason, along with many others.
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