The Washington Commanders suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football. Here are five takeaways from the night.
1. Missed opportunities.
It felt like the Commanders' offense was stuck in a rut for most of the night. A lot of that was because the Packers' defense played as advertised; it was also because the Commanders left opportunities on the field.
The two missed field goals were the most glaring of those errors. Yards were difficult to come by, but despite that fact, they had chances to make it a one-score game at the end of the first half and start of the third quarter. However, both of Matt Gay's attempts missed the mark, which not only kept the Commanders at just three points for the first half but also provided the Packers with opportunities to add to their lead.
But there were frustrating moments littered throughout the night. Jayden Daniels had back-to-back incompletions, one of which was a tough drop from Noah Brown that stalled a drive at the Packers' 43-yard line. There was also the 50-yard kickoff return from Deebo Samuel that was followed by the Commanders gaining just 10 yards in seven plays.
The Packers made the Commanders pay for those and other, smaller mistakes by bringing consistent pressure to harass Daniels. He was sacked four times, but the bigger impact was how the pressure sped up Daniels' timing and limited his escape routes. He had a QBR of 26.9, which stands as the second lowest of his career.
The mixture of the Packers' strong defense and the Commanders' struggles made every drive feel like a labor, which resulted in the deficit, which was not drastically high for most of the night, feeling more difficult to climb out of.