We should have known things would not turn out well when, on the day Washington retired Hall of Fame running back John Riggins’ No. 44, the team wore burgundy jerseys and gold pants. Yes, I know Riggo sported that combo while playing for George Allen and Jack Pardee, but the Riggins we know is the 1982 version, who wore a white jersey with burgundy pants on his way to 610 playoff yards rushing to lead the franchise to its first Super Bowl victory.
Optics aren’t everything but sometimes they certainly appear to be.
The 20-13 loss to the Rams ended with Washington running two plays from the Los Angeles 31, with an incompletion and a fumbled catch ending the day. The previous possession saw a failed fourth-and-17 from midfield while the Commanders’ other fourth quarter drive also stalled at midfield and, instead of going for it on fourth-and-11 from the LA 45 with 8:22 left, they punted. Another rough outing like this and they’ll be tempted to punt on the season.
The offense began with a bang, producing points on its first two possessions, before running dry. Two takeaways (a fumble recovery and an interception) generated just one field goal. And while the defense held the Rams in check early, the unit had no answers for Puka Nacua, who caught 14 passes for 150 yards and the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter.
The Commanders’ loss doesn’t drop them into the division basement, as Philadelphia (2-7) fell 19-11 at home to the division-leading New York Giants (5-2-1). Dallas (3-5) survived a second-half rally to win at Indianapolis. Halfway into the season, the NFC East is 13-19-2, which is just a little better than the AFC South (12-21) and NFC South (12-22).
The offense moved the chains on three of 12 attempts, with one Rams penalty wiping out an incomplete pass to Stefon Diggs (his only third down target of the day). Jayden Daniels completed seven of 11 passes for three conversions, with Van Jefferson emerging as his top option (three catches on three targets with two of those reaching the marker). Daniels was also sacked on a key third-and-5 that pushed the ball back to midfield right before the two-minute warning. Austin Ekeler was held to no gain on a third-and-1. Distance breakdown: 0-2 on short-yardage, 2-6 when needing four to six yards, 1-3 on third-and-long. The defense held the Rams to 3-14 on the afternoon but LA was able to convert three key third downs on what wound up being the game-winning drive.
Washington committed six penalties, all accepted. Four were on offense while one was on defense and one was on special teams, with two false starts by Brandon Coleman giving the lineman a team-high eight infractions (seven accepted). The most costly flag? Sam Cosmi’s hold on the first play after Nick Cross’ fumble recovery turned what would have been a first-and-10 from the LA 25 into a first-and-20 at the 50. Daniels would get sacked and lose a fumble on the next snap. The Rams would kick a field goal on their next drive as the half ended.
FOX sent its No. 6 crew of Chris Myers and Mark Schlereth to Northwest Stadium, and audiences will get an upgrade with Thursday Night’s Amazon duo of Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit followed by ESPN’s Monday Night tandem of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman (should be fun to see the two interact). But after that, if this team continues its current course, expect to see a lot more of Myers and Schlereth, as well as Tom McCarthy and Robert Turbin.
_Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up [here](https://wtop.com/profile/preferences)._
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.