The Washington Commanders closed out the preseason with a 20-10 win over the New England Patriots. Here are some observations from the second half of the Commanders’ final preseason game on Sunday.
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A play that shows how difficult it is to assess a wide receiver: Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint clearly had the upper hand on his corner defender in depth. However, Trace McSorley threw him too short, forcing him to slow down. The defender caught up to him and the pass was incomplete. If the pass had been thrown better, Rosemy-Jacksaint could have gained 40 yards. Later, Rosemy-Jacksaint made an adjustment and caught a pass thrown too short by McSorley with a beautiful catch.
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I don’t know if Phidarian Mathis will make the team, but he just blocked his second pass of the second half. Will there be a battle between Mathis and John Ridgeway for the final tackle?
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Running back Michael Wiley ran inside, bounced the ball outside, then showed he could stay in the field while diving for the pylon. Excellent footwork by Wiley for the 9-yard touchdown.
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When I was about to name Colson Yankoff the fourth tight end, Cole Turner caught a ball very well with his arms outstretched. It was clearly Turner’s best catch of the preseason. I have no idea how the coaches rate this matchup. Last week, I noticed that Yankoff really stepped up on the special teams.
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Another way this is so misleading is that a good quarterback could have scored a touchdown on three occasions on this fourth quarter drive alone. Joe Milton has no feel for the game or passing, even though he has a huge arm. The Patriots had completely open spots for touchdowns three times on this drive, and Milton couldn’t deliver. On the other hand, the Commanders’ coaches saw how poorly these plays were defended.
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But 34 players didn’t suit up for the Commanders tonight. Martavis Bryant showed off his greatness on Sunday night by making contact at the goal line and catching a touchdown pass from McSorley. It’s been since 2018 since he played in a real NFL game. I have no idea what the coaches are thinking, other than maybe how thin they actually think the receiver room is?
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Observations from the second half of the Commanders vs Patriots preseason finale
