The Washington Commanders are 1-1, but with so many new faces on both sides of the ball, there will be growing pains. Penalties are part of the misery. Against the New York Giants, the Commanders went 10 for 69 yards, as Dan Quinn’s club repeatedly shot itself in the foot. Quinn isn’t a fan of the continual laundry either.
“The pre and the post snap ones [penalties], that’s a no bueno for me,” Quinn told reporters. “We’ll really focus on that. The false starts were what cost us the game in terms of penalties.” Through two weeks of the season, the Commanders have committed 17 penalties, putting them eighth in the league. That needs to change.
For an offence lead by rookie Jayden Daniels, the Commanders can’t keep getting behind the chains because it makes life extremely difficult and isn’t a method to win in the NFL. But that is part of the learning process, as offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury mentioned earlier this week, and as the games progress, one hopes Washington improves its penalty concerns; otherwise, it may be another long season.
The Commanders’ first two weeks have some bright features, but if the penalty-fest continues, we expect those positives to be few and far between. We’ll get our first look on Monday night to see if the Commanders can control their penalty issues. If they can’t, Quinn’s team will struggle to win at Paycor Stadium.
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