Commanders Take Care of Business in Houston, Win 27–10
In the last month, the Taylor Heinicke led Washington Commanders (6–5) have become one of the hottest teams in the NFL, and it continued on Sunday with a 27–10 win over the Houston Texans (1–8–1).
The defense started off hot with a Kendall Fuller 37 yard pick-six on the Texans first offensive drive of the game. This interception set the tone for what was to come for the Texans offense as they had negative five (!!!) total yards after two quarters of action. Young stars shined in the secondary throughout the game as Kam Curl, a former seventh round pick in 2020, led the team in tackles. Darrick Forrest, another day three safety, recorded his third interception of the season with an athletic heads-up play early in the fourth quarter. However, Forrest wouldn’t have been able to intercept the pass without help from the second year corner Benjamin St-Juste who broke up Davis Mills’ deep pass to Brandin Cooks. Heading into the week, both Curl and Forrest were the top two graded safeties in the NFL according to PFF. As for St-Juste, 2021 was a disappointing rookie season that was full of injuries; however, the Canadian has shown big time flashes of improvement here in 2022. Washington’s front four continued to have one of it’s best seasons yet. Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, and Montez Sweat combined for all five of the Commanders sacks on Houston quarterback Davis Mills. It brings Allen and Payne’s totals for the year at six and a half sacks each while Sweat is a half sack behind. At the level Payne and Allen have been playing at so far this season, they should be locks for the Pro Bowl and in consideration for an All-Pro team. The defensive line has been one of the keys to success during the last month and a half of games as they are averaging three sacks per week. Additionally, with the news of Chase Young most likely returning next week against Atlanta, this defense should be considered as one of the best heading into the closing weeks of the season.
Offensively, the Commanders took some time before getting into rhythm. Washington went three and out on their first two possessions and gained only two first downs on their third drive before having to punt. It wasn’t until the beginning of the second quarter where the offense started to show life going on a nine play 85 yard drive that ended in a ten yard Curtis Samuel rushing touchdown. Taylor Heinicke and the offense were able to get into Texans territory many times with multiple double digit play drives, but didn’t score another touchdown for the rest of the game. Heinicke finished the game 15 for 27 passing with 191 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. As for the run game, Washington tallied up 153 yards through the ground with the leading running back being Antonio Gibson who had 18 carries for 72 yards. The Commanders third round pick, Brian Robinson, finished the game with 15 carries for 57 yards and had the second most rushing yards on the team. The success on the ground has allowed Ron Rivera to maintain control of the game and time of possession. Washington has had a longer time of possession than their opponents in each of the last five games. The Commanders have played offenses such as the Vikings and Eagles and are 4–1 in that stretch. This just shows how important having control of the football is when playing high powered offenses that can strike quickly with big chunk plays.
Overall, Ron Rivera and this coaching staff have done a great job tuning out off-field distractions and focusing on turning this team and season around. On October 22nd the Commanders were 2–4 and fans were giving up on the season. One month later the Commanders have a winning record with the Falcons and Giants next up on the schedule. This next month will be the most important so far this season as Washington can easily head into Week 16 at San Francisco 9–5. However, the team will have to continue to playing at this same level if they want to continue their success.
