Instant analysis: Commanders squander multiple late chances in loss to Rams

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LANDOVER — Washington’s plan coming out of the bye week was to stack a couple of wins and head to New York with a chance to play for the division lead.

The Commanders could see a road to the playoffs, if all went according to plan.

And, late in the fourth quarter Sunday, Washington nearly achieved that goal. The Commanders had the Los Angeles Rams in a one-score game at home and the offense driving to tie it. A win would put them squarely in the playoff hunt.

But the offense couldn’t sustain multiple fourth-quarter drives and Los Angeles pulled out a 20-13 win.

The Commanders are 2-5-1. They face the NFC East-leading Giants on Thursday; New York is now three games ahead of them.

Here are three takeaways from Washington’s fifth loss.

A Puka problem

It is no secret what the Rams like to do on offense: They feed their best player. A lot.

Puka Nacua has been among the league leaders in receptions over the last three years, and Sunday was no different. He had 14 catches on 19 targets for 150 yards. Washington seemingly had no response as Nacua piled up first down after first down.

No play was more demoralizing than in a tie game during the fourth quarter. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford tossed it up in the back of the end zone, and Nacua hauled it in with a defender draped all over him.

It continues a trend for this defense, which struggles to limit the opposing team’s top option. Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba went for 128 yards when he played the Commanders. San Francisco’s Mike Evans had 94 yards in one half before getting hurt.

It might show an underlying talent gap. Washington doesn’t have the corners to keep up with the best receivers in the league. The closest it has to a lockdown defender is Trey Amos, who returned from injury two weeks ago. But defensive coordinator Daronte Jones likes to move him around instead of shadowing one person.

Can’t sustain drives

Washington came into the day with the second-worst third-down conversion rate in the league, at 32%. It didn’t improve on Sunday as the Commanders went 2-of-10.

The offense can’t sustain drives, and it hurt them in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Jayden Daniels had two chances to tie the game in the fourth quarter and couldn’t stay on the field.

The first came with eight minutes to play, and Washington stalled out after 27 yards. Daniels missed Antonio Williams on a third-and-6 that could have put the Commanders in field goal range.

Later, driving at midfield with two minutes to play, Daniels took a sack on third down for a loss of 12 yards to effectively end the game.

But it wasn’t just those two plays. Daniels missed Stefon Diggs on a third down earlier in the game. Rachaad White dropped a would-be first-down pass on third-and-3.

There are plenty of reasons that Washington is struggling. But its mistakes on third down are at the top of the list.

Manufacturing a rushing attack

Playing against premier defensive linemen such as Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald, Washington needed to establish a rushing attack. If nothing else, it was for Daniels’ health — ensuring that Los Angeles had to at least respect the run rather than teeing off on the pass rush.

And offensive coordinator David Blough got creative to make it happen.

Washington struggled to run the ball between the tackles, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry for most of the game. But Blough dialed up screen passes and quick throws that functioned as an extension of the run game. White had a quick pass go for 45 yards to set up the Commanders’ touchdown. Running back Austin Ekeler had a short dump-off catch for 12 yards.

Blough brought in wide receivers Luke McCaffrey and Diggs for a few targets within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage, too.

With the Commanders missing their starting running back on injured reserve, this is Blough’s way of keeping defenses off balance. Earlier in the year, he used a more traditional run game to no avail.

This allowed Daniels enough time to be more efficient passing — going 23-of-34 for 258 yards — and keep the pressure at bay.