The Washington Commanders' preseason is officially up and running, and it didn't get off to the best of starts, with a 48-18 loss to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
But it is preseason, so we take most of what we saw with a grain of salt; however, it did provide a chance for the younger players and ones on the roster bubble the opportunity to impress.
Yes, the loss and the gravity of it was eye-opening, but we don't think fans will lose too much sleep over it. And for head coach Dan Quinn, while he liked what he saw early on from a couple of his young stars, the rest was a little yuck.
“There were some things early I saw that I liked from [Josh] Conorly, [Trey] Amos, [Jer’Zhan] Newton were a couple early that I saw,” Quinn said. “Then past that, hated the score, but I want to look at the evaluation. There's still things to get from it and I expect us to improve a good bit.”
Josh Johnson got the majority of reps at quarterback and finished his day going 15 for 22 with 173 yards, one touchdown, and an interception, while Demetric Felton (42 rushing yards from six carries) and Ja'Corey Brooks (59 yards from five receptions) were the pick of the bunch on offense.
Newton grabbed the defense's only sack while Car'lin Vigers was a tackling monster, posting eight, while the next-best Commanders defender posted three.
So, there were some positives to take from the blowout loss, and in truth, it was more about seeing the younger players in a real NFL setting and seeing if they could translate what they have learned in practice and do it on the field.
Yes, it's preseason, and yes, the Commanders will be better for the experience. Now onto the next.
