Everybody thought the Washington Commanders would improve defensively in 2024. Dan Quinn and Joe Whitt Jr. come with a strong background of helping their defenses flourish. But looking at how woeful they performed in Week 1 at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it might take a little extra time for their methods to bear fruit.
The Commanders were an embarrassing mess on the defensive side of things at Raymond James Stadium. They had no answer for quarterback Baker Mayfield, who evaded pressure superbly and achieved an almost perfect passer rating as a result of his exceptional efforts. Mike Evans and Chris Godwin torched Washington's suspect secondary almost at will. As for trying to get a stop on third down? Forget about it.
This was a damning indictment of where this group is and the progress needed. Nobody covered themselves in glory consistently enough. One player who'd gotten some decent involvement with the first string throughout the summer was completely ignored.
Commanders ignored Michael Davis completely on defense in Week 1
Despite being active for the Commanders and the struggles of other cornerbacks, Michael Davis was an innocent bystander throughout the contest. The veteran free-agent signing was seen by many as the starting outside option opposite Benjamin St-Juste. Those in power moved forward with second-year-pro Emmanuel Forbes Jr. as the starter when push came to shove.
It was another disastrous outing for Forbes despite his bullish claims of embracing the challenge before the clash. Even when the Commanders decided to take the former first-round pick out of Mississippi State out of the firing line after yet more inconsistent production in a competitive environment, they opted to deploy Noah Igbinoghene instead.
Considering that every other cornerback played 44 percent of snaps and St-Juste didn't take off one play, for Davis to get no reps whatsoever seems a little off. That's without considering they gave up 289 passing yards and four touchdowns to Mayfield, which was too much for No. 2 overall selection Jayden Daniels to overcome.
Davis didn't enjoy the best of fortunes with the Los Angeles Chargers last season, but his experience and bounce-back potential under Quinn and Whitt brought some intrigue to his arrival. Something's happened to see the player fall out of favor. Just what that might be is anyone's guess.
It's a situation worth monitoring, at the very least. Forbes lost yet more faith in his long-term outlook by failing to meet the required standards in Week 1. St-Juste tried his best, but it wasn't good enough versus a prolific wideout such as Evans on the perimeter. Even second-round rookie Mike Sainristil looked lost on his regular-season debut despite flourishing throughout the offseason.
The former undrafted free agent out of BYU got 12 snaps on special teams, which equates to 44 percent. Davis was probably anticipating more involvement. Whether that arrives in the coming weeks as the Commanders look to make significant adjustments to their defensive strategy is another matter.
All Davis can do is try and establish himself further in practice. Anything else is out of his hands.
