Benjamin St-Juste came into Week 11 at the Philadelphia Eagles with a big point to prove.
The cornerback was heavily criticized for blowing a coverage assignment on wide receiver Mike Williams during the Washington Commanders' last-gasp loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last time around. Something that sent his margin for error from slim to nonexistent along the way.
St-Juste was expected to feature prominently on Thursday Night Football at Lincoln Financial Field. This game came too soon for recently acquired Pro Bowl corner Marshon Lattimore, so the former third-round selection was anticipated to man the No. 1 responsibilities and try to get out of his concerning slump.
This didn't fill fans with much joy. St-Juste's problems with poor technique and the infringements that follow are well documented. He's also targeted as a weak link by opposing offenses, which is exactly why the Commanders made their bold move for Lattimore.
Nothing but a substantial surge forward from St-Juste would do in a high-stakes situation within a notoriously intimidating atmosphere. It didn't take long for the mystery to arrive.
Commanders took Benjamin St-Juste out briefly with no injury designation
After the opening drive where the Eagles moved the ball almost effortlessly through the air, the Commanders took St-Juste out of the firing line. There was no injury announced by the team and he was seen doing knee ups on the sideline over the next two drives. That would suggest there was nothing amiss and this was a coaching decision.
Michael Davis, the free-agent signing who's been seldom seen all year, came in and immediately started shadowing A.J. Brown all over the field. Mike Sainristil held down the underneath. Everything looked more convincing as the Commanders gained some much-needed defensive momentum.
St-Juste returned to the lineup midway through the second quarter. However, this is the clearest sign yet that Washington's coaching staff is rapidly losing faith in the veteran cornerback at the worst possible time.
Trust from the staff and self-confidence are the two biggest factors for cornerbacks. It doesn't seem like St-Juste has much of either considering he was removed from the equation so soon into a game that had significant ramifications on the NFC East championship race.
St-Juste hasn't enjoyed the best fortunes against the Eagles and Brown, in particular, throughout recent outings. Either Dan Quinn or Joe Whitt Jr. saw something they didn't like or there's a slight complication with the Minnesota product that hasn't been disclosed.
Either way, it didn't look especially promising.
