How did the Washington Commanders do last season?
We have made it to the final of the NFC East teams. As we look to breakdown the Washington Commanders health trends last year it marks team 16 in our “BUS Breakdown” and “Rough Draft” series. With one week to the NFL draft we will be continuing our series with a little spin following the 2023 NFL Draft. Though we will continue to look at team health and breakdown team trends, The Predictors will also start examining the players that teams drafted, and whether they addressed the issues they had moving forward so make sure to keep a lookout for that in two weeks.
The Washington Commanders’ were the lone team of the NFC East to be left out of the playoffs last season. After a mix of injuries combined with some questionable signings in the offseason the Commanders season went just about how it was expected to go. After a slow start, a hot streak in the middle and a tough last five games they finished their 2022-2023 season with a final record of 8-8-1 landing them 8thin the NFC and 16th in the league.
Washington begins this season with a lot of outside distractions. The biggest is the sale of the team. The Commanders current owner Daniel Snyder accepted a bid of just over $6 Billion and it is likely the team will be sold though nothing has been signed as of yet. A much smaller but noticeable conversation is what does head coach Ron Rivera need to do to keep his job? With a current record of 22-27 and no playoff wins in the last three seasons Rivera needs to get something going. Last year did not end well after he benched QB Taylor Heinicke for QB Carson Wentz in week 17 which ended in a loss and an end to their playoff hopes. The call to bench Heinicke was a decision by Rivera who caused even more doubt in him after he seemed to not understand that the loss knocked them out of the playoffs.
Were the Washington Commanders healthy last season?
With all of that looming above them the team has to come out this year and still perform and to do that they need to stay healthy. Something that they struggled with last year. Finishing the regular season with an average Banged Up Score (BUS) of 71.2 overall and an average weekly ranking of 18.7 (19th out of 32) the Commanders were consistent but not at a level that was advantageous to them. Let me explain. Their yearly BUS trend was pretty flat which is normally a good sign. A flat trend that is high means that the team is consistently healthy or at a minimum when one guy gets hurt another returns and there aren’t many catastrophic season ending injuries. Unfortunately for Washington their week 1 started with an 80.5 ranking them 26th/32 to start and then dropped and fluctuated in the low 70s and high 60s for most of the season. They were in the top 10 healthiest teams just one week this past season and then fell into the bottom 10 the next and were in the bottom 15 for most of the season.
Who was injured on the Washington Commanders?
Many of their health concerns came from big injuries to important positions but also depth issues. For starters, Carson Wentz, the QB who Rivera was responsible for bringing to Washington suffered a finger fracture week 6 which required surgery. An injury that caused him to land on IR. Honestly, that was the least of their concerns though as protection for the QB topped their list. Injuries to C Chase Roullier (Knee), C Tyler Lawson (Achilles, Kneecap dislocation) and OG/C Wes Schweitzer (concussion) depleted their options at the center position. With additional injuries to the tackle and guard positions sprinkled throughout the season, this made protection and offensive line synergy tougher resulting in the 7th most sacks allowed last season.
Offensive line weren’t the only impact injuries. Rookie RB Brian Robinson was slated to be the season starter but following an attempted carjacking and gunshot wound was placed on NFI until week 6 to rehabilitate. TE Logan Thomas also dealt with injury after suffering a calf injury week 4 and sitting out 3 weeks. On defensive the biggest story was Chase Young. The DE star was recovering from a torn ACL/MCL and though was thought to be on a good track ended up sitting out almost the entire season recovering. Starter MLB Cole Holcomb (Foot) and NB Benjamin St. Juste (Ankle) also missed much of the season.
LANDOVER, MD - NOVEMBER 14: Washington Football Team defensive end Chase Young (99) takes the field for the NFL game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Washington Football Team on November 14, 2021 at Fed Ex Field in Landover, MD. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire)
What do the Washington Commanders need for next year?
Despite injury, the commanders held it together for much of the season but unfortunately were not able to keep that going towards the end losing three of their last four games following their bye week. This coincided with a big dip in overall health as they dropped a full 18 points in their Banged-Up Score from week 16-18. As we look to the upcoming year, a big focus on health will be important for Washington. As the other NFC East teams look to grow from last year’s playoff bouts, the Commanders will need to make some big changes to stay in the conversation. As the Draft approaches perhaps beefing up their offensive line, adding depth to their secondary or even TE position may be a primary focus. Will QB Sam Howell or Jacoby Brissett be able to help the offense get going? It will be interesting to see what Rivera and his team have in store.
