The Kevin Sheehan Show - Bounce-Back Win Against Bolts!

Episode Date: October 6, 2025

Kevin in following Washington's 27-10 bounce-back win over the Chargers in Los Angeles. A game of big plays was highlighted by two huge takeaways by the Commanders' defense which led them to a 3-2 mark. Kevin's "Game-Take" included recapping Jayden Daniels' return to the lineup, Bill Crosky Merrit's breakout game, and a defense that pressured and sacked Justin Herbert all day long. For all your football betting needs: DCRELOAD at MyBookie for a 50% Deposit Match Want to spruce up your lawn? FastGrowingTrees.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it, but you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Cheon Show. Here's Kevin. Herbert, pressure again, slings and it's caught by Justin, and now the ball is loose. Washington recovers. Justin had him, then he fumbled in, the commanders, get a big break as Marshawn Latimore comes up with it. Plays in the second quarter rarely decide games, but they can certainly change momentum.

in games, and that one did. Down 10-0-0 and on the verge of things getting much worse, Kwan Martin's hit on Chargers wide receiver, Quentin Johnston, forced that fumble, Washington recovered, and in that moment, the game was back on. In for a quick post game following a 27 to 10 win over the Chargers at SoFi. Amazingly, after that play, the Chargers didn't score again. Washington 27 unanswered from that moment on to win their third game of the year and move a game above 500. My game takes coming up. This show is presenting sponsor, as always, is Window Nation 86690 Nation,

windonation.com if you need new windows. That was a really good win. So many big plays that led to the opportunity to win. So many impressive performances to ensure the wind to nail down the win. Impressive performances on both sides of the ball. This was a huge bounceback game for the defense. Amazing, right, the way the NFL works last week. We're killing the defense.

Just wait a week. Five sacks, two massive takeaways, including the fumble in the second quarter by Quentin Johnston. And then, of course, the Johnny Newton tipped past. that led to an interception by Sanris still at the goal line in the fourth quarter. That was a monster play. Look, the Chargers were hurting, no doubt. It's not who you play, but when you play them, we've talked about that for a long time now. And their offensive line was an absolute mess coming in,

and it just became a bigger mess as the game went on. But still, the defense had to take advantage of it, and it did. the return of Jaden Daniels. It started slowly. It was rusty on those first two drives. But after that, he was Jaden again, leading the offense to five scores on their final six drives of the game. He did it running. He did it throwing. He did it every which way he always does it. He looked like the Jaden Daniels of last year after the early portion of the game. Kroski Merritt. Oh, my God. All right. He's the the guy. He's the guy that needs to get the bulk of the carries, and that happened today, 14 for 111 yards, 7.9 yards per carry, and two touchdowns. Yes, one fumble as well, and we'll make note of it and hope that it doesn't become something. But he's legit, the vision, the cutting ability, the burst, the yards after contact. He also caught two passes for 39 yards. He really looks like he is going to be a major impact player for this team right away. Debo was phenomenal.

McCaffrey had the best catch he's ever had and really the catch of the year for the team at the end of the first half. Armstrong outstanding again. Newton with some plays. So many impactful performances today. I'm going to get to all of them that I can think of right now post-game when I get to my game take. But one of the things that I wanted to focus on here in the opening segment is just how many key plays and key moments there were. You know, plays and moments in which when you're watching them during a game, you say, mark that one down, all right, jot that one down. That may be the play we're talking about when this game is over.

That may be the play that sort of decides the game, that changed the game. There were so many of those. Here's a list of seven, all right? And there were probably another three or four, but here were my top seven plays from the game. First of all, it starts early with a devastating play on special teams. Sanra still jumping off sides on the field goal attempt on the opening drive of the game. It cost them four points.

You should never jump off sides on a chip shot super short field goal. The ball's going to get up much faster. The chances of blocking those shorter field goals are just not that high. You cannot jump off sides. Massive mistake in the game. Key moment, key play number two is the monster play that we came in with. The fumble by Quentin Johnston, forced by Kwan Martin. It legitimately saves Washington from a huge hole late in the first half, too.

13-0-0 would have been the best case had he not fumbled, 17-0-1-1-1-1-1-1-1. If it had been 17-0, and they had taken another 4-5-6 plays to score the touchdown, Washington would have gotten the ball back down 17-0 with like 4 minutes, maybe even less than that in the first half. And before that fumble, the defense had already given up 10 points and nearly 200 yards on three charger drives, and the offense had gone three and out, five and out with two punts. So that was big because the game was close to getting out of control late in the first half. Key moment, key play number three. So the offense immediately after recovering that fumble goes backwards, and they're faced with a third and 16.

If they go three and out, that fumble doesn't mean as much. third and 16 throw from Jaden to Jalen Lane was, all right, take a deep breath. That's Jaden Daniels. That's a big time throw. It moves the sticks, massive conversion. And really, from that moment on, Jaden and the offense was completely different. The third and 16, key moment, key play number three. Number four, how about down 10-7 and punting from deep in your own end zone, and the punt gets returned 57 yards for a touchdown by Ladd-McConkey, but roughing the punter.

Right call, no doubt. I saw it, and I'm sure you guys did too, right when it happened. I didn't know if it was going to be a running into or a ruffing, but I knew that the punt return for touchdown wouldn't stand. It was roughing. They maintained possession of the football. and that leads me to key play, key moment number five. I mean, the first play after the roughing the punter, a 50-yard bomb to Luke McCaffrey.

What a throw, what a catch. That leads to a game-tying field goal right before halftime, and they're going to get the ball to start the third quarter. Key moment, key play number six. First play of the fourth quarter, up 20 to 10, and Bill fumbles. And now the Chargers have a play that starts to turn maybe their fortunes around in the game. Because Washington's taking over near midfield after that fourth down drop, really, by Conklin.

And they're in good shape to go eat some clock. Worst case, you know, three plays, more clock, pun it up 20 to 10. But the way they were rolling offensively, I didn't think they would get stopped. I thought they would, you know, certainly eat some clock and end up. up with some points. But on that first play, Kroski Merritt fumbles, and now we've got a big play for the chargers to get back into the game. But the seventh and final of what I would call the top seven big moments, big plays of the game, went in Washington's favor as well. Third and goal, Johnny Newton tips Herbert's pass and Sanristil picks it off at the one-yard line. 20 to 13,

worst case if that falls incomplete. For a moment, Keenan Allen is open. He's trying to fit it in there. If he does, it's 20 to 17. Wow, what a massive play, because the chargers off of Bill's fumble were certainly heading for points

and for them to be back into a one-score game. There were plenty of other big plays, you know, in between. How about the drive that ended the game? Taking over at the one-yard line. after that Sanra still pick. 13 plays 99 yards. And on 4th and 7, and I will talk about this decision by Dan Quinn to go for it on 4th and 7 rather than kick a short field goal for a 23 to 10 lead.

But 4th and 7 at the Chargers 8-yard line after, by the way, maintaining possession for 6 minutes and 32 seconds. By the way, it was a sloppy drive, both teams, you know, a bunch of penalties. on the drive, and that clock was rolling through a lot of those penalties. But Jaden to Debo in the corner of the end zone game officially over 27 to 10. It was a game with just a high number of memorable and game important plays that ended with a Washington 17. A win that they really needed. The season is long.

It's really long. But three and two after a win like that, man, that is a totally different mindset on the flight home than two and three in the midst of a two-game losing skid, how that would have felt. I didn't think it was a must win today, but there are certain junctures in successful seasons where teams have to stop the bleeding. You've got to keep the feeling that the season is slipping away at a distance. and they did that today. I'll get to my game take in a minute or two, but let me just end this opening segment with this on Jaden Daniels. It felt to me like Jaden's 2025 season began today.

He played fine in the opener against the Giants, but that injury came four nights later, week two, an early week two game. That's over three weeks ago now. That game was 23 days ago. ago. The first two count, I'm not trying to exclude them from his 2025 statistics or anything like that, but this one today, especially after he completed that 3rd and 16 on the third drive, it seemed like the start of the season for him. He was Jaden after that, and he really didn't play like Jaden

against the Packers, and the opener was a bit rusty as well. And he is the top. He is the that lifts all, you know, burgundy and gold boats or whatever the colors are they wear. He, of course, is the key to another winning season, another contending season. And he looked healthy today,

especially after ditching those shoes that he first had on that he slipped in. I thought he looked good. I thought he moved well. I thought he ran well. I thought he threw well. And everybody on offense, benefited because of his presence in that lineup.

His health and availability isn't the only thing that matters, but it's the thing that matters the most. And it was great to have him back. And it feels like, as my good friend Steve Zabin would say, it feels like we can now go have ourselves a season. All right, I'll get to my game take after these words from a few of our sponsors. So guys, if you're like me and you've basically been buying and wearing this same type of underwear for years, in my case, boxer briefs, same brand, same type for a long time, well, not anymore

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Touchdown. commanders. 15-yarder for Bill. How good was Bill today? 14 carries, 111 yards, 7.9 yards per carry, two touchdowns. He's now averaging 6.6 yards per carry on the season. I think we can safely say that he has snagged the number one running back position on this. team. This segment of the show is brought to you by Window Nation. October is a good time of year to get your windows replaced if you've got older windows that get stuck or they're cracked. They're letting chilly air seep into your home, increasing your heating bills, creating annoying

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weather ends. 86690 Nation or windownation.com to schedule your fast, free, in-home estimate today. All right, let's get to my game take. Pay attention. Here's Kevin's Game Take. All right. The game take, as always, a list of the good, a list of the bad, and a few other observations. Let me run through everything I have here on fine notes. Lots of things to like in this game, especially after the first quarter or the first, you know, nearly quarter and a half. Number one on the list, the return of Jaden Daniels, after the early rust, which included a play that I could not believe that Cliff Kingsbury called. the second offensive snap of the game, and they run, I'll have to go back and look at it, but I just wrote they ran quarterback power.

They had some motion in the back field, a lot of misdirection, and Jaden keeps it on a quarterback power. He gets hit and tackled for a two-yard loss. What the F on the second play of the game. After, by the way, on the very first play of the game, he completed a quick, you know, row to Debo Samuel for seven yards. So it was second down and three. I don't want him when he isn't coming off 23 days without playing running quarterback power, quarterback counter, quarterback sweep. I hate those plays. The early going also included a third down scramble on

their second series and he slipped. Not sure he would have gotten it, but those shoes were quickly replaced after that drive, and I guess they made a difference. More on that play coming up here in a moment on that scramble before their second punt. The third and 16 after the turnover was decisive on the money, moves the chains. As mentioned, that's a huge play in the game, because after that forced fumble, if they go three and out again, the chargers get decent field position up 10 to nothing. And Washington probably really feels like, wow, we're about to go a full half without doing anything on offense. And part of it was because they couldn't get off the field defensively. So at that point, you know, when he hit that third and 16, you're under eight

minutes to go in the second quarter. And it's only your third drive. It's only your like 10th offensive snap in the game. Third drive, which ended in a touchdown. How about the second and four scramble? That was like he looked really good scrambling. He looks really good scrambling all night. That one was where he slid and got down. He didn't do that one on a later scramble where Brady kind of scolded him. The throw to Debo after avoiding pressure for 21 yards on that drive.

The 50-yarder to McCaffrey, what a throw. I'll have more thoughts on just how they handled the end. of the first half when I get to actually just sort of other observations. I like the aggressiveness, but there was a case to be made based on field position, timeout situation, etc. To maybe not be so aggressive. I'll get to that. The deep crossing route to Debo for 22 yards after the 50-yarder to McCaffrey, they got them into chip shot field goal range, the one where they went up and, you know, clock the ball and then kicked the field goal. The second and ten scramble for nine yards on the first drive of the second half,

which got him to a third and one. He looked really good on that one. One of my favorite throws of the game for him, it was just a first and ten to Tay Martin, number 13, on the opening drive of the second half. It was Jaden at his, you know, pocket best. He sees it, he's decisive. It's a super quick release.

It's almost like a flick of the wrist. It's got velocity. It's accurate on the money. Nine yards. And now we're in second and one. The next play, he keeps it on a read option, gets the first down and gets down immediately to avoid getting hit really smart. The throw to Chris Moore in the end zone after he created some time and extended the play, should have been a touchdown.

That is a great throw. Moore's got to pull that in in the end zone. zone. I had a second and 16 scramble on that epic last drive of the game. 12 yards. It was the play in which he was leg whipped, and so they added 15 to it. I didn't love the second nine scramble on that drive where he got eight yards but was fighting to try to get to the sticks on second nine. That was the one where Brady kind of lectured him and scolded him a bit about, come on man, you got to get down in that scenario. I don't think it was an easy get down because it was in the middle of the field.

But there he is, you know, knee brace and all fighting for the first down on second and nine. He's picked up eight. You're in a third and one after that. The touchdown throw to Debo was a beauty, obviously. Yeah, a lot of good from Jaden. The bad from him in this game, he was a little inaccurate on a few throws. He was high to Ertz on one, a little bit behind Lane on one early,

under through Debo on the DPI late in the game. Now, maybe that was intentionally. He wasn't perfect on a throw to Debo where Debo made a really good, strong hands catch. He probably missed a few things like on the second drive of the game. The scramble where he slips short of the first down, I think he should have checked that down to McNichols. I think McNichols would have had a chance to get to get the first down. And really, he could have checked it down when he started to scramble

and before he got to the line of scrimmage because he had sucked the defense towards him. And if he dumps that off to McNichols, I think it's a first, it's more likely than not a first down. Yeah. What else did I have here? He didn't get down on a second down run on that final drive. Yeah. 15 of 26, 231 yards, 8.9 yards per attempt, 15.4 yards per completion.

He rushed for 39 important yards on eight carries, nearly five yards per carry. You know, after that second drive, he was a solid A. I'll give him an A minus B plus because those first two drives of the game mattered. The tempo was back in a serious way with him. Not that they didn't run some tempo with Marioota, but it's just different with Jaden. Chargers really had a difficult time keeping up with the hurry up and the tempo, and they kind of ultimately ran out of gas a little bit. Number two on the list of things that I liked.

Jacori, Kroski, Merritt, aka Bill. I mean, 14 carries 100. and 11 yards, two touchdowns, two catches, 39 yards. I'm not going to break down his pass pro. Maybe we'll let Steve Souter do that on Wednesday. But here's what I got for him. On the first drive that they got moving after the third and 16, he had that Wildcat zone read with Debo on a good play,

then scored bouncing it to the outside untouched. He has very good vision. He's got very good feet where he can move last. He can cut quickly. He's also got a great burst. And I don't, the Chargers struggled to set the edge against him on a couple of plays. I mean, nobody was near him on that touchdown run. You really don't get anything else from him until the second half. You got the speed option on that third and one on the opening drive where Jaden pitches it to, to Bill for a few yards. There was 12 men on the field. They caught them with 12 men on the field.

That was tempo, hurry up. There was a checkdown to him where he went for like 28 yards. There was a defensive hold on that play too. I mean, he's such a dangerous checkdown guy or a swing guy. The middle screen to him for 11 yards was a beauty. It's that fake for the outside, but they come back on the inside screen, bubble screen. angle screen, whatever you want to call it. And then first and goal, he bounces to the outside again, basically untouched for the

touchdown. What a really good run. Second drive of the second half breaks multiple tackles and goes for 27 yards. He's slippery, man. He's hard to get down, not because he's physical. There's just something about the way he runs and he's able to sort of not allow people to get a direct hit on him. What else did he have?

First play of the four. Oh, that was the bad play. The big run on the final drive for 15 yards. Yeah, he had the fumble. He had the fumble. And it was on him. That was not on the exchange. Brady, I think, was talking about maybe it was on the exchange.

No, it was not really on the exchange. He had the ball. He didn't protect the ball. And he fumbled. And it was a big fumble. First play of the fourth quarter, they got the ball at midfield. They're in total control. after Conklin dropped that fourth and two.

And that was a big play. Fortunately, the game didn't get to 20 to 17. You know, who knows what would have happened, although they drove it 99 yards after the interception. Debo Samuel, I mean, come on, man, this guy's having a season now. Eight catches, 96 yards, 11 targets. No one else was targeted more than two times in the game. And really, you know, it was Kroski Merritt with two receptions.

McNichols had a catch or two, one catch. Lane had the one-third and 16. Yeah, I mean, we saw it last week. Basically, Kingsbury is very good at figuring out how to get Debo the ball. I mean, Debo didn't carry it out of the backfield, even though he was in the backfield and motioned towards the backfield. But, I mean, we saw him on bubbles. We saw him on crossers.

Debo Samuel, outstanding in the game. game today. McCaffrey, look, he had one catch, but oh my God, what a big catch it was for 50 yards. An incredible catch and incredible throw. Plus, he had a 40-yard kickoff return. I put Jeremy McNeckles down. I mean, it's not like statistically he had a big day, one carry for six yards, and then he had the one catch for 12 yards. But that was a third and 11 swing pass where he broke two tackles and got the first down on third and 11. He's impressive. Anytime you rush for 163 yards, 5.8 yards per carry and your quarterback only gets sacked once. That's a really good day for the offensive line. Maybe the film proves otherwise. I'm sure it helped

that Bates was back for the run game, but the offensive line did a good job. Next, we move to the defensive side of the ball. It was a rough start, man, a really rough start. Those three drives before the fumble, they're at like 200, nearly 200 yards of offense. They were pretty much perfect on third down at that point, with the exception of the big play on their field goal drive, which was the sack by the pressure by Jacob Martin. did he end up having the sacchar? Did Von Miller get credit for that? Jacob Martin was the one that really created that on that second drive that got him off the field.

But they were, I mean, their first drive, nine plays 76 yards, five minutes, 11 seconds. Second play, nine plays 43 yards, another five minutes and 24 seconds. Before the fumble, they're in the midst of a 10 play, 60-yard drive, six minutes and 10 seconds. And by the way, let's not forget, the fumble happens at Washington's 23-yard line. You know, that's where he got to. So they are dominating the action for those first three drives until Kwan Martin makes a big hit. Yeah, there was some helmet-to-helmet in there, but that's not a defense's receiver. Two takeaways so important in the game.

The first one, as we've discussed, certainly a play that keeps the game from getting out of hand early. And then at 20 to 10, after the Kroski Merritt fumble, the tip by Newton on the third and goal, remember, too, to get them into that third and goal was huge. You know, they took over. Listen to this. After the fumble by Bill, that is, you know, he fumbles the ball in the backfield. They're in Charger territory, okay, and the Chargers take over from their own 43-yard line. That drive in which it ended in interception, they take over, there's 14-52 to go in the fourth quarter from their own 43-yard line.

14 plays before the interception, 53 yards, 7 minutes and 12 seconds. They're down 20 to 10. Now, if they get a touchdown there with, you know, seven minutes and change left, you know, there's plenty of time. But, man, that is a, that's a long-ass drive for 53 yards. You know, 14 plays 53 yards, seven minutes and 12 seconds. They converted a third and six to Keenan Allen. They converted a third and 10 to Johnston, who just barely caught it at the line to gain. third and six he found

Keenan Allen again on an easy pitch and catch. So they had all these third downs and then they had first and goal the one after that guy Vidal came in for Haskins who was in for Hampton, who didn't even play on that final drive. And from there, you got

Jordan McGee who made a big time TFL for a three-yard loss. That was on second and goal from the one after they tried to throw in first and goal. I think if Hampton is okay and wasn't on the sideline hurt getting taped up. He's in that game first and goal at the one. But they had their third string running back in,

and that set up the third and goal, and Newton and Sandra still made great plays. Two takeaways, leads the defensive good, so crucial in the game. The pass rush, five sacks. And by the way, it really got much better as the game went on, in part because the Chargers just had revolving doors up front as players got hurt, left the game, then came back, then left the game again. And it needed to be good because early on Herbert was picking the secondary apart.

He was 11 for his first 13 for 112 yards in a touchdown, along with a few big scrambles before that Johnston fumble. After starting 11 of 13 for 112 in a touchdown, he was. He's 11 of 16 for 54 yards. And that was mostly because of the pass rush. He has been absolutely ravaged the last three weeks because of their issues along the offensive line. Washington took advantage of it.

We talked about this all last week. It was one of the reasons I thought that there was a chance defensively they could bounce back with a much better effort because of the Charger offensive line. The three best defensive days of the year have come against teams that were really, really hurting along the offensive line. And I don't think the Giants or the Raiders were hurting as much as the Chargers were today. Some players defensively, Dorrance Armstrong, man. He is arguably the best defensive player on the team this year in terms of the way he's played. He's certainly one of them, two sacks.

He drew a holding penalty. So many other names on defense. I just mentioned Jordan McGee's, you know, TFL down at the goal line. He was also the guy that pressured on a Newton sack. Lou Vu, Kin Law. I thought pain was much better than last week. Jacob Martin had that pressure that I think Miller got a half sack or maybe a whole sack on. Miller had some pressures.

Reeves and Kwan Martin had some big hits. Reeves also misplayed a read option on Justin Herbert poorly. I thought Johnny Newton not only had a sack, but multiple pressures and the crucial tip pass that got intercepted. We'll see how they all grade out when Souter does the film breakdown, but a much, much better day. I mean, this league, you know, just wait a week and it changes. That was a necessary day for the defense because they did have an advantage going in against that. Chargers offensive line. Also on the list of things that I liked, the tackling was much better this week than it was last week. There were misses, especially on Hampton, which is why it was probably

crucial that he wasn't in the game on that final drive for them. Because I think first and goal at the one, he gets it instead of Vidal. You know, he's better, he's a good back. I mean, time will tell on him. but yeah, him not in a game there was big. And the tackling, there were a few mistackles here and there, but a Louvo missed one, but for the most part, much improved from last week. And look, on the list of things that I liked, they had, look, they were wounded coming in. I understand that. Ne with the receivers, no Terry, no Noah Brown, understood.

But the chargers were an absolute. mess along the offensive line, and that was a good thing for this defense today. Plus, they were just discombobulated after that Johnston fumble, the rest of the day. They had 10 penalties for 85 yards. They called timeouts because the play clock was going down. First drive of the second half, they went from a first and 10 to a second and 33 to a third and 29 and never had a shot. Conklin dropped it, what should have been an easy fourth and two. Could have kicked a field goal there. It would have been about a 56-yarder to make it 20 to 13.

I know that the fourth and two in that spot is a go-forward situation. But it was, you know, the right team on the right day. Again, so much about this league is not who you play, but when you play them. The Chargers are hurting right now, and they are getting their quarterback hit and sacked a bunch. The Giants did it to them last week. And after the first three drives, Washington really did a good job. They had a sack or two even on those first three drives, and they were getting pressure. But once they got the lead, man, they teed off.

You know, they ran the football pretty well. But again, Washington not getting gashed. I mean, the big runs today were really by Herbert. They're just not getting gashed. like they were last year. They're a better run-stopping team. I don't think this was a great day against the run. Let me look at the numbers real quickly. What Hampton had before Lee. He was 12 for 44, so what that's, yeah, 3.7 yards per carry. This kid, Vidal came in, ran it well. Herbert, four for 60, had that 41-yard or scramble. I think that was on the opening drive.

Yeah, I mean, 155 yards rushing, but 60 of it from the quarterback on scrambles, and actually a reed option keeper as well. He had a big run on one of those where Reeves just totally bit. But yeah, a lot to like about the game. What I didn't like from the game. You know, they still are having some issues coverage-wise. Man, zone really doesn't matter. like I said, 11 for 13 for 112 yards on those first three drives, some easy pitch and catch, easy pitch and catch. Easy pitch and catch on the drive that ended up in the interception.

You know, they had a multiple third downs where Keenan Allen's just wide open, mostly zone coverage, I'm pretty sure. And I just, I still think, you know, without that pass rush today, without that pass rush, without their banged up offensive. line in Washington taking advantage of it with some really good pass rushes and schemed up pass rushes. There were free runners all day. Wagner was a free runner. McGee was a free runner. But I think they still, in coverage, weren't that great.

I thought there was some sloppiness in this game with getting plays in on time. They had a delay of game. They had to take a time out. They had to rush a play. There were two penalties on one play on that final drive early in that drive. They overcame it. I think they had two total called penalties on that final drive. Tay Martin, number 13, he had a catch.

He also had an unnecessary roughness on a kickoff return. Chris Moore's drop, got to put that on the list. Yeah, that's it. I mean, I'm looking at the team stats right now. They were two of seven on third downs, but I didn't consider. third down to be a problem. I mean, it was on the first two drives. And then after that, you would have had two field goals, the fourth down, where they were just running the clock at the end. Yeah, I didn't, you know, there's not a lot. Coverage to me is an issue. And they faced

one of the better quarterbacks they'll face all year. And they caught him on a day in which his offensive line was an absolute train wreck. And it has been for a couple of weeks now. And they couldn't overcome it last week. Their offensive line issues against the Giants, and they really couldn't overcome it this week after the first three drives. You know, big picture, two takeaways, massive in the game. The third and 16, Jaden's performance,

Bill's performance, Debo's performance, pass rush all day, 27 to 10. All right, I'll finish up with just a few other observations from the game. And look ahead already a lineout for the game next Monday night against the Bears. The Bears will be coming off a by week, a long by week, where they go from playing to not playing again until the following Monday night. We'll finish up with that after these words from a few of our sponsors. It can be hard for men to deal with hair loss, even though it's common. Luckily, I'm here to provide you with a solution so you don't even have to talk about it. Through Hymns, you can restore your hair by accessing their personalized hair loss solutions.

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who will determine if a prescription is appropriate. Restrictions apply. See website for details and important safety information. Fourth and seven, your commander is just going to go. The 114 to go. It's Daniels. Pressure. Loat one for the corner. Devo,

Samuel, he's got it. That's the exclamation point. Yes, that was an exclamation point. That is for sure. Fourth and seven, interesting decision. I'll get into that in a moment when they went for it instead of kicking a field goal to go up 23 to 10. This segment of the show is brought to you by MyBooky.

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It's not just for new customers. My bookie is offering that 50% cash bonus to existing and returning customers as well. Just use that promo code, DC reload. So let me open with in this other observations list, the line for next Monday night. At my bookie, Washington opens as a five-point favorite over the Bears. The total is 50 and a half, so a pretty high total in the game. But Washington, a five-point favorite over the Bears coming off their second straight win last weekend over the Raiders and a long buy week. They will certainly be looking for revenge and there will be a lot of revisiting the Hail Mary from a year ago.

All right, a few things that I wanted to just quickly talk about and then we'll wrap it up and I'll be back tomorrow. So the opening kickoff was strange. I'm not even sure I still understand what happened. We kicked off, Matt Gay kicked off into the end zone, you know, which you don't want to do in this league and hand them the ball at the 35-yard line. But there was an illegal formation call on the Chargers. So, by the way, that was called on Benjamin St. Juist. And the referee explained it that the Chargers chose to have Washington re-kick. Well, that's not possible. the penalty was on them.

Washington chose to re-kick. By the way, from the 40-yard line, Matt Gay got to kick from the 40-yard line, and it was a big turnaround because instead of the charger starting on the 35-yard line, they ended up starting after a kickoff return at their own 24-yard line. Obviously, Washington chose to kick again,

but the referee explained it that the choice, Chargers had chosen to have a re-kick. And it confused Brady and Burkhart, who I think we're talking about, well, I guess they think they can do better than the 35-yard line. No, the penalty was on them. They didn't get the choice. All right, let's go to the end of the first half. I thought a very interesting setup at the end of the first half.

First of all, they used their timeouts, two of them, on defense. And that was smart, especially after that play where they sniffed out. that screen. Wagner was a free blitzer. Duron Payne did a phenomenal job, nailing Hampton for a seven-yard loss on that screen. They used that timeout and force the punt, and they took over with a minute 35 left from their own seven-yard line, trailing 10 to 7 with one timeout left. It's also important to note that the Chargers only had one time out left as well. And the reason that's important is that if Washington had wanted to run the clock out basically by just running the football,

forcing the chargers to take another time out if they were going to take it, and because of the field position and go in down 10-7 knowing that they would get the ball to start the second half, they could have done that. And a lot of teams probably would have because of the field position and because of just one timeout left and the other team only having one timeout. out left, said, we've got a chance to get to the locker room down 10-7, to get the ball to open up the second half. Let's go that route. But Quinn with Jaden back is going to err on the side of being aggressive. And they came out. He missed Ertz kind of high on first and 10. Then he got sacked, all right, back at the two-yard line. That was the one sack in the game. And they go no huddle.

I mean, they let the clock roll and the chargers didn't call time out. They acted like they were going to go really very quickly. At that point, I do think they were considering, like, let's just get to the locker room now that we're our own two-yard line. And so they, but they dropped Jaden back in from his own end zone. He almost gets strip sack, strip sacked, excuse me. It was very close to a real ugly play, and it was an incomplete pass to Debo Samuel, and now they got a punt from their own two-yard line. I really think that even though the chargers would have called a timeout after a run short of the sticks,

I still think they probably should have run the football and made the Chargers call that last timeout and then punted. but they didn't. It was incomplete. The Chargers didn't need to use their timeout. And now Washington, with 54 seconds left, is punting from their own end zone. And now they're in trouble of being down 13-7 or maybe even 17-7 at halftime. And sure enough, McConkey breaks the punt return. I think we all saw the roughing in the flag and knew that it was going to be nullified.

We just didn't know if it was going to be roughing or running into. running into Washington would have, you know, gotten five yards and punted again because of the touchdown on the return. But it was roughing. So now you're out to, from your own two-yard line, you're now first and 10 from your own 17. And by the way, after that punt return and the whole thing, there are 34 seconds left. So you still have a timeout.

You're at your own 17, 34 seconds left. you've avoided the disaster to try to be aggressive from your own seven. And what do you do now? Well, they dropped Jaden back and have them throw a bomb to McCaffrey. That's what they did. And it's 50 yards. And then they did a great job. They called the time out immediately.

You know, on that bomb there was a flag indication, but apparently there wasn't a flag down. And then he finds Debo on that crosser for 22 and they get up and spike it. and they kick the field goal. I love the aggressiveness. I think after, you know, with a minute 35 to go, I think after that first down in completion, maybe you run the ball on second and 10,

see what you can get, see if the chargers decide to use their third time out. And then on third down, you make the decision on whether or not to try to get the first down rather than punting it back, or you run it and you let the clock run and you punt it with, you know, somewhere around 40,

something seconds, you know, left or whatever. But it paid off. They were lucky that Jaden got that ball off on that pass from the end zone after the sack because there was some edge pressure there. Alls well, that ends well. Big time throw to McCaffrey for sure. All right. What about the end of the game?

The fourth and seven go-forch situation. I actually loved it. I thought it was smart. You're up 20 to 10. A field goal, it's still a two-score game. Fourth and seven, you have to assume that the odds are you're not going to score on this play, or you're not going to get a first down because it was fourth and seven at the charger eight. But what's going to happen is after you run this play, if it's incomplete or if it's short of the goal line of the first down, they're going to take over with less than a minute to go,

needing 10 points with no timeouts starting at their own eight-yard line. Rather than if you kick a field goal, a short field goal to make it 23 to 10, now you're giving them a chance on a kickoff return to have a better chance of at least scoring and lining up for an onside kick. But if they start that drive from their own eight with a minute to go, down 20 to 10. I know they only need a touchdown and a field goal at that point, and really all they'd be looking to do is get into field goal range to boot it quickly, but they're at their own eight. They're going to eat up so much clock just trying to get there, that even if they do get

a field goal with 25 seconds left and recover an onside kick, it's going to be really hard. I did not have a problem with them going for it there. I was a little bit surprised, but I did not have a problem with it. I think the strategy was sound, and they ended up throwing a touchdown pass. on it and icing the game anyway. Yeah, what else did I have here? That was it. That was it. Good win for them.

Really good win. Chicago on Monday night, then two more on the road. But man, three and two with Philadelphia losing to Denver. You know, they're within a game of the Eagles. The Eagles have not looked good in their four-in-one start. Dallas won today. The Giants turned the ball over a bunch

with Jackson, Dart, and lost. I think Detroit still looks like a really good team in the NFC right now. Tampa won a thriller against Seattle 38 to 35. 49ers, Rams, Packers. You know,

looking at the NFC standings right now. A lot of teams, but a long way to go, and every week is a new week. That's for sure. but, you know, Washington could with, well, the Eagles are at the Giants on Thursday night football, but potentially, you know, a week from tomorrow night, they could be sitting in a tie for first place in the NFC East. Great to have Jaden Daniels back. He is an absolute difference maker.

And the emergence of Jacori Kroski-Marit Bill could be huge for this offense. All right, back tomorrow on tomorrow's show, I will go back Terps fans and revisit the absolute brutal 20-to-0-0 blown lead loss to Washington. I'll end up talking about that game with the man who called it on the Big Ten network as the color analyst, Jake Butt, who is the former tight end at Michigan. He does a lot of games. He's really good. He's going to be on this show with me tomorrow. We'll also go around the NFL and talk a lot more about this win over the Chargers.