So after two weeks (long enough to form solid opinions, right?), here’s my quick thoughts.
Offense: With as many weapons as we have, the offense isn’t ever going to be bad. And I don’t hate what I’ve seen so far. But IMO, Goff has always been best throwing short/intermediate routes over the middle. Slants, deep ins, crosses, etc. And it seemed like Ben Johnson’s playcalling really took advantage of that. The new O seems more focused on the flats and outside the hashes. It’s not bad, but I don’t think it plays to Goff’s strengths. I feel like we are getting plays that were missing under Johnson (screens, swing passes, etc), but at the expense of Goff’s bread and butter. I’d love to see something closer to a mix of what we had before and what we have now.
Defense: Obviously, the secondary needs help. And that’s on Holmes as much as it is on anyone else. That said, I have no idea what we were doing up front against Buffalo on Thursday. The number of times Hutch worked inside and Allen broke contain was ridiculous. Other posters have already commented elsewhere that blitzing Allen is a bad idea in general, but why did we continuously rush inside and flush him to the edge?!? That should never happen against a mobile QB. I know it make pass rush moves predictable, but containment is more important that sacks. I get the communication issues in the secondary- I don’t like them, but I understand. But the front seven is too talented to play as poorly as they did. And I think that’s a reflection of the coaching.
Lastly, I miss gambling Dan Campbell. I can’t remember the last time I saw a trick play or a fake field goal or punt. We were playing a great team at their brand new house and we got down big early. Take some risks! Worst case, we lose by a little bit more. Best case, we make a big play and steal back some momentum. I feel like we had several opportunities during the game, but never pulled the trigger. I feel like DC’s become too comfortable with recent success and has lost a bit of the edge (in terms of aggressive playcalling) that got us the success in the first place.
Were there on the fence 4th down decisions on Thursday. I don’t recall any. He opted for conservatism in week 1 but I applaud him for that. I think it was the right call.
As for the risks, the OL situation in week 2 made that cost prohibitive.
I think the one I remember thinking about was the field goal to end the half. We were down 20. Getting three points and cutting that to 17 is still a three score differential. Fake a FG, get a TD, and then suddenly its a two score game and we have some real momentum. Instead, we go into halftime down 17. Make the play, and after the first second half drive, its 27-21 and a one-score game. Miss the play… and we’re still down three scores (two after the second half drive).
I just feel like the team is missing that spark it had in earlier in the DC era when they would talk about testing player-created trick plays in practice and running fake punts on fourth and forever. It’s been… boring.
Sitting at 1-1 is exactly where we’ve been after 2 weeks the past three seasons. The way we treat the preseason makes the first 4 weeks the equivalent of our actual preseason, so I generally wait until around week 5 before I really start to think about what we look like.
The only trickish play attempted so far was the Jamo reverse that was fumbled.
I’m ok with out them to this point. Need to put more on tape for defenses to key on so that you have something to fake off of. The offense is too new to play off tendencies.
I honestly think some of the issues with the D are a result of uncreative and ineffective playcalling on the offensive side of the ball. The D has been swiss cheese, for sure. However, they’ve also gotten very little help from the offense in the TOP category. If the D is gassed, and the offense proceeds to go 3or4 and out (which they did on 3 of their first 4 series against Buffalo, and 3 of their last 4 series against NO), our questionable defense becomes a sieve. It seems the days of 12 play 80 yd drives has become a thing of the past. The oline issues make the pound and ground approach less effective, which has an impact on the other two units. Is our D as bad as it has looked? Maybe. However, giving them zero time to rest and review the offensive attack between series is a major disadvantage. We are loaded with offensive weapons that have been playing together for years. We shouldn’t be struggling to get first downs as often as we are on O.
I agree the character seems much changed for the last two years. I assume it was losing Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn. They don’t feel as dominate. They don’t seem as feisty.
I feel like with Ben Johnson, we sometimes took things too far. We got too cute in both of our playoff losses in 2023 and 2024, IMO. However, as is often the case, I feel like we overcorrected in 2025 and thus far in 2026*.* They don’t look like they are having fun. And with the tools we have on offense, they should be able to enjoy themselves a little. I need the offense to spark some joy!
Defense 2:16 Maddox turns his back on Allen and blocks Coleman instead of going after Allen
Defense 3:30 everyone crashes and leaves a giant hole for Josh Allen
Defense 3:57 Rock starts by the sticks but backs up allows a quick out for a 7 yard gain on 3rd and 6
Defense 4:29 Campbell gets lit up by their LG rushing as Barnes goes from rushing to coverage middle open for them
Defense 5:17 Defender passed off WR other defender bit on the underneath wide open TD
Defense 7:48 Barnes bites on the run fake and Kincaide is open for a easy 12 yard gain
Defense 8:04 we send a blitz up the middle Coleman get a easy crosser for 17 yard gain
Defense 14:17 Izien runs into the Lineman as Reed tries coming around while the rest of the defense crashes to the left. Giant opening for Cook to run through
Just some plays while watching the highlights on youtube and the times(on youtube) when the plays start
