The Commanders didn’t lose to the Giants on Sunday. It’s Tuesday now. So why do you still feel so empty?
Perhaps it is because, during overtime, Jayden Daniels and company snatched a tie from the jaws of victory. Or, maybe, it is because despite leading by 14 points with just eight minutes left — 97.9 percent likely to win at that moment, per ESPN Analytics — the Commanders let the Giants back into the game and played an overtime period at all!
As the final 15 seconds of the game ticked away, and the Commanders’ then 87.5 percent chance of winning bled to nil, some DC football fans were already thinking about where this double collapse fits in their franchise’s sometimes august but more often bumbling history.
In short. Was this the worst collapse in Commanders’ history?
The elements that make this week’s loss tie feel particularly bad — the hope upon seeing Jaden Daniels return to play both healthy and capable, the fact that the team collapsed twice, the fact that they coughed up a lead and then a chance at victory to a division rival starting a backup quarterback — they share elements with some of the team’s other challenging collapses.
So, come wallow with us. Perhaps we’ll find peace together.
Sep 8, 2019
Washington at Philadelphia
In 2019, the Washington squad opened their season in Philadelphia against the hated Eagles. The boys from DC opened up an early 17-0 on the back of local hero Vernon Davis. Not to be outdone, the defense said hold my beer and allowed 25 straight points as Philadelphia won 32-27.
Just like this week’s game, and others yet to come, Washington blew a large lead to a division rival, which amplifies the pain for fans. The collapse, however, came really early in the game. The Eagles began their comeback inside the first half. Far from our final eight-minute disintegration on Sunday. I’ll give this a 7/10 on the collapse o’meter.
Sep 17, 1989
Philadelphia at Washington
Perhaps the worst part of this week’s game was the fact that the Commanders blew it twice. Well, in 1989, they blew it twice too! This time playing host to the Eagles, they squandered two 20-point leads, both in the first half. But perhaps the most painful part (I think, I wasn’t alive at the time) was that they didn’t fully relinquish the lead until the fourth quarter.
It’s a slow drip to go from 20-0 to 27-7 and, eventually, losing 42-37. Brutal. 8.5/10.
January 6, 2013
Seattle at Washington
Don’t give me hope. Hope kills.
Before Jayden Daniels was the great hope for DC football, it was RG3, Robert Griffin III. His dual-threat game was not dissimilar to Daniels’ and, in his rookie year, Griffin had Washington back in the playoffs for the first time in five years, hosting the Seahawks.
When the team opened up an early two-touchdown lead over Seattle, it looked like he might be the savior DC was waiting for. But the short and long-term hopes that hinged on the young quarterback came apart as, first, Seattle got back within one point at the half, and, then, RG3 suffered a cruel, non-contact, knee injury as he tried and failed to corral a bad snap. The team lost the game, and RG3 was never the same.
While this is one of the most painful games in Washington football history, it’s hardly a collapse. A one-point game heading into the final period that was decided, in large part, by injury is no one’s fault but the fates. 1/10.
Dec 16, 1979
Washington at Dallas
Show me rings. That’s what matters, doesn’t it? The playoffs and the Super Bowl.
It is not hard to make the case that losing this win-or-go-home matchup with the Cowboys is one of the worst collapses in team history.
Not only did this loss mean that the Cowboys went to the playoffs and Washington stayed home, this game is also a double collapse. Up 17-0 in the second quarter and then up 34-21 in the fourth, the Redskins let the Cowboys back into the game twice, with Dallas taking the lead for good with under a minute to go.
This loss has it all. In all the worst ways. 10/10 on the collapse scale and we will speak of it no further.
Was this week’s tie worse than all of these losses? Eh, probably not. I’ll give the tie an 8.5 for collapse, minus a half for not losing. So 8/10 on the collapse scale.
But we won’t be judging if you need to take until Sunday morning to flush this game from your system. It was pretty brutal.
