3 Commanders whose stock is dropping following first loss of the season

CB Marshon Lattimore

As a whole, the Commanders finished with a sub-30 PFF grade for coverage, and Lattimore didn’t even come away with the worst grade of the entire secondary.

That distinction belongs to cornerback Mike Sainristil, whose 28.7 grade in coverage cut just under Lattimore’s 29.1. But the veteran was also penalized twice, giving up yards that don’t show up in the stat box, but do in our evaluation.

A crippling lack of discipline has been part of what stood out this season, even in the Week 1 win when Washington “lapped” the New York Giants in penalties, something head coach Dan Quinn said is “not what we’re looking for.”

S Quan Martin

On one hand, Martin’s terrible coverage grade on Thursday night puts him on this list, but that doesn’t really tell the whole story because there were several occasions where he was left in a no-win situation. 

For example, on the Packers’ big 57-yard catch and run by tight end Tucker Kraft, it looks like Martin was out of position as the deep middle safety, but in reality, he was carrying another tight end who had also come into his zone, as is his job. 

Whether a lack of preparation of the defense to handle multiple deep routes while in Cover-3 or a lack of execution by someone in an intermediate zone who should have carried Kraft all the way up the field, expecting Martin to be in two places at once just isn’t feasible.

That’s not to say Martin didn’t have his own blemishes in Week 2, just that not every deep ball is the responsibility of the deepest defender.

K Matt Gay

This was the easiest stock to evaluate. After missing two field goals in a game that resulted in a nine-point deficit, it isn’t too hard to do the math and say those were some major points left on the field.

Gay himself appeared emotional in the postgame locker room while taking responsibility for the loss, though we’re sure his teammates and coaches reminded him it takes a team to win and lose, not one man.

Still, for a player who already had many wondering why the Commanders hadn’t brought in competition for him during training camp, Thursday night isn’t going to win over the hearts and minds of those pining over the types of kickers the team had last year, who may have had less leg, but were more reliable.

Washington will resume operations this week with their focus set on the Las Vegas Raiders and getting a win in Week 3. Undoing some of the bad that happened in Week 2 will go a long way toward achieving that goal, and seeing these three players reverse the direction of their stock would be a great first step toward getting on the track so many thought they’d be entering the season.