The wheels look to have fallen off for the Washington Commanders. They are riding a four-game losing streak entering their bye in Week 13, watching their playoff hopes slip away as their record has dropped to 4-9.
There hasn’t been much to get excited about recently as they have lost three straight games by double-digit points. Frustrations are beginning to mount, especially for wide receiver, Terry McLaurin.
McLaurin was held without a reception in the team’s Week 12 loss to the Miami Dolphins, a 45-15 defeat. It was only the second time in his career that he was held without a reception in a game, with the first coming on December 12th, 2021 against the Dallas Cowboys.
Against the Dolphins, he was on the field for 45 plays and was targeted only three times. After the game, he said, “I ran a lot of cardio,” and added, “Yeah, it’s frustrating.”
There isn’t a team in the NFL that throws the ball more than the Commanders, as Sam Howell has been slinging it all season under offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy. The frustrations that McLaurin voiced are something that Bieneimy and head coach Ron Rivera have talked to him about.
“I’ve talked with Terry before, and we’ve talked about those things, and I know he’s talked to Eric, and he’s gone in, and he and EB have good conversations from what I understand,” Rivera said, via USA Today. “That’s then to me that’s the way you handle it is you go in and you talk directly. I think that’s big of what he’s been doing. It’s been big of him to come in and fight the frustration and talk about it if that’s what needs to be.”
Hopefully, during the bye week, the Commanders can figure something out to get McLaurin more involved in the offense. He is their best wide receiver and an argument can be made that their recent slide is at least in part due to him not being as involved in the offense as he could be.
On the season, McLaurin has been targeted 100 times, catching 60 passes for 694 yards and two touchdowns. In his fifth season in the NFL, the Ohio State product is about to set numerous career lows.
His success rate, yards per catch, yards per target, and yards per game are all on pace to be the lowest in a single season in his career. Coming off the first Pro Bowl appearance of his career, this certainly isn’t the kind of season McLaurin or the Commanders were expecting.
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