Commanders rediscover winning formula against Falcons

The Commanders gained only 193 yards of offense, not even half of Atlanta's 402. But by playing smart, mistake-free football, they were able to make the Falcons play catch-up during the second half and QB Desmond Ridder crumbled under the pressure of rallying his troops.

Washington's three interceptions of Ridder were huge, including one that sealed the game from Jamin Davis. The Commanders also got a huge sack on a third down courtesy of Casey Toohill and stopped the Falcons on a two-point conversion attempt.

After being much maligned so far this season (and rightfully so), the Commanders defense bent, but didn't break, in Atlanta. The offense, meanwhile, was just good enough to overcome another five sacks of QB Sam Howell, who threw three touchdowns for the first time in his career and did not turn the ball over.

Standout performances from Terry McLaurin (six catches for 81 yards) and Brian Robinson (55 combined yards and a touchdown) helped propel the Commanders to victory as they even up their record at 3-3. Jamison Crowder also had a 61-yard punt return to set up one of Washington's scores.

This "get right" win for the Commanders falls in line with other such wins in previous recent seasons, especially when it comes to the performance of Washington's defense under Jack Del Rio. They have typically started slow and then turned things around the middle of October.

They'll need to hope that this is a trend that repeats itself in 2023, while continuing to work on improving in other areas such as the offensive line. The Commanders schedule gets much more tough in the second half of the campaign and they'll need to be ready.