David Blough picked worst time to get cute with Commanders offense

David Blough ignored Washington's best weapons when it counted

The call was a shovel pass to Bates, who was swallowed up before reaching the end zone.

Seriously?

Bates has a role in this offense. He's a valuable blocker and someone Washington clearly trusts. But if the Commanders get one play from the 2-yard line to keep a game alive, nobody should be wondering how to put the football in Bates' hands.

Not with this roster.

Washington has Terry McLaurin. It added Stefon Diggs. The Commanders also handed Chig Okonkwo a three-year, $27 million contract.

Oh, and they have Daniels.

Instead of putting the game in the hands of his quarterback and giving him options, Blough dialed up a play that essentially had one answer. Philadelphia didn't cooperate. Game over.

Blough learned a painful lesson against Vic Fangio

There was always going to be a learning curve for Blough.

This was Week 1 of his first season calling plays in the NFL. Across the field was Vic Fangio, a 40-year coaching veteran who has been building NFL defenses since Blough was nearly a decade away from being born.

That's about as brutal an opening exam as a first-time play caller can get.

Blough didn't need to prove he could outsmart Fangio. He needed to trust the talent Washington spent an offseason assembling.

That's what makes the final call so frustrating. A shovel pass is supposed to catch a defense leaning the wrong way. Fangio's defense wasn't fooled, and there was no second answer once Philadelphia blew it up.

Sometimes the boring call is the smart call. Put the ball in Daniels' hands and force Fangio's defense to account for McLaurin, Diggs and Okonkwo for one more snap.

Getting creative is different from outsmarting yourself

Blough spent the offseason talking about an offense that would feature McLaurin and create explosive opportunities for Washington's best players.

Then came the first enormous moment of his career as a play caller.

McLaurin became scenery.

So did Diggs. So did Okonkwo. Daniels, the most dangerous player Washington has, wasn't really asked to make a decision at all.

A creative play call isn't automatically a bad one because it fails. Sometimes a defender simply wins.

But there's a difference between creativity and outsmarting yourself.

Washington built an offense with enough weapons that Blough shouldn't have to manufacture a surprise when everyone in the stadium knows the ball needs to travel two yards. Make Philadelphia defend those weapons. Make Fangio choose what he's willing to give Daniels.

Instead, with the game hanging on one snap, Blough decided John Bates was the answer.

Welcome to calling plays in the NFL.