EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — At halftime of their first preseason game of the year, the Washington Commanders are tied with the New York Jets, 10-10.
The Commanders got the game started a little behind the power curve as starting offensive tackles Andrew Wylie and Brandon Coleman were ruled out beforehand.
That left tackles Chris Paul and Trent Scott to protect Washington rookie Jayden Daniels as he took his first live NFL snaps starting at the 30-yard line thanks to a kickoff out of the back of the end zone.
Daniels’ first pass in his NFL debut sailed over the head of running back Austin Ekeler – a likely sign of a little too much adrenaline – but his second sailed down the right side of the field and into the waiting hands of wide receiver Dyami Brown for a 42-yard gain.
It was a great catch by Brown who had to go up over a defender to bring in the pass, and a strong first completion of Daniels’ career. Eight plays later Daniels kept a read option and jogged around the right side into the Jets’ end zone for his first rushing touchdown of the preseason, and the Commanders took a 7-0 lead after kicker Ramiz Ahmed made the extra point.
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Since it’s the preseason, Washington pulled Daniels after the scoring drive and Marcus Mariota got a three-and-out opportunity with the first-team offense – minus right guard Sam Cosmi who backup Michael Deiter replaced. Mariota completed his lone pass attempt for a six-yard gain to receiver Jahan Dotson but was unable to notch a first down in his only possession of the game.
Following Mariota’s drive, it was time for quarterback Jeff Driskel to get his first live snaps of the preseason. Driskel completed one of his three pass attempts and was able to move the ball a bit before ultimately stalling out leading to a Tress Way punt that was downed inside the New York 20-yard line.
The Jets hit paydirt on their third possession of the game when quarterback Andrew Peasley found receiver Jason Brownlee who was running a left side end zone fade against Washington cornerback Emmanuel Forbes.
On the play, it appeared Forbes was trying to track the ball coming out of Peasley’s hand and lost his man, who was running into the left corner of the end zone, in the process. The extra point tied it up at seven points for each side, which is what the score would remain until Washington kicker Ramiz Ahmed made a field goal from 40 yards out to break the tie and give his team a 10-7 lead.
The Commanders are going to go to the film room knowing they missed out on more points on the possession prior when Driskel targeted receiver Jahan Dotson on a right-side fly route. The pass – which would have scored the team’s second touchdown of the game – fell incomplete because the third-year receiver stumbled out of his break after cleanly winning off his release. Riley Patterson came in to try a 39-yard field goal to give Washington a three-point lead, but doinked the kick off the right upright, leaving the game tied at seven, at the time.
As the first half expired, New York kicker Greg Zuerlein made a 56-yard attempt to tie it all up at 10 points per side.
Heading into the locker room with a tie score, the Commanders and Jets will be looking for big plays in the second half as they try to secure their first win of the preseason, and we’ll be looking for some lesser-known names to step up and make some plays.
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