Surely a lot of Commanders fans felt it – the minute Saquon Barkley ripped off a 60-yard TD run on the Eagles’ first play from scrimmage, they thought the Commanders were in big, big trouble.
Gruden and Rooster went through some of the big plays that went against the Commanders (including the Barkley run on the first play) and some of the good (Tress Way fake punt LFG!), but in the end, there’s one lesson to take out of that game and the 19 that preceded it this season:
“No matter how you look at it, Sunday was an ass-whooping.
It was close for a while, but it was an uncharacteristic game of the way Washington played, especially in the second half – I hate the way it ended like that, with a team that didn’t look like the Washington Commanders we watched for 19 games,” Gruden said. “But, Jayden, I was most impressed with him this year because he has the ability to both stay in the pocket and scramble, and he always seemed to make the right decision when to utilize one or the other. It just seemed like he'd never forced the issue one way or the other and seemed to make the right decision all the time. Yesterday might have been a little different, but for the most part, his decision-making is on point, and he can hurt you both ways, and that’s what makes him so goof. He's got a very bright future, no doubt about that.”
And, perhaps, even better that it's making Dan Snyder squirm, wherever he is.
“I would imagine 100 percent, yes, he’s upset. The one thing he was, he was a fanboy of the team. He was a fan before he bought it, and he really wanted to do well, he just didn't know how to do it,” Gruden said. “He had to sell it and now they're doing well, and I'm sure he's miserable…that’s too bad, so sad. So devastated for him, with $8 billion on his little boat!”