Washington Commanders Whiteboard: Notes and observations from a massive Week 3 win

Before the advent of media devices, football coaches at all levels used simple whiteboards to outline plays, map out player positions and explain schemes in real time. Nowadays digital playbooks and tablets have taken over, but coaches still use whiteboards on occasion to impart information quickly and effectively. The following are some quick notes and observations from the Washington Commanders’ 33-31 upset winover the Seattle Seahawks at home.

The Week 1 edition of Whiteboard noted that David Blough improved in his play-calling towards the end of his debut in Philadelphia but posed the question of if Dan Quinn and the Washington Commanders could afford to wait for a rookie player-caller to develop. Blough’s performance was better in Week 2 versus the Cowboys, but it was fair to question if the improvement was due to Blough’s continued growth as an offensive coordinator or the product of a suspect Dallas defense. In Week 3 versus Mike Macdonald and the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks, David definitively answered the question.

He is developing rapidly.

Headed into a tough matchup with a backup quarterback and depleted offensive line, David Blough called an outstanding game. After taking advantage of the Seahawks’ first turnover, Blough dialed up a fake swing pass in the second quarter that was in actuality a tunnel screen to Jaylin Lane, resulting in the first 20-plus yard play of the season allowed by the Seahawks defense.

Blough continued to call the game with an eye for time of possession, staying committed to the run and short passing game, but also taking downfield shots on occasion. The offensive coordinator was quick to attack after turnovers, and following Sonny Styles’ interception, it took only three plays for Washington to score on a 30-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin.

Blough kept his finger on the pulse of the game, and after feeding Bill Croskey-Merritt on RPOs for the majority of the contest, he dialed up the read option for Mariota on third and long to seal the game for the Commanders. Blough’s arrow will be pointing up when the Commanders head across the Atlantic in Week 4.

Going into the game, the plan for the defense should have been to contain or limit Jaxson Smith-Njigba and make Cooper Kupp and A.J. Barner beat them. They failed in this respect, as JSN ended with 10 receptions for 128 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while Barner finished with five receptions for 69 yards. Cooper Kupp also recorded 4 receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown. All told, Sam Darnold threw for 379 yards and four touchdowns, and Seattle scored more than 30 points.

The defense still won the day by unlocking their ability to generate takeaways. Headed into the contest with no forced turnovers, Daronte Jones’ scheme finally produced. Amik Robertson got things started by creating a forced fumble, punching the ball out of the arms of Seattle’s first-round pick, Jadarian Price. Sonny Styles delivered early in the second half, with a leaping interception of a deflected pass. Robertson and Styles led the defense for the Washington Commanders, with Amik having one of the best games of his seven-year career and Styles the best of his rookie season thus far.

Odafe Oweh did his part by providing pressure on Kain Medrano’s interception, and the defense ended the day with three total turnovers, including a pick-six. The defense also made the Seahawks’ offense one-dimensional, allowing only 44 total rushing yards and no touchdowns to Seattle’s rushing attack. The Washington Commanders’ run defense has been elite through 3 games, allowing 168 rushing yards on 51 attempts, for a 3.3 yards per carry average and 0 TDs allowed. The overall performance might not have been dominant, but the defense did what they needed to do in order to secure the team’s first win of the season.

Marcus Mariota struggled in relief of Jayden Daniels last season, starting eight games with a 2-6 win-loss record. The team had already been decimated by injuries by the time Mariota started the majority of his games, and his play slowly deteriorated over the course of the season.

On Sunday, the quarterback benefited from an upgraded wide receiver room and the addition of receiving back Rachaad White. Mariota found White for his first passing touchdown of the day while Stefon Diggs offered Mariota a safety blanket against a relentless Seahawks’ defense. Marcus targeted the veteran receiver several times underneath while finding Treylon Burks and star wide receiver Terry McLaurin for touchdowns on his way to throwing for a 183 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, with 5 rushes for 11 yards.

Most importantly, Mariota capitalized on his opportunities, the Commanders converted 20 points from turnovers vs. Seattle. The last time Washington scored 20 or more points off turnovers was in Week 17 of the 2005 season. An impressive performance from a backup quarterback operating under a new offense.

At the conclusion of last week’s Whiteboard, it was speculated that Marcus Mariota could win games going forward, but the entire team needed to improve their play in order for him to do so. While there’s certainly still room for improvement, several members of the team played critical roles to cement the win.

Credit to Dan Quinn for having his players ready to go and compete from the first whistle to the last against a very tough opponent and come away with a desperately needed win. It wasn’t just the starters, the depth and role players were ready to step up when called upon as well. There has been plenty of discussion around if this team is built to win without Jayden Daniels, but for a group not only missing their franchise quarterback, but also some of their best players in Laremy Tunsil, Frankie Luvu, and Sam Cosmi, this win went a long way to restoring optimism for the Commanders’ 2026 season.