The Washington Commanders got off to an incredibly hot start to the season, with Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite Jayden Daniels leading an explosive offense and pulling off several blowout wins, in addition to pulling out some close games. In recent weeks, however, the offense has slowed down, with Washington scoring fewer than 20 points in two of its last four games after not doing so at all through the first seven weeks of the season.
On Thursday, offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury was asked by local media about his offenses’ tendency to decline during the second half of the season. Kingsbury largely dismissed these concerns, and also indicated that he does not have any specific designs on reversing the trend.
“I should see what you’re talking about historically, references,” Kingsbury said, through The Athletics. “But, I don’t plan on doing anything to break that trend that I know of. I’d have to see what years you’re talking about.”
Well, Kliff, I can show you exactly what everyone is talking about. If you separate the presentations of Kingsbury’s offenses in each of his five NFL seasons (as Cardinals head coach from 2019 to 2022, and as Washington’s offensive coordinator in 2024) after a month, you can see that in almost every season, his teams dropped dramatically as the months went by.
| September | 326.3 | 406.3 | 432.3 | 353.3 | 382.3 |
| October | 359.0 | 428.8 | 370.4 | 343.4 | 410.3 |
| november | 341.5 | 376.8 | 339.7 | 310.0 | 288.0 |
| december | 336.8 | 374.5 | 370.0 | 296.0 | ? |
| January | — | 214.0 | 352.0 | 297.0 | ? |
| September | 18.5 | 25.7 | 32.0 | 18.7 | 30.2 |
| October | 24.2 | 31.5 | 28.6 | 20.0 | 27.0 |
| november | 26.5 | 25.3 | 21.3 | 18.8 | 24.0 |
| december | 22.6 | 24.3 | 21.0 | 14.7 | ? |
| January | — | 7.0 | 24.0 | 16.0 | ? |
| September | -0.24 | -0.07 | 0.56 | 0.22 | 1.99 |
| October | 0.67 | 0.70 | 0.65 | -0.26 | 0.47 |
| november | -0.02 | 0.35 | 0.10 | -0.21 | 0.08 |
| december | -0.07 | -0.74 | -0.12 | -1.49 | ? |
| January | — | -1.82 | 0.12 | -0.88 | ? |
Kingsbury explained the recent performances by noting that Washington has played against some tough defenses, which is true. Bears, Steelers and Eagles in a four-week span is tough. But that wouldn’t explain the trend that continued throughout his career, which is the more important concern here.
The good news for his team is that the upcoming schedule is much friendlier. During the final six games, the Commanders play the Cowboys twice (including this Sunday), along with the Titans, Saints and Falcons. They have one game left against the Eagles, but otherwise don’t expect to be too much of an underdog. So, we will be able to see quite easily if Kingsbury’s lack of concern on this matter is justified.
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