Instant analysis | Commanders survive Saints, get to 9-5 with 20-19 win

However by way of the short-term significance, the Commanders additionally tightened their maintain on the No. 7 seed within the playoffs. It was a sport they wanted to win to carry off groups just like the Los Angeles Rams nonetheless within the hunt. It wasn’t an ideal day from both facet of the ball, however it was sufficient to supply some momentum for the ultimate three matchups, two of which will likely be at dwelling.

Nearly as good of a second because the failed two-point conversion was for the Commanders, there’s an argument it did not want to come back all the way down to that.

Each variations of the Commanders had been current towards the Saints. Within the first half, Jayden Daniels led an offense that regarded extra like what they placed on show towards the Tennessee Titans two weeks in the past. Daniels was practically good by two quarters, finishing 17-of-19 passes and fueling a 165-yard effort. McLaurin had one other two-touchdown efficiency, and the protection gave Haener matches with three sacks. The Saints’ floor sport, which was ranked tenth heading into Sunday, was restricted to simply 18 yards.

Then the second half rolled round, and the Commanders began working into issues. Though gamers like Daniels, who picked up a third-and-14 with a 24-yard run, supplied performs that led to 2 discipline objectives, they had been held to a punt and a missed discipline aim on their last two drives once they might have closed out the sport. That gave Rattler and the Saints time to climb again from a 14-0 gap and arrange the ultimate play on the finish of regulation.