NFL Week 9 Game Recap: Washington Commanders 20, New England Patriots 17

In a wild back-and-forth game, the Washington Commanders come away from Week 9 with a 20-17 victory over the New England Patriots.

Offensive spotlight: Outside of one ugly red-zone interception, Sam Howell was once again dealing for Washington at quarterback. He threw for over 300 yards at 7.3 yards per attempt and posted a 72.7% adjusted completion rate. He also threw several pinpoint passes and chipped in with a few key scrambles. Seven different Washington receivers caught multiple passes from Howell in the game.

Defensive spotlight: After Washington traded away both starting edge rushers, it stood to reason that the team would lack a certain presence in terms of edge pressure. That’s exactly what happened. KJ Henry was unfortunate to be flagged for a truly ridiculous roughing-the-passer penalty on what should have been a sack, but none of the Commanders' edge rushers were able to consistently apply heat the way the players they dealt away were.

Rookie spotlight: Demario Douglas played 38 snaps for the Patriots and caught five of the seven targets thrown his way, three of which were contested and three of which moved the chains.

Washington corner Emmanuel Forbes had a bounce-back performance after being benched earlier in the season. Forbes was targeted four times and didn’t give up a catch, breaking up three passes.

Box Score

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Receiving