3 biggest Commanders' question marks after rough Bengals preseason loss

On the one hand, the Washington Commanders were up 14-7 on the Cincinnati Bengals when their starters exited the field for the last time. On the other hand, a 31-17 loss on Monday night indicates there’s still plenty of work to do, even if the majority of it needs to take place with the team’s depth players. Here are three questions that remain following Week 2 of the 2025 preseason.

Can the Commanders Win the Physical Battle When it Matters Most?

Physicality is a calling card of Commanders’ football. At least, it is intended to be.

A critical goal-line failure, while not disastrous in small occurrences, is not in line with that personality trait.

Following an impressive goal-line stop by safety Quan Martin on the first third and goal of the game, the Washington defense was unable to stand up again on fourth and goal from the one-yard line.

Martin tried to save the day again, but ultimately, Bengals running back Chase Brown was able to get into the end zone, and the visitors out-physicaled the home team defense on the most important play between the two starting units.

“All we ask is that you go out there and play hard,” safety Jeremy Reaves said after the game. “Play physical, because that is at the base of our team. That’s what we’re about.”

Washington Commanders wide receiver Jaylin Lane (83). | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Who Will Step Up at Wide Receiver?

The good news is that rookie receiver Jaylin Lane looks well ahead of where we expected him to be at this point in the preseason. The bad news is, he’s about the lone positive surprise in the group thus far.

Deebo Samuel has been a pleasant surprise to some, but since we’re in the group that never really doubted his ability to contribute in Kliff Kingsbury’s offense, we’re not surprised.

The absences of Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown have loomed large in training camp, and while guys like Michael Gallup and KJ Osborn have worked hard to fill the void, it just clearly hasn’t been the same.

Second-year receiver Luke McCaffrey, meanwhile, has had some solid practices, but has yet to flash in preseason games, including on Monday night when he played more snaps than any other receiver yet was targeted zero times.

"A few of the things I liked, I was excited to see [WR] Deebo [Samuel] run. Honestly, I've been on the other side of that. I know what that movie looks like, so that was cool to see," Quinn said following the game.

Washington Commanders safety Jeremy Reaves (39). | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Where is the Situational Discipline?

It wasn’t 15 penalties like it was against the New England Patriots in Week 1 of the preseason, but seven penalties for 74 yards were too many for coach Quinn to accept. Especially when one, especially, costs the team a shot at a touchdown, and another gives Cincinnati a prime opportunity to score one themselves.

"What I told the team is [that] penalties cost us. We had a fourth-down penalty. Those were the ones I thought, man, like that's our winning time. We've got to nail those," said Quinn.
“There are a lot of things to learn from situationally, myself included, just understanding that when you have opportunities, you've got to maximize those,” Reaves echoed in the locker room after the game.

Overall, from a first-team perspective, it was a solid night. Bengals receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins walked off the field without adding to their highlight reels while quarterback Jayden Daniels added to his.

On the defensive side, the starting pass rush put pressure on Cincinnati star Joe Burrow consistently and sacked him multiple times.

Still, there is plenty to clean up, and doing so will only serve Washington better when it hosts the New York Giants in Week 1 to begin its quest to unseat the defending NFC East Division champion Philadelphia Eagles.

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