Commanders offense doomed by coordinator's fatal habit

ASHBURN, Va. – Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury arrived with the team in 2024 with a reputation for being an elite play-caller, but one who can get too simplistic at times.

Early in his first season with the Commanders, in fact, a Cincinnati Bengals defensive back made headlines for calling Kingsbury’s offense a ‘college level’ operation that couldn’t succeed in the NFL.

Washington, led by then-rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and Kingsbury, went on to score 38 points on that Bengals defensive back and his defense in a Week 3 win that many viewed as a coming-out game.

Nov 24, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury stands on the field during warmup prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Oversimplistic signs emerge

We saw signs of the oversimplistic approach Kingsbury is known for, however, especially during the team’s three-game losing streak in mid-2024. This season, with injuries further plaguing the team, those simple approaches have brought the Commanders’ offense to a screeching halt.

Predictable play-calling on second down

Entering the final four games of the season, Kingsbury had gotten stuck in such a rhythm that defenses could all but predict whether the play-caller would pass or run on second down based on the yards needed, leading to difficult third-down situations for the offense. In kind, that helped feed into the league’s 25th-ranked third-down offense, which converted less than 37 percent of its opportunities.

It’s been long considered the offense’s best weapon that they control the knowledge of what’s coming. Getting so one-dimensional leading into the most important down of every drive, Kingsbury ultimately gave away that advantage all year long.

Quinn steps in too late

In the past couple of weeks, after head coach Dan Quinn seemingly took a bit more control over the pace of the offense that number has dipped down closer to passing on about 70 percent of second and more than short situations. Unfortunately, it appears to be a classic case of too little, too late and more so reminds observers of the year-long angst surrounding Kingsbury’s stubborn efforts to live and die with the pass rather than leveraging a rushing attack that has been top 10 in yards per attempt for most of the season.

With Quinn expected back, there is hope the focus on leveraging a positive rushing attack will continue with Kingsbury or another offensive coordinator if it comes to that. While that alone is reason for hope that the 2026 Washington offense will be more balanced and harder to defend, the fact that it’s going to be about eight months before we really get to see the results of that shift make it hard to celebrate at this time.

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