Washington

Commanders’ Terry McLaurin Focused on Cowboys Lesson Not Titans Redemption

Published

2 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Commanders’ Terry McLaurin Focused on Cowboys Lesson Not Titans Redemption

As soon as the game ended in the Washington Commanders’ Week 11 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles conversations started shifting toward the long break and how much time the team had before it could get rid of that bad feeling against the Dallas Cowboys.

Now, following another Commanders loss – to the hands of those Cowboys – and even more bad feelings stemming from it, while some are talking about if this team can get right against the Tennessee Titans it’s going to be critical they take their time to fully digest their third-straight loss first.

Washington receiver Terry McLaurin made a point of emphasizing this fact in his postgame conversation with local media following the Week 12 loss.

Washington Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin.

Nov 10, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) looks on from the field during final minute of the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images / Amber Searls-Imagn Images

“I don’t want to look too far to Sunday because Sunday’s going to take care of itself next week,” McLaurin said. “We got to get some things fixed in the film room, so we’re already looking forward to looking at the film and just having ‘Tell the Truth Monday’ like (head coach Dan Quinn) says. I mean we all got to look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out what we can do better.”

To McLaurin’s point, as a team the Commanders have to get better, especially on offense where the unit failed to score on two possessions starting in the Dallas end of the field after defensive and special teams plays set the group up for early success.

Across the organization Sunday night the message of everyone coming together to fix the issues was common. From coaches to players the unit is focused on fixing the unit, but it is going to take some hard-focused individual advancement to do that as well.

“I just want to continue to try to control what I can and keep making sure that we have the right attitude and approach as we come into practice and the games,” McLaurin said. “Trying to make a play when the ball comes to me and just controlling that aspect of my job, and I try to provide a spark when I can. …As an offense, we have to find a better job of staying on the field. I think that was a strength of ours in the first half of the season and it’s not right now. So we got to figure out how to get that back to being a strength of our offense because when we’re tempo, when we’re staying on the field, it allows us to keep the playbook open and continue to put pressure on the defense.”

McLaurin also said nobody is hanging their heads on this team right now. That they still have confidence in what they can do individually and as a team.

While that wasn’t physically true on Sunday after the game – there were plenty of heads hanging in the home locker room after the loss – it is true from a mentality standpoint. Even the multiple guys who put the loss fully on their own shoulders, kicker Austin Seibert and safety Jeremy Reaves just to name a couple, echoed the sentiment that they are and can be better.

So don’t expect this Washington squad to give up on itself even as some start to move it out of the competitive conversations it was in just weeks ago. And if every Commanders player on the roster and coach on the staff takes the same approach McLaurin is conveying here, then there’s another chance to see the old production come back in Week 13 – when the time comes.

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.

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Washington

Israel-Hezbollah Close to Ceasefire Deal, Says Israel’s Envoy to Washington

Published

10 hours ago

November 25, 2024

Press Room

Israel-Hezbollah Close to Ceasefire Deal, Says Israel’s Envoy to Washington

Israel is potentially days away from a cease-fire deal with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Israeli ambassador to the United States said, following a new round of shuttle diplomacy by a senior envoy for the outgoing Biden administration.

“We are close to a deal,” Michael Herzog told Israel’s Army Radio on Monday. “It could happen within days.”

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Washington

Denzel Washington Admits Many of His ‘90s Movies were Paycheck Gigs — World of Reel

Published

18 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Denzel Washington Admits Many of His ‘90s Movies were Paycheck Gigs — World of Reel

On a quiet Sunday, here’s a fun one. Denzel Washington is telling The Times that he spent a lot of the ‘90s making movies solely for the paycheck.

After Malcolm X I made some real clunkers. Look them up — I won’t say their names…They are all in the 1990s. But I was earning. I had responsibilities.

So, after “Malcolm X,” which is post-1992 … Denzel doesn’t mention any particular titles, but he does ask us to look them up — don’t mind if I do.

One look at his filmography, and it’s clear to me that the paycheck gigs might have been “The Pelican Brief,” “Virtuosity, “Fallen,” “The Bone Collector,” “The Preacher’s Wife,” and “The Siege.”

It wasn’t all bad. In the middle of all those clunkers, Denzel still managed to star in a few well-reviewed films, including “Philadelphia,” “Devil in A Blue Dress,” “Crimson Tide” and “He Got Game.”

We all know Denzel takes his craft seriously, and I just can’t blame him for doing “paycheck” movies. He evens tells The Times that it’s just part of the business. The reciprocal, unsaid deal that gets made between talent and studio.

In life, you learn, earn and then you return — as in give back. So if your life is 90 years long, up until 30 you learn and from 30 to 60 you earn. So in that era I was earning. With a great agent, my career built into making money and so the earning kicked in and then life also kicked in, with bills, four kids and a house.

While we’re at it, what’s the greatest performance Denzel has graced us with that isn’t called “Malcolm X”? I’ll give you some of the more obvious contenders: “American Gangster,” “Glory,” “Training Day,” “The Hurricane,” “Flight.” His most underrated work might be found in 2017’s “Roman J. Israel.”

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Washington

Commanders Aim to Bounce Back in Week 12, Players Eye Key Milestones

Published

1 day ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Commanders Aim to Bounce Back in Week 12, Players Eye Key Milestones

The Washington Commanders return to Northwest Stadium for a high-stakes Week 12 rivalry clash against the Dallas Cowboys.

After back-to-back losses, the Commanders is not only seeking a much-needed win but also bragging rights in this storied division matchup. Several players also have their sights set on key milestones heading into Sunday’s game.

With a win, Washington would move to 8-4, marking their best start through 12 games since 1996. It would also solidify their dominance at home this season, improving to 5-1 at Northwest Stadium — their best home record through 12 games since 1992.

As Week 12 approaches, here are the numbers to watch as players aim for historic milestones:

Nov 10, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) celebrates after a play against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images / Amber Searls-Imagn Images

1

Tight end Zach Ertz needs one touchdown reception to tie Keith Jackson (49) for 16th all-time among tight ends in NFL history.

2

Linebacker Bobby Wagner needs 100 tackles in 2024 to become only the second player since 2000 to achieve 13 or more consecutive 100-tackle seasons, joining London Fletcher, who accomplished the feat 14 times from 2000-2013. Wagner currently has 66 tackles this season. He’s also closing in on another milestone, needing two interceptions to reach 15 for his career.

Tight end Zach Ertz is just two touchdown receptions away from reaching 50 in his career.

Running back Austin Ekeler needs two receptions to surpass Thurman Thomas (472) for 25th all-time in receptions by a running back.

Defensive tackle Daron Payne is 2.5 sacks shy of breaking into the top 10 for career sacks in Washington franchise history.

3

Frankie Luvu needs three sacks to reach 30 career sacks.

4

Washington wide receiver Terry McLaurin is on the verge of several milestones. McLaurin needs 50 receptions and 900 receiving yards this season to become just the fourth player in NFL history to reach those marks in each of his first six seasons, joining Mike Evans, A.J. Green, and Randy Moss—a feat DK Metcalf is also chasing.

Additionally, McLaurin needs 75 receptions and 1,000 receiving yards in 2024 to become the fourth player to hit those marks in five of his first six seasons, joining Torry Holt, Brandon Marshall, and Randy Moss.

McLaurin is also closing in on franchise history, needing four receptions to pass Chris Cooley (429) for fifth all-time in Washington history. He’s four touchdown receptions away from reaching 35 career touchdowns.

5

Linebacker Bobby Wagner is also nearing a milestone, needing five sacks to reach 40 for his career.

6

Austin Ekeler recently surpassed Arian Foster (8,873) for the second-most scrimmage yards by an undrafted running back in the common-draft era, trailing only Priest Holmes (11,134). Ekeler now has 8,916 career scrimmage yards and has his sights set on another milestone. With 471 career receptions, he is just 29 catches away from becoming the sixth running back in NFL history to record 500 receptions in his first eight seasons. This exclusive club includes Marshall Faulk (548), LaDainian Tomlinson (510), Christian McCaffrey (509 in seven seasons), Roger Craig (508), and Alvin Kamara (505 in seven seasons).

Meanwhile, tight end Zach Ertz continues to cement his place in NFL history. Despite Washington recent losses, Ertz became the sixth tight end in league history to reach 750 career receptions, joining legends like Tony Gonzalez (1,325), Jason Witten (1,228), Antonio Gates (955), Travis Kelce (907 entering 2023), and Shannon Sharpe (815). Ertz currently has 752 career receptions.

7

While it may not happen this Sunday, Austin Ekeler is closing in on a historic milestone. He needs seven more touchdown receptions to surpass Marshall Faulk (36) for the most by a running back in the Super Bowl era. Ekeler currently has 30 career touchdown receptions.

9

Another milestone to keep an eye on—though it may not happen this week—is Zach Ertz approaching 8,000 career receiving yards. He is just 138 yards away from becoming the ninth tight end in NFL history to reach this milestone.

Stick with CommanderGameday and the Locked On Commanders podcast for more FREE coverage of the Washington Commanders throughout the 2024 season.

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