They are among the most experienced players on the team, but Marcus Mariota and Zach Ertz missed each other in two critical moments to condemn the Washington Commanders to a 16-13 loss in overtime to the Miami Dolphins at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Week 11.
Ertz slipped on a failed fourth-down conversion at the goal-line, and the 35-year-old tight end appeared to blame the condition of the field. Mariota, by contrast, was much more matter of fact about the interception he threw when aiming for Ertz on the first play of the extra period.
Dolphins cornerback Jack Jones was able to snatch the pass, and the turnover soon positioned kicker Riley Patterson to split the uprights from 29 yards. His successful field goal confirmed a sixth-straight defeat for the Commanders, but Mariota was still willing to credit his opponent.
Speaking to reporters after the game, per Commanders.com, the backup quarterback explained, “they covered our first couple of options well, and I tried to get back side to Zach. A guy undercut it and made a player, unfortunately there. Give credit to him, he made a good play.”
While Mariota was gracious in defeat, Ertz wasn’t anywhere near as forgiving when it came to his assessment of the playing conditions in the Spanish capital.
Zach Ertz Left Fuming by Condition of the Field
It was appropriate Mariota was targeting Ertz on the critical INT after four quarters. The three-time Pro Bowl pass-catcher endured a day to forget that also included an ill-timed slip in the red zone earlier in the game.
The play on fourth down was what The Team 980’s Ben Standig dubbed, “the classic Ertz in-cut at the low red-zone… but he slipped on the cut. Throw wizzes past him on 4th down.”
When asked what went wrong, Ertz revealed, “I’m going to walk in if I don’t slip like that..a play I’ve ran probably 10,000 times in my career and never slipped like that. The footing was a little challenging at times,” per ESPN’s John Keim.
The Super Bowl champion with the 2017 Philadelphia Eagles stated the turf “was not ideal. …a lot of slippage. But you can’t blame it on the field.”
Ettz’s attempt to not blame the field by blaming the field rings hollow. While the footing clearly wasn’t perfect, this was ultimately a bad day at the office for a decorated veteran whose standards are usually higher.
The missed opportunities for Ertz summed up the performance of the Commanders’ offense as a whole. Letting too many plays get away was on Mariota’s mind more than the field.
Marcus Mariota Rues Commanders Mistakes
Mariota wasn’t interested in blaming the field for Washington’s woes in the red zone. He told reporters, “Sometimes that’s the way the ball bounces. We have to be better in that zone. I think this offense can score a lot of points, but if we’re not converting our red-zone opportunities, it’s tough.”
Failing to convert down close to the end zone undermined how well the Commanders moved the ball between 20s. They rushed for 172 yards, while Mariota threw for 213 and a touchdown, per ESPN.
Those numbers were enough to win the game, but too many drives were wasted by failing to move the chains and missing field goals. Mariota was part of the problem, being stopped on third-and-goal on a designed QB run in the opening quarter.
He conceded the Dolphins “had a spy. I tried to check to a different play. I tried to scramble to my left and the spy was there. In that moment, I probably could’ve dirted it and gave us better field position for the field goal.”
Settling for the field goal was the smart play, but the outcome would’ve been far from certain since Pro Bowler Matt Gay missed two kicks. His second errant attempt, a 56-yarder late would have won the game, but the miss was just part of an error-strewn performance for the Commanders, who enter the bye needing to get healthy and more efficient to salvage their season.
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