2023 Washington Commanders season | |
---|---|
Owner | Josh Harris |
President | Jason Wright |
General manager | Martin Mayhew |
Head coach | Ron Rivera |
Offensive coordinator | Eric Bieniemy |
Defensive coordinator |
|
Home field | FedExField |
Results | |
Record | 4–13 |
Division place | 4th NFC East |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Uniform | |
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The 2023 season was the Washington Commanders' 92nd season in the National Football League (NFL) and their fourth and final under head coach Ron Rivera. It was the first season under owner Josh Harris, who led a group in the offseason that bought the franchise from Daniel Snyder for $6.05 billion.
The team replaced offensive coordinator Scott Turner, who joined the team in 2020, with former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who was also named assistant head coach.[1] Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and defensive backs coach Brent Vieselmeyer were fired following a loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving.[2] The team failed to improve or match their 8–8–1 record after a Week 13 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Despite starting off with a 2–0 record, the Commanders sputtered down the line, going 2–13 the rest of the way, including finishing off their season with a devastating eight-game losing streak to be eliminated from playoff contention for the third consecutive year as well as finish with a non-winning record for the seventh consecutive season. On January 8, Commanders managing partner Josh Harris officially announced that the organization had parted ways with head coach Ron Rivera.[3]
With the Detroit Lions defeating the Los Angeles Rams, the Commanders now hold the longest active playoff win drought in the NFC.
Ownership change
Daniel Snyder, whose ownership of the franchise had been mired in controversy amid a lack of on-field success since buying the franchise in 1999, sold the team to a group headed by Josh Harris, co-founder of Apollo Global Management and owner of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's New Jersey Devils, for $6.05 billion.[4] The group has 20 limited partners worth a combined $100 billion, the most in the NFL, which includes Danaher and Glenstone founder Mitchell Rales, basketball hall of famer Magic Johnson, 76ers and Devils co-owner David Blitzer, Washington Kastles owner Mark Ein, Maverick Capital founder Lee Ainslie, Los Angeles Sparks managing partner Eric Holoman, Blue Owl Capital founders Marc Lipschultz and Doug Ostrover, the Santo Domingo Group headed by Alejandro Santo Domingo, ProShares founder Michael Sapir, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and Cambridge Information Group CEO Andy Snyder.[5][6] The deal was the highest price ever paid for a sports team and was unanimously approved by the NFL on July 20, 2023.[7][4]
Draft
Round | Selection | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 16 | Emmanuel Forbes | CB | Mississippi State | |
2 | 47 | Jartavius Martin | CB | Illinois | |
3 | 97 | Ricky Stromberg | C | Arkansas | Compensatory pick |
4 | 118 | Braeden Daniels | OT | Utah | |
5 | 137 | KJ Henry | DE | Clemson | From Buffalo |
6 | 193 | Chris Rodriguez Jr. | RB | Kentucky | |
7 | 233 | Andre Jones Jr. | DE | Louisiana |
Name | Position | College | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Kazmeir Allen | WR | UCLA | [8] |
Zion Bowens | WR | Hawaii | |
Mason Brooks | OL | Ole Miss | |
Tim DeMorat | QB | Fordham | |
Xavier Henderson | S | Michigan State | |
Joshua Pryor | DE | Bowie State | |
Jalen Sample | WR | Minnesota State | |
Kendall Smith | S | Illinois | |
DJ Stirgus | CB | Missouri Western | |
Mitchell Tinsley | WR | Penn State | |
Brycen Tremayne | WR | Stanford | |
Nick Whiteside | CB | Saginaw Valley State | |
Staff
Ownership
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
Schedule
Preseason
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | August 11 | at Cleveland Browns | W 17–15 | 1–0 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | Recap |
2 | August 21 | Baltimore Ravens | W 29–28 | 2–0 | FedExField | Recap |
3 | August 26 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 21–19 | 3–0 | FedExField | Recap |
Regular season
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 10 | Arizona Cardinals | W 20–16 | 1–0 | FedExField | Recap |
2 | September 17 | at Denver Broncos | W 35–33 | 2–0 | Empower Field at Mile High | Recap |
3 | September 24 | Buffalo Bills | L 3–37 | 2–1 | FedExField | Recap |
4 | October 1 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 31–34 (OT) | 2–2 | Lincoln Financial Field | Recap |
5 | October 5 | Chicago Bears | L 20–40 | 2–3 | FedExField | Recap |
6 | October 15 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 24–16 | 3–3 | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Recap |
7 | October 22 | at New York Giants | L 7–14 | 3–4 | MetLife Stadium | Recap |
8 | October 29 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 31–38 | 3–5 | FedExField | Recap |
9 | November 5 | at New England Patriots | W 20–17 | 4–5 | Gillette Stadium | Recap |
10 | November 12 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 26–29 | 4–6 | Lumen Field | Recap |
11 | November 19 | New York Giants | L 19–31 | 4–7 | FedExField | Recap |
12 | November 23 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 10–45 | 4–8 | AT&T Stadium | Recap |
13 | December 3 | Miami Dolphins | L 15–45 | 4–9 | FedExField | Recap |
14 | Bye | |||||
15 | December 17 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 20–28 | 4–10 | SoFi Stadium | Recap |
16 | December 24 | at New York Jets | L 28–30 | 4–11 | MetLife Stadium | Recap |
17 | December 31 | San Francisco 49ers | L 10–27 | 4–12 | FedExField | Recap |
18 | January 7 | Dallas Cowboys | L 10–38 | 4–13 | FedExField | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Arizona Cardinals
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
Commanders | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
- Date: September 10
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: Cloudy, 76 °F (24 °C)
- Game attendance: 64,693
- Referee: Alan Eck
- TV announcers (Fox): Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth and Kristina Pink
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 2: at Denver Broncos
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 3 | 11 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
Broncos | 14 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 33 |
at Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado
- Date: September 17
- Game time: 4:25 p.m. EDT/2:25 p.m. MDT
- Game weather: Sunny, 81 °F (27 °C)
- Game attendance: 76,108
- Referee: Brad Rogers
- TV announcers (CBS): Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta and Aditi Kinkhabwala
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 3: vs. Buffalo Bills
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bills | 10 | 6 | 0 | 21 | 37 |
Commanders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
- Date: September 24
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: Rain, 65 °F (18 °C)
- Game attendance: 64,291
- Referee: Land Clark
- TV announcers (CBS): Andrew Catalon, Tiki Barber, Matt Ryan and AJ Ross
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 4: at Philadelphia Eagles
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 7 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 31 |
Eagles | 7 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 34 |
at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Date: October 1
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 76 °F (24 °C)
- Game attendance: 69,879
- Referee: Ronald Torbert
- TV announcers (Fox): Joe Davis, Daryl Johnston and Pam Oliver
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 5: vs. Chicago Bears
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bears | 10 | 17 | 0 | 13 | 40 |
Commanders | 0 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 20 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
- Date: October 5
- Game time: 8:15 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: Cloudy, 70 °F (21 °C)
- Game attendance: 63,727
- Referee: Scott Novak
- TV announcers (WTTG/Prime Video): Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit and Kaylee Hartung
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 6: at Atlanta Falcons
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 3 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
Falcons | 7 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
- Date: October 15
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: None (retractable roof closed)
- Game attendance: 69,921
- Referee: Clete Blakeman
- TV announcers (CBS): Andrew Catalon, Tiki Barber, Matt Ryan and AJ Ross
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 7: at New York Giants
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Giants | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
- Date: October 22
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 54 °F (12 °C)
- Game attendance: 81,671
- Referee: John Hussey
- TV announcers (CBS): Andrew Catalon, Tiki Barber, Matt Ryan and AJ Ross
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 8: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eagles | 3 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 38 |
Commanders | 7 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 31 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
- Date: October 29
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: Cloudy, 69 °F (21 °C)
- Game attendance: 64,653
- Referee: Carl Cheffers
- TV announcers (Fox): Chris Myers, Mark Schlereth and Kristina Pink
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 9: at New England Patriots
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
Patriots | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
- Date: November 5
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Mostly sunny, 62 °F (17 °C)
- Game attendance: 64,628
- Referee: Adrian Hill
- TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma and Shannon Spake
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 10: at Seattle Seahawks
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 26 |
Seahawks | 3 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 29 |
at Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington
- Date: November 12
- Game time: 4:25 p.m. EST/1:25 p.m. PST
- Game weather: Cloudy, 52 °F (11 °C)
- Game attendance: 68,721
- Referee: Alex Kemp
- TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez and Laura Okmin
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 11: vs. New York Giants
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giants | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 31 |
Commanders | 3 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 19 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
- Date: November 19
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Sunny, 56 °F (13 °C)
- Game attendance: 62,714
- Referee: Brad Allen
- TV announcers (Fox): Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma and Shannon Spake
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
The Commanders' offense committed six turnovers throughout the game. With a chance to win the game, Isaiah Simmons intercepted Sam Howell for a touchdown that put the game away. The Commanders fall to 4–7.
Week 12: at Dallas Cowboys
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Cowboys | 7 | 13 | 0 | 25 | 45 |
at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
- Date: November 23
- Game time: 4:30 p.m. EST/3:30 p.m. CST
- Game weather: None (retractable roof closed)
- Game attendance: 93,711
- Referee: Bill Vinovich
- TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz, Tony Romo and Tracy Wolfson
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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With the blowout loss, the Commanders were eliminated from NFC East contention. After the game, the team fired defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and defensive backs coach Brent Vieselmeyer.
Week 13: vs. Miami Dolphins
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dolphins | 17 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 45 |
Commanders | 0 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 15 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
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Week 15: at Los Angeles Rams
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 20 |
Rams | 3 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 28 |
at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
- Date: December 17
- Game time: 4:05 p.m. EST/1:05 p.m. PST
- Game weather: Cloudy, 78 °F (26 °C) (retractable roof open)
- Game attendance: 72,035
- Referee: Alan Eck
- TV announcers (CBS): Tom McCarthy, James Lofton, Jay Feely and Tiffany Blackmon
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 16: at New York Jets
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commanders | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
Jets | 17 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 30 |
at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
- Date: December 24
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Mostly cloudy, 47 °F (8 °C)
- Game attendance: 67,470
- Referee: Clay Martin
- TV announcers (CBS): Spero Dedes, Adam Archuleta and Aditi Kinkhabwala
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Week 17: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
49ers | 10 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
Commanders | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
Game information | ||
---|---|---|
|
Week 18: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cowboys | 7 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 38 |
Commanders | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at FedExField, Landover, Maryland
- Date: January 7
- Game time: 4:25 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Cloudy, 48 °F (9 °C)
- Game attendance: 63,645
- Referee: Shawn Smith
- TV announcers (Fox): Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi
- Recap, Game Book
Game information | ||
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Standings
Division
NFC East | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
(2) Dallas Cowboys | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 5–1 | 9–3 | 509 | 315 | W2 |
(5) Philadelphia Eagles | 11 | 6 | 0 | .647 | 4–2 | 7–5 | 433 | 428 | L2 |
New York Giants | 6 | 11 | 0 | .353 | 3–3 | 5–7 | 266 | 407 | W1 |
Washington Commanders | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 0–6 | 2–10 | 329 | 518 | L8 |
Conference
# | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV | STK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division leaders | |||||||||||
1[lower-alpha 1] | San Francisco 49ers | West | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 5–1 | 10–2 | .509 | .475 | L1 |
2[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] | Dallas Cowboys | East | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 5–1 | 9–3 | .446 | .392 | W2 |
3[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] | Detroit Lions | North | 12 | 5 | 0 | .706 | 4–2 | 8–4 | .481 | .436 | W1 |
4[lower-alpha 3] | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | South | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 4–2 | 7–5 | .481 | .379 | W1 |
Wild cards | |||||||||||
5 | Philadelphia Eagles | East | 11 | 6 | 0 | .647 | 4–2 | 7–5 | .481 | .476 | L2 |
6 | Los Angeles Rams | West | 10 | 7 | 0 | .588 | 5–1 | 8–4 | .529 | .453 | W4 |
7[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5] | Green Bay Packers | North | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 4–2 | 7–5 | .474 | .458 | W3 |
Did not qualify for the postseason | |||||||||||
8[lower-alpha 4][lower-alpha 5] | Seattle Seahawks | West | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 2–4 | 7–5 | .512 | .392 | W1 |
9[lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4] | New Orleans Saints | South | 9 | 8 | 0 | .529 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .433 | .340 | W2 |
10[lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 7] | Minnesota Vikings | North | 7 | 10 | 0 | .412 | 2–4 | 6–6 | .509 | .454 | L4 |
11[lower-alpha 7][lower-alpha 8] | Chicago Bears | North | 7 | 10 | 0 | .412 | 2–4 | 6–6 | .464 | .370 | L1 |
12[lower-alpha 6][lower-alpha 8] | Atlanta Falcons | South | 7 | 10 | 0 | .412 | 3–3 | 4–8 | .429 | .462 | L2 |
13 | New York Giants | East | 6 | 11 | 0 | .353 | 3–3 | 5–7 | .512 | .353 | W1 |
14[lower-alpha 9] | Washington Commanders | East | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 0–6 | 2–10 | .512 | .338 | L8 |
15[lower-alpha 9] | Arizona Cardinals | West | 4 | 13 | 0 | .235 | 0–6 | 3–9 | .561 | .588 | L1 |
16 | Carolina Panthers | South | 2 | 15 | 0 | .118 | 1–5 | 1–11 | .522 | .500 | L3 |
Tiebreakers[lower-alpha 10] | |||||||||||
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References
- ↑ "Commanders hire Eric Bieniemy as assistant head coach, offensive coordinator". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ↑ "Commanders fire defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio in wake of blowout loss to Cowboys". NFL.com. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
- ↑ "Statement from Washington Commanders Managing Partner Josh Harris". Commanders.com. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
- 1 2 Maske, Mark; Jhabvala, Nicki (July 20, 2023). "NFL owners approve sale of Commanders from Daniel Snyder to Josh Harris". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
- ↑ Ozanian, Mike (July 20, 2023). "Here's How Much Josh Harris Expects To Earn On $6 Billion Purchase Of The Washington Commanders". Forbes. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
Harris has 20 limited partners in his group, including Mitchell Rales, Magic Johnson, Eric Schmidt and Mark Ein, the most in the NFL.
- ↑ "Josh Harris Announces Acquisition of Washington Commanders" (Press release). Washington Commanders. July 21, 2023. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
- ↑ Jhabvala, Nicki (July 20, 2023). "The Commanders sale was so complicated, it was 'like 20 deals in one'". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
- ↑ Selby, Zach (May 2, 2023). "Here's a look at all 12 of the Commanders' UDFAs". commanders.com.