After big win, Commanders focused on preventing letdown in Houston originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
ASHBURN, Va. — The scene in the Washington Commanders locker room and on the team plane following Monday night’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles appeared to be an epic one. Music was bumping, players were dancing and firing up Instagram Live to document the party. Even quarterback Taylor Heinicke’s neck got covered in his teammates’ chains by the end of the night.
The celebration, for the most part, was both understandable and deserving. Washington knocked off the previously undefeated Eagles in impressive fashion, a big division victory over one of the NFL’s elite. Yet, the season is far from over. And this week — a short one following the Monday Night game — the Commanders are on the road once again, traveling to Houston for a Sunday clash against the Texans.
The Texans, sitting at 1-7-1, represent a typical “trap game” for the Commanders. Washington has won four of five and is coming off its biggest win in the Ron Rivera era. Energy is flowing and vibes are high in Ashburn. And, with the lowly Texans up next on the schedule, conventional wisdom says the Commanders should cruise to victory.
But as the Commanders proved on Monday night, anything can happen in the NFL. That’s especially true this season, with parity seemingly at a much higher rate than in many years past. Although Commanders players certainly enjoyed themselves following Monday’s triumph, the club is focused on preventing a classic letdown in Houston this Sunday.
“It’s a good football team. They’re very fundamentally sound. We can’t take them lightly,” Heinicke said on Wednesday. “Obviously, we had a huge game against the divisional opponent, undefeated, big win. The worst thing that we can do is go and lay an egg on Sunday. We’re just trying to keep the ball rolling [and] keep working hard.”
The Texans enter Sunday’s game against Washington in a similar position the Commanders were in on Monday against the Eagles: nobody expects them to win. Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio believes that mindset makes Houston even more dangerous.
“The NFL is full of talented players and coaches. Those that are disrespected are always scary,” Del Rio said. “They all have talent, we all have talent. We are going in looking for their best and preparing respectful[ly], because we know what it feels like to be disrespected. We were disrespected last week and have been quite a bit over the start of this year.
“The understanding, the respect for the game and the coaches and players that prepare so hard each week, it’s legitimate,” Del Rio continued. “… We prepare and we put our necks on the line. We put it out there each week. As players and coaches, that’s what we do. We’re getting prepared for the next.”
Although Houston has just one victory this season, the Texans have been competitive in many of their matchups; four of the club’s seven losses came in one-score games.
“They could very well be 5-3,” Heinicke said.
“It’s the NFL. The parity in this league is crazy,” left tackle Charles Leno added.
Heinicke emphasized that the message inside Ashburn this week has been clear: just because Houston only has one win, that does not mean they’re a bad football team.
“The next game is the most important game, so we gotta put the Eagles in the rearview and get ready for the Texans,” Heinicke said. “It’s gonna be a tough one.”
Being a heavy underdog against the Eagles this past week, Commanders star wideout Terry McLaurin felt the team came out with an aggressive game plan. Obviously, it worked. Washington scored on four straight possessions in the first half, dominated time of possession for the entire game and left Lincoln Financial Field with the win.
McLaurin hopes the Commanders continue with that same mindset this week, even if the Texans don’t have the same pedigree as Washington’s previous opponent.
“When we came off playing Philly this past week, I felt like we were very aggressive. We had just a very attack mindset,” McLaurin said. “Going on the road on a short week, guys are maybe a little sore, you can’t have a letdown, you can’t come out flat.”
McLaurin made it clear the last thing his team should think is that they can walk into Houston and escape with an easy victory.
“I think you have letdowns when you don’t come out with the same intensity and you just expect your momentum from the last game to the next one,” he said. “That’s just not how it works.”