Week 4 Game Recap – Washington Commanders at Atlanta Falcons

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September 29, 2025

By Noonefromtampa

Falcons Outplay the Commanders Winning 34-27

First Quarter

Atlanta won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. After the touchback, Bijan Robinson picked up 5 yards on the first play. Ray-Ray McCloud III dropped a screen pass on second down, but on third down Michael Penix hit Kyle Pitts for a 26 yard completion down the right seam. After a 2 yard run, Robinson used hits cutting ability to pick up two gains of 9 yards each. Daron Payne punched the ball out on second down, but it rolled back to Penix who recovered for a 6 yard loss. Penix missed Robinson on third down to force a John Parker Romo 38 yard field goal for a 3-0 Falcons lead.

Luke McCaffrey returned the kickoff 29 yards to the Washington 32 yard line. Deebo Samuel lost 3 yards on the jet sweep on first down, and Marcus Mariota was sacked for a 3-yard loss on second down. Mariota miss McCaffrey on a deep route to force a Tress Way punt, which went 47 yards with no return.

Robinson gained 12 yards on two carries and Drake London caught a 9 yard pass. After a 4 yard run by Robinson, London caught a 1 -yard pass over the middle. Tyler Allgeier ran 4 times for 11 yards, picking up the first down on fourth down.  The Falcons tried a trick misdirection play but Javontae Jean-Baptiste blew up the play with Bobby Wagner making the cleanup tackle for a 7 yard loss. Penix then completed a 14 yard pass to London and a 6 yard pass to Robinson to pick up the first down at the Washington 9 yard line. After a 4 yard run by Robinson, Penix threw a 5 yard touchdown pass to London. The extra point was good, to give Atlanta a 10-0 lead.

Chris Rodriguez started Washington’s drive with a 3 yard run after the McCaffrey 28 yard kickoff return. Rodriguez then ripped off a 48 yard run down to the Atlanta 19 with Billy Bowman making the touchdown saving tackle.

Second Quarter

Rodriguez ran for 2 yards and Zach Ertz caught a 7 yard pass for Mariota. Rodriguez was stuffed on third down for no gain. Sameul caught a 4 yard pass for the first down on fourth down. Jeremy McNichols ran for 1 yard down to the Atlanta 5 yard line. McCaffrey caught the 5 yard touchdown pass at the back of the endzone on a great throw by Mariota. Matt Gay converted the extra point cutting the lead to 10-7.

After a 6 yard sack by Frankie Luvu on first down, Penix hit London for a 43 yard completion to the Washington 26 yard line. Robinson ran for 2 yards and the Falcons were then called for a false start penalty. Penix then threw to Darnell Mooney for 15 yards and the first down to the Washington 14 yard line. Robinson scored from there on a tackling-breaking run. The successful extra point put the Atlanta lead at 17-7.

McCaffrey has a 58 yard return to put Washington in excellent field position to start their next drive at the Atlanta 41 yard line. Jaylin Lane caught a 7 yard pass and Jacory Croskey-Merritt rushed 5 yards and the first down. Mariota was then called for intentional grounding which put Washington in a second and twenty. Samuel caught consecutive passes for 3 yards and 11 yards. Gay was able to nail a 43 yard field goal attempt to cut the lead to 17-10.

After a 29 yard return on the kickoff, Javon Kinlaw stuffed Allgeier for a two-yard loss on first down. Penix hit Pitts for 12 yards and first down. Dorance Armstrong tackled Allgeier for another 2 yard loss, but Trey Amos was called for defensive holding on the next play giving Atlanta a first down. Following an incompletion, London caught a 9 yard pass to put the Falcons in a third and one situation. Eddie Goldman stopped Robinson for a 1 yard loss at the clock hit the two-minute warning mark. The Falcons tried to draw Washington offsides on fourth down but took the delay of game penalty when Washington didn’t move.

Lane fair caught the punt at the Washington 8 yard line. McNichols caught a pass for no gain on first down. Ertz caught a 14 yard reception on second down. Lane had a 12 yard reception for another first down. Atlanta knocked down a pass intended for Ertz. McNichols ran for 2 yards to the Washington 35 yard line. Mariota was sacked for 6 yard loss on third down.

Atlanta muffed the punt but recovered the ball at their own 25 yard line. After gaining only 3 yards on three pass plays, Atlanta punted the back with 7 seconds left of the clock. Lane was hit as he caught the ball and Antonio Hamilton Sr. recovered the ball to end the half.

Third Quarter

After a 26 yard McCaffrey return, Croskey-Merritt gained 16 yards over the left side. Washington then had successive 10 yard penalties for offensive holding and offensive pass interference.  McCaffrey caught a 16 yard pass and after an incompletion, Mariota ran for 22 yards for a first down. Croskey-Merritt ran for 2 yards and caught a 6 yard pass, however Ertz was called for false start so Washington faced a third and eight versus a third and two. A deep throw to Chris Moore was incomplete, so Gay kicked a 53 yard field goal to reduce the lead to 17-13.

After a 21 yard kickoff return, Atlanta ran a rub route to pick of Wagner who was covering Robinson, who caught the ball and ran for 69 yards before being tackled by Jeremy Reaves. Pitts caught the 7 yard touchdown on the next play putting the lead at 24-13.

After a 27 yard kickoff return by McCaffrey, Samuel ran for 5 yards and caught a 14 yard pass. Rodriguez ran for 6 yards on the next play. Samuel ran for 7 yards to the Atlanta 38 and then disaster struck – Mariota went deep for Lane, but safety Xavier Watts came over the top to intercept the ball in the end zone.

Robinson rushed for two yards and caught a 14 yard pass. Mike Sainristil intercepted Penix and returned it 23 yards to the Atlanta 25 yard line. Washington only gained 2 yards, and Gay kicked a 41 yard field goal to make it a 24-16 game.

After a 28 yard kickoff return to the Atlanta 28, Allgeier ran for 2 yards. Penix then hit Casey Washington for 19 yards. Robinson continued picking up big chucks with a 16 yard reception and a 12 yard run. Allgeier broke a Von Miller tackle in the backfield and another at the goal line to score a 15 yard touchdown run. The Atlanta lead became 31-16.

McCaffrey had a 30 yard return but Ben Sinnott was called for holding to put the Commanders at their own 24. Croskey-Merritt caught a 4 yard pass on first down to end the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

Croskey-Merritt ran for 8 yards and the first down. Moore had a catch knocked out of his hands. Washington got a first down via a defensive holding call. After a two yard loss, Mariota hit Tay Martin for 14 yards and a first down. Moore caught a screen for 9 yards and Croskey-Merritt ran for 7 yards and first down. After offsetting penalties, Croskey-Merritt ran for 6 yards and then w yards. On third down, Rodriguez lost 1 yard. On fourth down, Mariota hit Samuel in single coverage on a fade route for a 23 yard touchdown. Mariota his a wide open Ertz on the two-point attempt to cut the lead to 31-24.

Atlanta went with the running game to take time off the clock. Washington put Atlanta in third down multiple time and Penix ran for a first down, then hit Pitts for a 22 yard gain and hit London for a 9 yard completion. Allgeier then had a 19-yard run down to the Washington 9 yard line with Marshon Lattimore making the touchdown saving tackle.  Allgeier ran three straight times and netted 1 yard. On fourth and goal, Atlanta elected to kick the 26 yard field making the score 34-24.

After the touchback and a first down incompletion, Samuel picked up a 25 yard pass interference penalty on Dee Alford. Samuel also caught a 16 yard pass down to the Atlanta 24 yardline. With 1:33 left in the game, Washington elected to kick a 42 yard field goal to make the score 34-27 and try an onside kick. Unfortunately, the Falcons recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

Thoughts

The defensive could not do much of anything well, from tackling the ball carrier, to covering receivers and putting pressure on the quarterback. You cannot win games if you cannot stop the other team. The defense also looked old and slow a lot of the time.

Penix looked like a big-time quarterback in this game, converting third downs multiple times against a defense that had been good at stopping teams on third down.

Washington penalties again affected their game, often putting the offense in bad down and distance situations.

The revamped offensive line had trouble stopping the Atlanta pass rush, with Mariota having to move around to avoid being sacked. Atlanta did sack him twice. The pressure did cause several errant throws by Mariota.

The best news of the game was that Matt Gay went 4 for 4 on field goal attempts.

Best offensive plays