Commanders’ $68 Million WR Goes Missing in Loss to NFC East Rival

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Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin and Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell.

There were a lot of questionable things that happened for the Washington Commanders in a 26-18 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11.

The thing that needs to fixed in the most rapid fashion is figuring out the mystery of how leading wide receiver Terry McLaurin came away with just 1 reception for 10 yards on 2 targets — all season lows.

With the Commanders dropping to 7-4 after losing 2 consecutive games, it’s not something that the team can expect to continue moving forward if they want to keep winning.

McLaurin is in the middle of one of the best seasons of his career with 48 receptions for 721 yards and 6 touchdowns but when he’s a non-factor, the second option for rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels ends up being 34-year-old tight end Zach Ertz.

Following the game, most of the credit for McLaurin’s rough night went to rookie cornerback and 2024 first round pick Quinyon Mitchell, who McLaurin found tough to shake. Mitchell, a 2-time All-American at Toledo, was the first MAC player taken in the first round of the NFL draft since Western Michigan wide receiver Corey Davis in 2017.

“The rookie lined up opposite McLaurin on 20 snaps Thursday,” wrote NFL.com’s Kevin Patra. “He was targeted zero times on those reps. McLaurin’s only two targets (one catch for 10 yards) came against other DBs.”

McLaurin One of NFL’s Most Consistent WRs

McLaurin, a third round pick by the Commanders in 2019, is experiencing a sort of career revival with Daniels throwing him the ball and 2 years after making his only Pro Bowl in 2022. He might also be setting himself up for another big payday when his 3-year, $68.36 million contract extension runs out following the 2025 season.

Before the season, Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine singled McLaurin out as the No. 2 most underrated wide receiver in the NFL.

“Terry McLaurin is one of a handful of receivers who have eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in each of the last four seasons,” Ballentine wrote. “The others didn’t have to deal with the sheer amount of quarterback turnover that Scary Terry has seen in Washington. A rundown of the quarterbacks who started games for the Commanders over the last four seasons doesn’t strike fear in the hearts of defensive coordinators. A 36-year-old Alex Smith, Kyle Allen, Taylor Heinicke and Sam Howell highlight the list.”

Breaking Down Washington’s Remaining Schedule

With just 6 games remaining in the 2024 regular schedule, the Commanders find themselves somewhere they have not been for quite some time — with their destiny firmly in their own hands.

Of the Commanders’ six remaining games, they should be favored in all but one of them — at home against the Eagles on Dec. 22.

Directly in front of them, the Commanders have a pair of home games against the Dallas Cowboys (Week 12) and Tennessee Titans (Week 13).

The Titans are 2-7 headed into Week 11 and the Cowboys are 3-6.

“We’ll get there,” first year Washington head coach Dan Quinn said after the loss to the Eagles. “But over the last two weeks, we weren’t able to demonstrate that and express that to the fullest level.”