Sunday marked a big day for Washington Commanders rookies, but there was one player in particular who was toasted by teammates in the locker room.
First-round pick Emmanuel Forbes Jr., a cornerback, had only played sporadically the last four weeks after back-to-back rough outings.
After returning, and playing well, against the Patriots in a 20-17 victory, many veteran players offered up praise for him unprompted during their postgame interviews.
“The thing that’s tough about the position he plays, when you have a bad game, it’s terrible,” defensive tackle Jonathan Allen said. “And as a young guy, you’ve just got to understand, it’s the NFL, man. He had some tough games, but he’s also not going against slouches. So I’m just excited that he has the mental fortitude to be able to just block it out.”
Coach Ron Rivera echoed those thoughts on Monday, while also offering a reminder that continued work will be needed.
“He still has a ways to go,” Rivera said. “I mean, he did some good things, but there’s still some things that we’re missing, that he’s got to get better at. And he’s got to understand how important those things are. And we’ll continue to harp on it, we’ll continue to challenge him, and we’ll see how he goes.”
Forbes wasn’t the only player getting a breakout moment in the win, though.
Safety Quan Martin had the game-sealing interception, and defensive end KJ Henry almost had his first NFL sack, though it was called back on a roughing-the-passer call that was widely panned by spectators and analysts.
Martin said running back Brian Robinson Jr. had been pumping up the young players all week, as had Howell, who knew that with Chase Young and Montez Sweat no longer with the team, their time had arrived.
“Obviously, I was very happy for Forbes,” Howell said. “He’s been someone I’ve talked to a lot throughout this year just trying to help him continue to grow, because he’s such a good player and we all know he is. He’s just been in some bad situations, and it was cool to see him go out there and play well.
“I think they kind of played with a chip on their shoulder, you know, because everyone assumes that Tez and Chase are great players and they’re going to have great careers, but we still have young guys that can play football, and they’re here for a reason, and they stepped up in a big way.”
Forbes brushed off the notion of a career Renaissance nine games into his NFL tenure. In true cornerback fashion, he said he prepares every week to make an impact, and didn’t want to make Sunday more than it was.
Those opportunities hadn’t arrived yet for Martin or Henry. Martin said it was important to let the coaches know they were ready.
“These guys are hungry,” he said. “Just every opportunity we get, we try to make the best of it. We’re just going out there and playing hard and proving we belong.”
Allen, a defensive captain, noticed.
“I was excited to see that the moment wasn’t too big,” he said. “I didn’t think it would be, but again, you never know until you see them out there, in front of the fans and in front of the lights.”
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