PHILADELPHIA — The earliest sign Emmanuel Forbes was in for a long afternoon came on Philadelphia’s opening drive when A.J. Brown convinced the Washington Commanders cornerback to bite on a route that freed up the star wide receiver down the field. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw the ball elsewhere, but the missed opportunity wouldn’t be missed much longer.
To mount their second-half comeback and send Washington to a heart-breaking 34-31 overtime loss Sunday, the Eagles repeatedly picked on Forbes — the Commanders’ first-rounder who had no answers for Brown or the rest of the Philadelphia receiving corps. The 22-year-old, selected 16th overall in the draft, allowed multiple receptions and gave up two touchdowns: a 59-yarder and a 28-yarder.
The struggles were so pronounced that coach Ron Rivera brought them up unprompted in his postgame press conference.
“The young man had a rough day,” Rivera said. “Hopefully he learns, he’s a young guy. Experience is a tough teacher.”
As Rivera spoke, it became clear the coach was frustrated with far more than a rookie cornerback who couldn’t stop one of the league’s best receivers.
He pounded the lectern during one answer, and later bemoaned that there are no moral victories in the NFL.
He admitted his anger stemmed from what he thought the Commanders could be.
After all, Washington played relatively well against a team that made the Super Bowl last season. And just as importantly, quarterback Sam Howell bounced back after last week’s horrendous outing against the Buffalo Bills.
But little details, Rivera said, cost the Commanders (2-2) a victory. A lack of discipline in coverage. Biting on one too many double moves as Forbes did. The details just kept adding up.
The rookie’s problems on Sunday underscore just how thin the margin of error will be for Washington this season.
In Rivera’s fourth year at the helm of the franchise, the Commanders are trying to take a leap by primarily relying on a young quarterback and an experienced defense to win games. But there are a slew of other factors that matter, including Forbes.
The Commanders drafted Forbes with the 16th overall pick in hopes that his ability to produce turnovers could add a different element to their defense. That may come as his career develops. For now, though, Forbes’ inexperience has led teams to test him over and over. And that mostly hasn’t gone well for the Commanders, especially on Sunday.
“I take it as a learning experience,” Forbes said. “They’re a pro, just like I’m a pro. And they studied film, just like I studied film. And they just outperformed me.”
That learning experience will have to come on a quick turnaround. The Commanders host the winless Chicago Bears (0-4) on Thursday.
Still, Rivera said he expects Forbes to bounce back — the same way that Howell did against the Eagles.
The 23-year-old signal-caller finished with 290 yards on 29 of 41 passing and 1 touchdown with another 40 rushing yards on six attempts.
But Howell’s play, in many ways, was even more impressive than the boxscore indicated. Howell led back-to-back touchdown drives to begin the game. His best sequence, however, came on the last drive of regulation: Howell found wideout Jahan Dotson for a 10-yard touchdown as time expired to help send the game to overtime.
At that point, the Commanders opted to not go for two and instead settled for the extra period. Asked about that decision to not try for the win there, Rivera said he felt the offense was “gassed” after a long 10-play, 64-yard drive. In overtime, the Commanders won the coin toss but went three-and-out on their lone series.
The Eagles then drove into Washington territory to set up a 54-yard winner from Jake Elliott.
“I obviously had a bad performance last week (against the Bills) and I kind of just put it behind me,” Howell said. “Just said that wasn’t me. I just tried to come out here today and be myself and be who I am and try to give this team a good performance out of me.
“I would’ve liked to win the game for us, as well.”
With Forbes, the cornerback noted how his eye discipline on routes has to improve. Coming out of the draft, questions existed around the cornerback’s 6-foot, 180-pound frame and whether he’d be big enough to match up against professional receivers. But so far, Forbes’ challenges have boiled down more to playing with proper technique and reading his keys.
The Eagles, meanwhile, exploited the mismatch. Both of Brown’s touchdowns, for instance, came against Forbes. On each, the two-time Pro Bowler — who finished with nine catches for 175 yards and two scores — made a hard stop to get Forbes to hesitate before taking off, allowing Hurts to find him downfield, wide open. DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia’s other top receiver, also hauled in a 37-yard catch over Forbes just before halftime to get Philadelphia in field goal range.
After Brown’s second touchdown, the Eagles wide receiver dropped the ball right in Forbes’ lap as he went over to celebrate with his teammates. That act drew a taunting penalty, though it made no difference to a frustrated Forbes. As the cornerback got off the ground, linebacker Cody Barton went over to Forbes and walked with him to the sideline.
Along the way, Barton shook his hand a few times on Forbes’ helmet. It was all he could do to console his teammate on a rough afternoon.
“As bad as it hurts to give up something like that,” Barton said, “he’s young and he’s got a lot of football life left in his career still. Even in a bad situation like that, there’s still a learning opportunity.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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