Falcons at Commanders: Week 15 preview, odds and injuries

Week 15 · Sun, Dec 20 · Northwest Stadium1 PM ET

at1 PMET · Fox

At a glanceUpdated Nov 11, 2026, 3:41 AM ET

The Atlanta Falcons (3-6) visit the Washington Commanders (2-5-1) on Sun, Dec 20, 1 PM ET at Northwest Stadium in Landover, MD (Week 15, 2026 season), on Fox.

When and where is Falcons vs Commanders?

Sun, Dec 20, 1 PM ET at Northwest Stadium in Landover, MD. TV: Fox.

Who is injured for Falcons vs Commanders?

Falcons: Anterio Thompson (DT, out, undisclosed) and Zachariah Branch (WR, doubtful, hamstring). Commanders: Lucas Patrick (G, doubtful, concussion), Colson Yankoff (TE, questionable, knee) and Treylon Burks (WR, questionable, foot).

Cite this page

Pigskin Nightly, “Falcons at Commanders: Week 15 preview”, https://pigskinnightly.com/games/2026-12-20-atl-at-wsh (updated 2026-11-11).

How we calculate Plain-text version Report an error

Regular season through week 14 · rank out of 32

Where this game will be decided

1Commanders takeaway defense vs Falcons ball security
The Commanders' takeaway defense ranks 5th in turnovers per game (1.5 takeaways a game, 8 games) and faces a Falcons ball security ranked 28th (1.7 giveaways a game, 9 games).
28thATL offense23 spots apart5thWSH defenseSmall sample, read with care Why sample size matters
2Falcons run game vs Commanders run defense
The Falcons' run game ranks 8th in EPA per rush (-0.00, 239 rushes) against a Commanders run defense ranked 23rd (-0.06 allowed, 183 rushes faced).
8thATL offense15 spots apart23rdWSH defense
3Falcons red-zone offense vs Commanders red-zone defense
The Falcons' red-zone offense ranks 14th in red-zone touchdown rate (62%, 26 trips) against a Commanders red-zone defense ranked 29th (75% allowed, 28 trips faced).
14thATL offense15 spots apart29thWSH defense

When the Falcons have the ballEdge ATL · +15 ranks

ATL dropback offenseEPA per dropbackWSH pass defense

28th-0.13286 dropbacks

WSH +9

+0.07 allowed333 dropbacks faced19th

ATL run gameEPA per rushWSH run defense

8th-0.00239 rushes

ATL +15

-0.06 allowed183 rushes faced23rd

Dropbacks include sacks and scrambles; rushes are designed runs. What EPA measures.

When the Commanders have the ballNo big edge

WSH dropback offenseEPA per dropbackATL pass defense

19th+0.03314 dropbacks

+0.04 allowed345 dropbacks faced15th

WSH run gameEPA per rushATL run defense

23rd-0.13178 rushes

-0.06 allowed228 rushes faced21st

Third downEdge WSH · +10 ranks

ATL third-down offensethird-down conversion rateWSH third-down defense

28th35.2%105 third downs

WSH +10

41.3% allowed109 third downs faced18th

WSH third-down offensethird-down conversion rateATL third-down defense

32nd31.1%106 third downs

ATL +9

43.3% allowed120 third downs faced23rd

Conversions are third-down snaps that gained a first down or scored.

Red zoneEdge ATL · +15 ranks

ATL red-zone offensered-zone touchdown rateWSH red-zone defense

14th62%26 trips

ATL +15

75% allowed28 trips faced29th

WSH red-zone offensered-zone touchdown rateATL red-zone defense

18th55%22 trips

67% allowed33 trips faced24th

A trip is a drive with at least one snap inside the opponent's 20; the rate is trips that ended in an offensive touchdown. Small samples swing fast here.

Explosive playsNo big edge

ATL big-play offenseexplosive-play rateWSH defense against big plays

15th9.5%525 plays

7.8% allowed516 plays faced8th

WSH big-play offenseexplosive-play rateATL defense against big plays

18th9.1%492 plays

9.6% allowed573 plays faced19th

Completions of 20+ yards and runs of 10+, per snap. Definition.

Pressure & sacksEdge ATL · +12 ranks

ATL pass protectionsack rateWSH pass rush

12th5.6% sacked286 dropbacks

ATL +12

5.1% of dropbacks333 dropbacks faced24th

WSH pass protectionsack rateATL pass rush

20th6.4% sacked314 dropbacks

5.8% of dropbacks345 dropbacks faced18th

Sacks per dropback. The public play-by-play has no pressure charting, so this is the sack side of it only.

TurnoversEdge WSH · +23 ranks

ATL ball securityturnovers per gameWSH takeaway defense

28th1.7 giveaways a game9 games

WSH +23

1.5 takeaways a game8 games5th

WSH ball securityturnovers per gameATL takeaway defense

2nd0.6 giveaways a game8 games

WSH +17

1.1 takeaways a game9 games19th

Interceptions and lost fumbles on offensive snaps, per game. Turnover rates are among the least stable numbers in football.

AbsencesATL 0 · WSH 1 regulars out or doubtful

Falcons2 listed

0 of them are regulars ruled out or doubtful (60%+ of their unit's snaps across 3+ weeks on the field).

DZachariah BranchWR24% offense · 8 wk
OUTAnterio ThompsonDTno snaps

Commanders3 listed

1 of them is a regular ruled out or doubtful (60%+ of their unit's snaps across 3+ weeks on the field).

DLucas PatrickG90% offense · 7 wk
QTreylon BurksWR53% offense · 6 wk
QColson YankoffTE14% offense · 8 wk

Snap share is the average of the weeks each player was on the field this season. Full injury report ↓

Rest & travelSame rest · ATL travels 550 mi

AwayFalcons

7days since last game

550miles to get here

0time zones

Last: Sun wk 14 at CLE · Cleveland · 12,887 mi flown this season

Normal week

Rest edgeEvensame restTravel gap 550 mi

HomeCommanders

7days since last game

0miles · home

0time zones

Last: Sun wk 14 vs HOU · 14,813 mi flown this season

Normal week

League splits for these situations ↓

Sample: ATL 9 games, 525 offensive and 573 defensive plays · WSH 8 games, 492 offensive and 516 defensive plays. Rank 1 is the best offense or the best defense in each stat. Keys are the largest rank gaps (12+ spots) between an offense and the defense it faces, one per stat. Ranks are not schedule-adjusted.

Season to date · rank out of 32