1. DeAngelo Malone's penalty changed momentum
It was one play but it was a huge play. On third and 22 on Washington's first drive of the second half, DeAngelone Malone inexplicably contacted a receiver downfield resulting in an illegal contact penalty for an automatic first down.
From there Malone watched from the sideline as the Falcons' defense was slowly pushed down the field to cut the lead to three points.
If Malone hadn't contacted the receiver, who knows how that game would have ended. It would've prevented the Commanders from holding the ball for nearly the entire third quarter, given the offense an early second-half opportunity to put points up, and helped keep the defense fresh.
It was such a dumb penalty from a player who should've been rushing the passer, landing some blame on Jimmy Lake's play call.