The Washington Commanders ended their season with a 12-5 record, their first season with more than 10 wins since 1991. They won their last five games of the season, culminating with a hard-fought victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 18.
The Commanders didn’t plan to rest any of their starters and only replaced Jayden Daniels with Marcus Mariota after Daniels took a hit and Dan Quinn decided he didn’t want Daniels to get injured ahead of the playoffs. Mariota filled in well, as he has all season, and led the Commanders to a come-from-behind victory to close the 2024 regular season.
Let’s take a look at the snap counts that contributed to the Commanders’ win.
Offensive snaps: 58
Defensive snaps: 78
Special teams snaps: 28
As you can see, there was a lot more rotation on the offensive side of the ball than the defensive side of the ball. That’s largely because the Commanders’ defenders were needed to keep the Cowboys offense in check.
The offensive rotation is largely due to the quarterback switch. Player protections and personnel can vary between quarterback based on their skillset. Daniels is more of a runner than Mariota, even though Mariota is a capable scrambler, so how the line protects him is different.
The Commanders have their first playoff game this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kickoff is set for 8pm EDT from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.