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Daily Slop – 1 Nov 24: Washington Commanders defense is asserting itself and moving up league rankings

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Commanders.com

Practice notes | Quinn hopes Commanders defense took another step forward with recent success

The fact that Washington’s defense was the unit keeping hopes alive against the Bears shows just how far the unit has come in two months. They were ranked 26th in yards allowed heading into the first matchup against the New York Giants. Now, days ahead of the rematch, they’re a much more respectable group, ranking 13th in yards allowed, sixth against the pass and 10th in points allowed.

There’s still more for the unit to work on as they enter the second half of the season, but Quinn hopes the Bears game is another step in the right direction.

From Weeks 2-8, they held five of their seven opponents to less than 20 points, with the only exceptions being the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens.

Washington’s emerging pass rush has also played a role in the defense’s success. Fourteen of the Commanders’ 22 sacks have come in the last four games. Ten Commanders players have recorded at least one sack this season, and over the last three games, their sack percentage ranks eighth in the NFL. They’re also tied for 10th in sacks per game.

Over the last five games, the Commanders have given up 15.8 points per game, which Whitt called “high level defense” during his Thursday press conference.

Commanders.com

Johnny Newton ‘felt like my old self’ against Bears

Johnny Newton had one thought when asked in the Washington Commanders’ locker room about how the NFL corrected his first-quarter play on Caleb Williams, which resulted in a six-yard loss, from a tackle to a sack: “Finally!”

“I just felt like my old self,” Newton said.

The Commanders needed Newton to step up once it was announced that Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen would miss the rest of the season with a pectoral injury, and so far, the rookie has risen to the challenge. He had one of his best statistical games in Washington’s 18-15 win over the Bears with three tackles, four quarterback hits and a fumble recovery.

It’s exactly what the Commanders were hoping for when they drafted Newton.

Although Newton’s speed, quickness and playmaking ability have shown up in flashes at times this season, they were far more consistent against the Bears. In the second quarter, he fought through a double team to tackle D’Andre Swift for a two-yard gain. On the same drive, he tracked down wide receiver Rome Odunze on a jet sweep, spinning to get out of a block before sprinting to tackle Odunze for an eight-yard gain.

And Newton’s abilities as an interior pass-rusher helped rattle Williams on several plays. In the third quarter, Newton, now lined up as a nose guard, worked around center Coleman Shelton and flushed Williams from the pocket. Williams ended up throwing the pass but did so with Newton draped around his legs.

Sports Illustrated

Commanders Eyeing Second NFC East Division Win in Week 9

The Washington Commanders are leading the NFC East Division, and could extend that lead in Week 9 with a second win over the New York Giants.

The 2021 NFL season is the last time the Washington Commanders swept the New York Giants in a season series.

Before that you have to go back to 2011, long before ‘Commanders’ was the name, to find a season sweep in favor of the burgundy and gold in this series.

Meanwhile, the Giants have won three of the last four and six of the last 10 matchups with Washington. That one win in the last four on this side of things came this season, though, as things seem to be changing for the better in terms of DMV football.

And if that trend continues to break the previous one, then the Commanders will stack an eighth straight week sitting on top of the NFC East Division. Here’s a preview of what’s coming this weekend.

Upcoming opponent

Big Blue View

5 Giants-Commanders questions: What if the Giants had gotten Jayden Daniels?

How different might these two teams look?

Ed: Alternate universe question. The Commanders choose Drake Maye No. 2 overall. The Giants, who loved Jayden Daniels, trade up to No. 3 with the Patriots and get him. Where are these two teams right now?

Eboracum: Assuming good injury luck, the Giants are probably 6-2 or 5-3, having lost to the Vikings in week 1 and lost to one or two of the Bengals, Eagles, or Steelers. The Giants would be discussed as division contenders, though they probably wouldn’t be at a level to compete with the Lions for the NFC Championship this year. Even without Malik Nabers, Jayden would elevate the players around him on the Giants offense and the talent on the entire offense would look much better than it does now.

The Commanders would probably be 4-4 or so, having lost three straight to start the season, but turning things around against the Cardinals and continuing to beat out bad teams like the Browns and Panthers. This part of the answer has a bit more variability, because a lot would depend on our veteran QB, since I don’t think Maye would have started for us Week 1 and it’s fair to question when he would start, given that I don’t think the Patriots intended to start him by now and only did so out of desperation. Mariota looked really good in his play against the Panthers, but the Panthers are cooked and we don’t know how well he’d play against better defenses. However, I think this Washington team would continue to look very well coached and get better as the season wears on, with players on both sides of the ball playing above the level we expected based on talent. Overall, fans would still be relatively happy and looking forward to an even better team next year.

Big Blue View

Giants vs. Commanders, Week 9: What to expect when Washington has the ball?

Can the Giants build on a good outing in Week 2?

Stats that matter


I sincerely doubt anyone saw it coming, but Washington has fielded one of the best offenses in the NFL through the first half of the season. Given the presence — and running ability — of Brian Robinson and Jayden Daniels, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that Washington has one of the best rushing offenses in the NFL.

It is, surprising, however, that they’ve fielded one of the best passing offenses in the NFL.

Daniels has acquitted himself spectacularly well and Kingsbury has done a great job of scheming to Daniels’ strength as well as expanding over time upon what works. The Commanders’ offensive line has come together and currently ranks eighth in the NFL in true pass sets. They’ve diversified their passing offense and Daniels is distributing the ball well.

McLaurin and Zach Ertz are, by far, his most targeted options at 57 and 45 targets, respectively. However, running back Austin Ekeler and receivers Noah Brown, Olamide Zaccheaus, Dyami Brown, and rookie Luke McCaffrey have all been targeted between 27 and 13 times. The Commanders don’t do much that’s particularly exotic or complex with their passing attack. However, their diversity of targets and willingness to distribute the ball to a variety of receivers helps to make them efficient and difficult to defend.

Like most modern offenses, they make heavy use of alignment and play design to create separation and easy reads for the quarterback.

Can the Giants defend the run?

The Giants should be able to defend the run. Actually, they should have one of the best run defenses in the NFL. After all, they have one of the (and probably THE) best defensive linemen in the NFL in Dexter Lawrence. Their other defensive tackles are all stout, Brian Burns has uncommon length and quickness to make plays off of blocks, and Brian Okereke and Micah McFadden are one of the league’s better linebacker duos. Not to mention, Shane Bowen’s defense has long been lauded for defending the run.

And yet, the Giants’ run defense has been gashed this year.

They currently rank 24th in rushing EPA allowed, 27th in yards per game allowed, and 32nd in yards per attempt allowed. They’ve given up over 100 yards per game in six of their eight games, and allowed 167 yards against the Steelers, 215 yards on the ground against Washington in Week 2, and 269 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 7.

[T]he rushing ability of Brian Robinson Jr. can’t be ignored. Giants fans are already well-acquainted with Robinson: he’s a big, powerful back with good vision and great contact balance. He isn’t terribly fast and wont’ break monster runs, but he’s a hand-full on a down-to-down basis. Zone runs play to his strengths, giving him a menu of rushing lanes while also stretching defenses laterally and (potentially) creating bad tackling angles which he turns into yards after contact.

Washington also loves to use pulling linemen to create a numbers advantage on the play-side.

[A]s well as he’s playing, Daniels is still a rookie and still human. The Giants’ best bet to throw him off his game could be to mix simulated and actual pressures at a high rate. The Giants typically don’t blitz often, though their pass rush has been at its most effective when they do. Showing pressure early and often could slow down Daniels’ process. Combined with the aforementioned coverage rotations to bring an extra defender into the box, the Giants could throw Daniels off his game and frustrate the Commanders’ offense.

Big Blue View

Giants’ RB Tyrone Tracy progressing in concussion protocol

Leading rusher is one step closer to being cleared to play on Sunday

New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy took a step on Thursday toward clearing the NFL’s concussion in time for Sunday’s game against the Washington Commanders. The rookie practiced in a non-contact jersey, which is more than he did on Wednesday after sustaining a concussion Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Head coach Brian Daboll said Tracy is “trending in the right direction” for Sunday.

Tracy, a fifth-round pick who did not start until Week 5 when veteran running back Devin Singletary was out with an inj

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