In Sunday’s 20-23 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Washington Commanders’ defense proved they were not ready for a top-tier offense.
Washington went into Sunday’s game fresh off a dominating win against a Cleveland Browns offense ranked at the bottom of the league. Even with their defense in the top 20, their inability to move the ball effectively made that null and void.
The Washington Commanders’ defense locked in and kept the Browns’ offense from third-down success, finishing Week 5 and completing only 1 third down out of 13 attempts. If the opponent is not statistically considered, which is unrealistic, they looked powerful and dominating in Week 5. The problem is when any team faces a complete, top-10 team playing at a high level, there will always be a different outcome. Enter: The Baltimore Ravens.
Washington Commanders Defense Did Part of the Job
The Washington Commanders’ defense had a one-dimensional focus on the pass rush and did not fare well in Sunday’s loss. They controlled Jackson’s run game but could not stop running back Derrick Henry, who ran for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sports Illustrated’s Joanne Coley last week quoted defensive coordinator Joe Whitt’s key ingredient to winning: balance.
“You try to balance the rush, and a lot of people try to cage him, and so that gives him the opportunity to escape inside, and he’s so fast,” he said. “So yeah, I can’t necessarily say how we’re going to fill the voids, but we do have a plan and hopefully next time we talk, it was a plan that worked. I’ll tell you if it did or not.”
It worked halfway, leaving room for Jackson to focus on the air attack. He completed 20 passes for 323 yards. He hit 6 targets, 5 of which were in double digits for receiving. Removing him from the Baltimore ground game gave way to leaning on Henry more. At 6 feet 2 inches and weighing 247 pounds, Henry crashed the defensive line the entire game.
He broke through like a running back that was in his fourth season. He’s in the ninth season of his career. What had worked for 5 weeks now seemed to look freshman-like against a well-oiled Ravens team playing at home. The Ravens had 28 first downs, 16 of which were passing. The other 9 were rushing. Three came from penalties.
Washington Commanders’ Defense Injuries Are Stacking
If matters could not get any worse, the Washington Commanders’ defense lost defensive tackle Jonathan Allen to injury Sunday. Allen only had 2 tackles in Sunday’s game, but in the overall scheme of things, he’s a top-10 defender for the Commanders. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Allen suffered what could be a season-ending pectoral injury that may require surgery.
The Commanders’ defense is getting banged up. This comes in the wake of defensive end Dorrance Armstrong also getting injured in the first half of Sunday’s game. Entering Sunday’s game, Armstrong played half of the team’s defensive snaps up to Week 6, getting 3 sacks. There’s also safety Tyler Owens, who missed a second game with a shin injury. There is no timetable yet on when he’ll return either, CBS Sports reported.
Washington Commanders’ Tackling Drops in Week 6
When it came to dealing with Henry, Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn said before Sunday’s loss it was going to take some real tackling to bring him down. Speaking to the media Saturday he said, “Well, I think first off, you better have like a really good tackling plan, and that’s part of his success through the years. Not only sometimes you see a big back and you just think he’s just going to run people over and he has that part of his game, but he can also stiff arm.”
Unfortunately, the tackling didn’t step up. It dropped. In Week 5 the Commanders’ defense recorded 73 tackles against the Browns. This week they recorded 67. Their lowest came against the New York Giants in Week 2. Quinn was also spot-on predicting the Ravens’ style of play. “So, games like this come down to tackling and ball-hawking and playing your style really well. Because if you just focus on one person, all in the run game, they’ll rip you throwing it too. So, you have to be really disciplined in your approach.”
That discipline needs to be reviewed, refined, and reset to be ready for the Carolina Panthers, who are still looking for their second win of the season. The Washington Commanders will be home for this game, so a hometown bounce back into the win column is the goal. It’s also a good proving ground for Daniels to see how he handles loss playing at such a high level. It will also show if the Commanders’ defense made wise adjustments.
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