Washington Commanders vs. Atlanta Falcons: 3 Keys to Victory
The Washington Commanders (2-3) are losers of three straight entering Week 6 where they’ll face the Atlanta Falcons (3-2) in their third road game of the year.
During the losing streak the Commanders have stood by the mantra of winning and failing as a team, and in order for them to get back in the win column there are three things they need to do.
Here are Washington’s three keys to a victory in Atlanta.
KEY 1: Left Before Right
The Commanders haven’t done a great job of getting the run game rolling through five weeks, and even when their contests allow for it assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has elected to pass more often than not.
That trend won’t likely change much this weekend, but when they do run the ball Bieniemy’s squad will find a Falcons defense more vulnerable on the left side than the right.
Both the Carolina Panthers and Detroit Lions ran for 4.9 yards per carry or more in their contests against Atlanta and each averaged more than 5 yards when running to the left side of their offensive formations.
The Panthers also averaged 5.9 to the right side and the Lions had some success there too while averaging over five yards again when running up the middle.
Generally speaking the Falcons defense is solid against the run, but there are opportunities to have success if Washington chooses to take it.
Washington Commanders running back Brian Robinson Jr. (8) runs with the football against the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field.
Eric Hartline - USA Today Sports
KEY 2: Become Worthy
According to Pro Football Focus stat-tracking the Commanders defense has faced eight turnover worthy plays from opposing quarterbacks this season, even after seeing zero in Week 5.
They’ve turned just two of those into actual takeaways allowing 75 percent of them to go unpunished.
In Atlanta this defense is going up against quarterback Desmond Ridder who has thrown the second-most turnover-worthy passes this season behind only Mac Jones of the New England Patriots.
Opposing defenses have only turned three of them into interceptions giving Ridder and his offense opportunities to make up for those mistakes en route to three wins this season.
In games Ridder throws an interception this season the Falcons are being out scored by two 15 points.
When he doesn’t, Atlanta is +2 in scoring, which isn’t insurmountable, but it’s certainly a good illustration of why capitalizing on opportunities is critical.
KEY 3: Clip Their Wings
Washington’s defense has given up a ton of explosive plays this season and it’s one reason it finds itself in a very early must-win scenario this weekend.
The defense’s inability to stop deep passes specifically has resulted in the Commanders facing the 6th most passes traveling 15 or more yards through the air.
18 of those have been completed (3rd Most in the NFL) and have turned into the most yards and touchdowns allowed so far.
In Washington’s first two wins of the season it gave up three completions of 15 or more air yards per game and allowed one big-play touchdown pass on average.
During the three game losing streak the Commanders have allowed four and are giving up more than one explosive touchdown per game.
None of these will single-handedly right the wrongs that have been plaguing Washington these past three weeks.
But each presents one way for the Commanders to get back on track, and if they achieve all three it almost assuredly leads to a win coming out of Atlanta.
