New York Giants Week 7: Examining the Washington Commanders Defense

The Giants' offense is in for a tough time against the Commanders defense. Here's why.

Author:
Brandon Olsen
Publish date:
Oct 19, 2023 10:00 AM EDT

In this story:

The New York Giants offense continues to struggle to score. Expect another low-scoring affair, at least on the Giants' side, against the Washington Commanders defense.

Personnel

Chase Young and Montez Sweat on the edges gives this Commanders defense one of the most athletic edge duos in the NFL. Both have their own power game that they bring to the table, but Sweat is faster than many defensive backs, and Young has a complete pass-rush plan that will likely make him a menace in this game.

The duo has combined for 51 pressures and ten sacks to start the year, with Young having 31 pressures, good for fifth in the NFL. The duo's pass-rushing ability is a force to be reckoned with, although they both leave something to be desired in the run-defense arena.

On the interior of that line are Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne, once again forming one of the best duos in the NFL at their position group, if not the best duo. Allen and Payne make their money as both versatile and dominant.

Their presence on the interior should give this offensive line fits, as they’ve combined for 31 pressures and 31 run stops for a gain of three or fewer. Plain and simple, there’s no easy way to plan and handle this defensive line because many players can hurt you in many ways.

The linebacker room in Washington leaves a lot to be desired this season as Cody Barton and Jamin Davis play the vast majority of the snaps, and neither has been special. Barton plays more frequently, but he’s just been bad this year. Last year, when the Giants played the Seahawks, I wrote about Barton being a liability as he isn’t a starter-quality linebacker, and that’s the same issue the Commanders are having with him now.

Davis has shown flashes, and his athleticism allows him to make up for his lack of instincts, but for some reason, he’s working as LB2 for the Commanders. They should give him as much playing time as possible and allow him to learn on the job to give them at least one linebacker that should be starting in the NFL.

The secondary is wildly inconsistent in Washington, with Benjamin St-Juste mainly handling the nickel spot until this past week when he went to the outside as the team benched first-round pick Emmanuel Forbes. Forbes had struggled mightily in recent weeks and was visibly frustrated with his performance.

The new duo on the outside is the veteran Kendall Fuller, who’s been one of the more underrated cornerbacks in the league for years, with St-Juste working opposite him. Now the Commanders appear to be rolling with Danny Johnson in the slot, although he will likely struggle against shifter slot receivers than he had to deal with last week in Atlanta.

The safety room has a three-man rotation with Kamren Curl, Darrick Forrest, and Percy Butler. All of them bring their skills to the position, with Curl being the best of the bunch. Where the group excels is that any combination of the three usually plays well off of each other, which is important considering how often this team relies on communication and chemistry on the back end.

Oct 1, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Commanders offensive tackle Saahdiq Charles (77) and wide receiver Terry McLaurin (17) recover a fumble in the end zone past Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham (55) for a touchdown during the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field.

Scheme

The Commanders base defense is a 4-3--even when they operate out of nickel, which is mostly in modern football, it’s still a four-down line. Their strength along the defensive line allows them to rush the passer without getting too cute to generate pressures schematically, but they opt to add creativity and mind games into their game plan.

The Commanders defense likes to make the most of their defensive tools by breaking out two-high looks (two deep safeties pre-snap) that allows defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio to get creative and play multiple coverages out of the same look while also helping to prevent deep plays overtop. The Commanders like to play zone coverage to keep their eyes in the backfield and keep big plays in front of them, operating between Covers 0-4 frequently.

The Commanders play plenty of zone coverage on the back end but also use their athletes defensively by implementing fire zones, creepers, and sim pressures into their game plan. "Creepers" are also known as replacement blitzes. They don’t crowd the line of scrimmage, and it technically isn’t a blitz since they’re still rushing just four players.

One of the traditional pass-rushers, like a defensive lineman or stand-up edge rusher in a 3-4, drops back into coverage and is replaced as a pass-rusher by a non-traditional pass-rusher, usually an off-ball linebacker or nickel defender - but could also be a boundary corner or safety. Everyone is a pass-rush threat except the far cornerback.

Fire zones present more like zone blitzes. A fifth defender joins the mix, with three defenders underneath in coverage and three over the top. It’s a creative way to blitz and generate pressure without leaving much risk on the back end.

What This Means for the Giants

The Giants' offense has been nothing short of embarrassing for this entire season, and there have genuinely been no signs to indicate that will change this season without an influx of talent. The best thing that I think the Giants can do is that regardless of who the starting quarterback is, they should work zone read into the offensive game plan to try and exploit the aggressive defensive ends for Washington.

With how often the Commanders will likely rely on creepers or fire zones, the short game could negate all of this, provided the ball-carrier can make plays in space to create yards after the catch. Desmond Ridder of the Atlanta Falcons has been a massive disappointment this season, but he could still operate underneath and allow his playmakers to go and make plays.

Wan’Dale Robinson could be the key to exploiting this defense as an underneath threat that could create explosives. While Giants fans are still waiting for the Wan’Dale breakout game, he’s still waiting to be used in ways that get him the ball as a focal point of the game plan.

Getting the run game going should also be crucial, as Saquon Barkley was held in check for most of last week’s game against the Buffalo Bills, with 53 of his 93 rushing yards coming on just two carries, equating to 40 yards for 22 carries.

Final Thoughts

The 2023 Commanders have an elite front four, but there are question marks throughout the back seven, both as individuals and as a unit. Getting the ball out quickly will always be the focal point with an offensive line this bad, but especially this week against the Commanders, it has to be a point of emphasis.