New York Giants Week 18 Opponent First Look: Washington Defense

Let's see what's changed on the Washington Football defense since the Giants last saw them in Week 2.

Author:
Michael Lee
Publish date:
Jan 6, 2022 8:00 AM EST

The Washington Football Team was expected to have a top-five defense in the league, and they failed to meet those expectations by almost every metric. Losing Chase Young did not help, but that didn’t happen until Week 9.

As of right now, Washington ranks 28th in points allowed per game with an average of 26. They’re 27th in yards per game with an average of 370 yards. The rushing defense only allows 105 yards per game, which ranks 8th in the NFL. However, their pass defense ranks 30th with an average of 265 yards per game.

Washington’s defense is middle of the pack in sacks through 17 weeks with only 35; this comes as a surprise given the state of the personnel under Jack Del Rio. It is still more than the Giants, who have 31 sacks.

Defensive Line

Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio runs four-down fronts, and he has excellent personnel to run a variety of effective techniques. Jonathan Allen is a dangerous and stout dual-threat player who fell to Washington in the 2017 NFL Draft because of "long-term shoulder" issues. Well, he's on his second contract now.

He typically aligns at 3-technique but will 1-shade in passing situations. Allen had 50 pressures last season playing with Young, Sweat, and the rest of these talented defenders. He is a heavy-handed presence that does a good job striking with timing and violence. He dominated last week against the Eagles with six pressures, but Washington still lost the game. Allen upped his 50 pressures from last year and has 61, with nine sacks to go along with it. He is one of the better defenders in the NFL.

Daron Payne is another incredibly underrated player on this Washington defense. He is immovable upfront and has more pass-rushing upside than many other interior pass rushers that are defensive linemen. He has 45 pressures and five sacks on the season. Payne is the primary nose tackle for the team.

Tim Settle is a 6'3", 328-pound rotational defensive lineman with solid initial quickness for a player of his size. He played 12 snaps last week as a rotational player behind Payne. He has 14 pressures on the season.

Matt Ioannidis is still on the team after missing most of last season with an injury. He saw 35 snaps on Sunday. Ioannidis is a savvy veteran who effectively uses his hands and executes his run assignments well. He's still 27-years-old and could be in for a quality season rushing alongside these other defenders. Ioannidis has 30 pressures and three sacks on the year.

Edges

Chase Young is a dynamic talent that the Giants will become all too familiar with over the next decade. Unfortunately for Washington, he tore his ACL in Week 9. However, the Football Team still has a dynamic pass rusher in Montez Sweat, who is dealing with a personal tragedy at the moment that held him out of Week 17.

Montez Sweat is very talented in his own right. He had 49 pressures last season for this defense and has 27 in 304 pass-rushing snaps this year. He also has five sacks. Sweat has missed games for a variety of reasons.

Like Chase Young, he can convert speed to power, has an array of pass-rushing moves, and uses his incredibly long arms well. Sweat is in the 97th percentile for arm length and wingspan. These edge rushers are mismatches against the Giants' tackles.

The Football Team promoted Baylor rookie William Bradley-King who played 24 snaps when Sweat couldn’t be available last week. The Giants should run right at Bradley-King if he’s in the game. The Football Team also uses Shaka Toney as a situational pass rusher; the former Penn State Nittany Lion has four pressures and a sack this season.

Washington picked up Olubunmi Rotimi mid-season, and by Week 14, he started playing significant snaps. He is a 6’4, 265-pound EDGE rusher with four pressures and two sacks on the season. The former Old Dominion pass rusher played 54 snaps against Philadelphia last week.

Also, look for second-year seventh-rounder out of Stanford Casey Toohill. He played 41 snaps last week for the Football Team. He has 14 pressures on the year and a sack. He is 6’4", 247-pounds, with solid movement skills.

Linebackers

The Football team employs a 4-3 front, with Cole Holcomb assuming the role as the every-down linebacker. Washington spent a first-round pick on athletic and long linebacker Jamin Davis out of Kentucky. Davis figures to be the future of the Football Team’s linebacking corps.

Holcomb is a respectable undersized player who brings a physical element to run defense. He has 38 stops on the season. However, Davis's athletic potential makes him an ideal fit as a modern second-level defender. Bostic is a bit undisciplined as a linebacker. He takes a decent amount of risks and can be susceptible to Saquon Barkley's unique jump-cutting ability if Barkley can ever get into space.

Jamin Davis missed a lot of practice leading up to Week 17 with an illness. He only played 13 snaps in the game. Davis has 51 tackles, 19 stops, and five pressures on the season. His athletic ability, range, and length are noticeable, and, if used correctly, he can be a nightmare for years to come (see Micah Parsons in Dallas).

Former Giant David Mayo reunited with his Carolina coach in Ron Rivera. Giants’ fans are aware of the deficiencies athletically with Mayo, but he is a solid run defender in the box. He can be exploited, but nothing suggests the Giants offense is in any way capable of exploiting even a player like Mayo.

Cornerbacks

Washington's cornerbacks are solid. The addition of William Jackson III was similar to the Giants' adding Adoree Jackson from a contractual standpoint, although they're two different players. Jackson is a long cornerback who figures to line up against Kenny Golladay. Jackson missed the last game against Philadelphia; he hurt his ankle two weeks prior. Ron Rivera stated that the cornerback room is very thin, which is concerning.

Benjamin-St. Juste is another very long cornerback who plays on the outside. He, too, was placed on the I.R. Kendall Fuller was one of the better slot corners in the league during his first stint with Washington and Kansas City. He's still a solid player but now aligns on the outside because of all the injuries. Fuller has one interception, and 13 passes defended on the season.

Former Carolina Panther Corn Elder played 15 snaps at left cornerback last week, while Danny Johnson handled the slot. Elder has slot experience, as does Fuller, but Rivera trusts Johnson in that role. The undersized cornerback can be manipulated if the Giants can figure out how to give any quarterback time in the pocket.

Safeties

Landon Collins was placed on the I.R. earlier last week with a foot injury. He was having a great season in a hybrid role where he was in the box more than he was in space. His absence opened up opportunities for Jeremy Reaves and Kamron Curl.

Curl is one of the more impressive players; he’s a second-year seventh-round pick out of Arkansas. The 22-year-old is athletic, sticky in man coverage, long, and isn't shy to pop ball carriers. Curl played 61 snaps in Del Rio's defense on Sunday. He has 849 snaps played this year, 72 tackles, 26 stops, a 5.9 percent missed tackle rate, and three passes defended on the year.

Reaves just started playing significant snaps in Week 15 against Philadelphia. He is a 25-year-old 5’11", 205-pound physical and sure tackling safety out of South Alabama. Reaves isn’t the best in coverage and will be playing the role that Collins occupied well.

Bobby McCain, someone Patrick Graham knows well from their time in Miami, plays free safety for Washington. McCain's a solid player with an adequate range as a center fielder. McCain played in 971 total snaps this year, and he’s a solid player on the backend of Del Rio’s defense. Jack Del Rio likes to use three safeties and keep speed on the field, and players like McCain allow him to do that.