The Washington Commanders are dealing with plenty of issues on defense as they head into week four of the NFL season. Despite recent acquisitions and promising draft picks, the team struggles to contain explosive plays, which has become a focal point for players and coaches alike.
The most drastic move the Commanders made last season was trading for cornerback Marshon Lattimore, expecting his experience to strengthen their secondary. This offseason, they doubled down on their defense—their calling card—by selecting corner Trey Amos in the second round. But most importantly, these moves have not yet directly turned into better performances on the field.
The statistics paint a concerning picture. The Commanders allowed 20 pass plays of 15 yards or longer last season, tying for the third most in the league. This trend has gone into this season as well, as they gave up eight of these chunk plays in their last game. In their two losses, the Commanders have given up a ridiculous 515 yards on motion plays. In comparison, they permitted a mere 105 yards in their wins.
This came from Marshon Lattimore, who has really had a down and rough season, getting flagged for a league-high third holding penalty on the year last game. He admitted they hadn’t done this well enough, saying, “We simply need to do better at preventing the explosives.
Defensive coordinator Joe Whitt was starting to sound alarm bells over the number of long pass plays his unit had given up. The Commanders are dead last in the league at converting pass plays of 15 yards or more. He emphasized that communication and understanding of coverage is key to their defensive approach.
Whitt urged staff and players to live these values in meetings and during practices. We just got to communicate it maybe a little bit more in meetings or walkthroughs or on the practice field.
The team’s defensive problems have been hard to ignore — especially for the players themselves. Safety Jeremy Reaves commented on the need for collective understanding among the defense: “All of us have to understand that no matter who’s out there, the things we struggle with are the things we’ll continue to see until we learn from them.” He is particularly big on attention to detail. He challenged his fellow linemen to focus on things such as eye discipline, gap integrity, and communication in the secondary. They all add up.
Quan Martin, another key player in the secondary, hasn’t given up hope even after the injuries and COVID-19. “It’s Week 4. S
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