3 keys to victory for the Commanders against the Jaguars
Week 1 for the Washington Commanders is officially here, as Washington is set to face the Jacksonville Jaguars at FedEx Field on Sunday. Both teams have new, exciting players that they have brought into the fold that they hope to take their team to the next tier.
Jacksonville was by far the heaviest spender in free agency, while the Commanders are on to yet another starting quarterback, Carson Wentz, as they begin the third year of Ron Rivera’s tenure. Since Kirk Cousins departed for Minnesota in the spring of 2018, Washington has had a different starting quarterback in Week 1 each year after, with Wentz being the fifth different starting QB in Week 1 since 2017.
Lining up behind Alex Smith, Case Keenum, Dwayne Haskins, and Ryan Fitzpatrick, Washington is hoping Wentz can be the lucky number five for the Burgundy and Gold.
Following two straight seasons where the Jaguars picked first in the NFL Draft, many Washington fans may view this as the one you can mark fairly confidently with a win. Simply put, the NFL is far too unpredictable, Week 1 consistently produces weird results (the Steelers beat the Bills last year), and Washington’s roster hasn’t distinguished itself enough yet.
However, we are here to tell you how the Commanders can command the ship to a week one victory for the Burgundy and Gold. Here are the three keys to the Commanders exiting Week 1, 1-0.
3 keys to victory for the Commanders vs the Jaguars
3. Keep the Jaguars behind the chains
One key stat every fan knows is important: a team’s third-down defense. The money down. Can you get off the field more times than the offense can convert? Pretty simple. However, what may be more important is how the defense performs on the first and second down.
It really comes down to math here. There are more first and second downs in every football game than third downs. Therefore, if the Commanders’ defense consistently wins on first and second downs, the third downs become increasingly difficult to convert.
Commanders' third-down defense:
— Ben Standig (@BenStandig) August 20, 2022
PS1 - Panthers convert their first three attempts
PS2 - Chiefs convert their first three attempts
To use a cliche phrase, the Commanders need to keep the Jags “behind the chains.” This becomes especially important this week for the Commanders, as they are set to face superstar talent, Trevor Lawrence.
Following a rough rookie campaign, that saw the 2021 number one pick, throw more interceptions than touchdowns, Lawrence is looking for a major bounce back. The Commanders can significantly inhibit that from happening if their first and second down defense is sound.
Win the early downs, force third and longs, and allow your talented pass rush to get after the young quarterback. That is a recipe for success for Jack Del Rio’s defense on Sunday. The Commanders’ defense was historically bad on third and fourth downs last year, the best way to turn that around is to be better on first and second down.