2 things Commanders must do in order to defeat the Lions

Commanders’ Key on Defense: Tackling

The Lions are a team that is finding its identity under second-year HC Dan Campbell. If you caught any of Hard Knocks this summer you know who Dan Campbell is as a coach. He is hard-nosed, competitive, and an emotional leader. It is a point of emphasis for the Lions to play hard and win in the trenches. They are a run-first team, and D’Andre Swift is the leader of a fantastic ground attack. The Commanders may catch a break as Swift is hobbled with an ankle injury that could limit, or keep him out, Sunday, but the Lions will still run the football early and often. The Commanders can’t afford to send 8-man boxes after 8-manes box against the Lions and therefore will need to tackle the Lions’ ball carriers when they get the chance.

The Eagles were highly unsuccessful at tackling, especially at the second level, all game and it resulted in them yielding an absurd 6.5 yards per carry to the Lions’ backs. The Commanders were even worse at stopping the run against Jacksonville, something they need to clean up quickly. It was the Eagles, however, who were the worst tackling team in the NFL last week, according to PFF.

From the first drive the Eagles’ second-level tackling was subpar, as you can see from James Bradberry in the video below:

The Commanders’ had some similar issues in their Week 1 win against Jacksonville, allowing both James Robinson and Travis Etienne to get much bigger rushes than they should’ve thanks to the second-level tackling being underwhelming. The Commanders will have to tackle well in order to force Jared Goff to make plays in obvious pass situations, which he has not excelled in for his entire career.