Do Commanders fans owe Jack Del Rio an apology amid defense’s surge?

The Washington Commanders defeated the Green Bay Packers on Sunday to improve to 3-4 on the season. While Taylor Heinicke, Terry McLaurin and Washington’s potent rushing attack have grabbed most of the headlines, we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the performance of Jack Del Rio’s surging defense.

The Packers’ offense is nothing to write home about this year. If you remove Green Bay’s first half against the Giants in Week 4 from the equation, Aaron Rodgers and Co. have managed just four touchdowns in their last 10 quarters of football.

Two of those came against the Commanders, but anyone who watched the game knows Washington gave Rodgers fits. The two-time defending MVP finished 23-of-35 for 194 yards, averaging a lowly 5.5 yards per attempt (7.7 in his career) and accumulating an uncharacteristic 48.9 quarterback rating.

Very quietly, Del Rio’s defense has strung together four consecutive sound performances after a dreadful first two games of the season. How many times over the last month have they bailed the offense out of a slow start?

With the Commanders’ defense showing regular glimpses of its 2020 form, is it finally time for Washington fans to give Del Rio an apology?

The Commanders defense is finally living up to its potential. Is Jack Del Rio owed an apology?

On one hand, Del Rio isn’t owed an apology. Things have been so bad for the Commanders on defense that the group simply living up to its potential is worthy of praise. Does a defensive coordinator with Del Rio’s experience deserve a pat on the back for simply doing his job? Probably not, but fans (us included) may owe him an apology for trying to run him out of town after the defense’s dreadful start.

Del Rio deserves all the credit for the D’s turnaround. There’s still some moments that make you scratch your head (the killer penalties are still prevalent), but the unit held Green Bay to 0-for-6 on third down Sunday. It marked the first time in Rogers’ Hall of Fame career that he failed to convert a third down in a game.

The Commanders’ third down struggles in 2021 were well-documented and those struggles reared their head during the preseason. Per the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala, Washington ranked last on third-down in preseason and 31st in the regular season last season allowing a 48.47% conversion rate.

That percentage has plummeted to 29.55% through seven games. Only Tennessee has allowed a lower conversion rate at 27.78%.

There’s still plenty of room for improvement, but blown coverages are happening less frequently and it speaks volumes to the turnaround that the Commanders now rank in the middle of the pack in points and passing and rushing yards per game. Early in the season, they ranked anywhere from 25-32 in those departments.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Sunday was that the defensive line, which has been utterly dominant for the last month, didn’t have a huge impact.

Per Pro Football Focus, the line compiled just four pressures and two QB hits. The DL had been carrying the defense in recent weeks. On Sunday, they were a passenger — they didn’t blitz a lot and dared Rodgers and his middling WRs to beat them.

It was a perfect game plan and Del Rio deserves credit. The Commanders haven’t exactly played the Chiefs or Bills in recent weeks, but you can only play who’s on your schedule and Del Rio has the defense playing lights-out right now.